Ladies of legend

Asian pop divas - Malaysia's Anita Sarawak and Hong Kong stars Maria Cordero, Frances Yip and Elisa Chan - will be wooing Thai fans next month in "4 Asian Divas", a show adapted from their wildly successful concerts staged in Malaysia last year.

The two shows, held at Genting's Arena of Stars concert halls, were filled to capacity, with 6,000 fans gathering to applaud the divas, who performed solo and together, backed by @25-strong band and a team of dancers from Brazil.

"It was really amazing!" says organiser and Young@Heart magazine editor Nakorn Veerapravati, who was among the audience at the September show.

"They sang in their native tongues, as well as in English, French and Thai."

Earlier this month, the four songbirds jetted into the Kingdom and wowed reporters at the press conference by showing up in traditional Thai costumes and greeting them with "sawasdee khas", before revealing the contents of their upcoming Thai debut, "Four Asian Divas Live in Bangkok", which takes place at Royal Paragon Hall on the fifth floor of Siam Paragon on May 8.

"We'll be including songs that most Thai people know, such as 'Shanghai Beach' [the theme song of Hong Kong's smash-hit TV series 'The Bund'] and Thai pop numbers 'Rak Khun Khao Laew' and 'Bua Khao'," says Yip, who has bounced back stronger and more graceful after a brush with breast cancer.

"We'll also be singing love songs and classic Chinese songs," says Sarawak, who performed at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas with her band American Dream for almost 20 years.

"I don't know which Thai songs I'll be covering yet but I'll definitely have some in my repertoire, along with but some Latin and hip-hop numbers," says the Macau-born Cordero, who today owns karaoke businesses in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

"When the time comes, I will find some Thai songs. But I'll be avoiding sad numbers," says Chan, who hit international stardom and dominated the Chinese music scene in the mid-1980s.

While the ladies are in Bangkok primarily to entertain, Chan will also be on the lookout for a guy she met here 30 years ago.

"I'd really like to find him," she smiles.

"If he reads this, he'll know I'm talking about him. So my message to him is this: If you come to the show, please bring a bouquet of white roses for me."

The divas closed the press conference with an electrifying mini show, singing "Moon Represent My Heart" and "Proud Mary".

While this is the first time the divas are performing together in Bangkok, all four have entertained audiences here separately at one time or another.

Yip was a regular visitor between 2002 and 2005 while Sarawak sang in Thailand 18 years ago. Cordero was a guest artist at the Thai Food Festival and Chan was a resident singer at the Ambassador Hotel in 1972, back in the days when it was called the Chaowarit.

The idea to bring the stars together for a gala concert came from BC Looi, general manager of Genting Entertainment in Malaysia.

"They have divas like Celine Dion performing in the States, so I don't see why we can't do the same in Asia. There's definitely a demand, and the Asian market is growing all the time," he says.

"The shows in the US focus on just the singing but ours are more relaxed, with a party atmosphere. Asians enjoy a bit of fun and laughter. I'd like to get a Thai diva, as well as contemporary artists from the Philippines or Indonesia."

The general manager reveals that he has pumped US$150,000 (Bt4.8 million) into the Bangkok show, under the musical direction of Andrew L Tuason, who has worked with Jacky Cheung.

"I'm sure Thai fans will enjoy the concert, which will feature jazz, blues, pop and sentimental ballads. It should draw tourists from Hong Kong and expats, as well," he says.

After the Bangkok show, the divas have performances lined up in Canada, America and Australia.

"The shows will be adapted to suit the different audiences," Looi says.