The bottom line on Boy and Martin

Boy Abunda may be a great talk show host but the bottom line is, he is not the right person to interview Martin Nievera, who guested recently on his late evening show "The Bottom Line," on ABS-CBN.

The ideal interviewer is one who's objective, asks tough questions and doesn't fawn over his subject. Well, Boy did ask some tough questions but how can he be objective when he used to be Martin's publicist and he admits he's a "loyal disciple" of the singer?

Boy even gave Martin a glowing testimonial: "No one is like Martin Nievera. No one attacks a song the way Martin Nievera does. He sticks to who he is. He's comfortable with his contradictions. He's not afraid to contradict himself. He's not afraid sometimes to deny some things that he deserves. In one word, that's magic."

Boy is probably sincere with his comments but that's not what a professional interviewer says to his subject.

Martin, on the other hand, is the ideal guest. I've interviewed him several times and all it takes is one question for him to get going. He's a glib talker and quite sincere with his answers unlike other celebrities who give standard replies and are boring subjects. Martin didn't disappoint on Boy's show. He had some interesting revelations, too. He wanted to commit suicide when he was 19 because he was having problems with his parents and his career. He recalls going to church and venting his anger on God, screaming "What the hell is happening? What else can I do?"

Martin is also quick on the draw. When Boy asked him to complete the sentence "Love is…" Martin had a quick reply, "Love is complicated. Love is what you make it. Love is a decision. Love is a walk, a talk. Love is abused. Love is underestimated."

Although he didn't admit it, Martin envies the international success of Charice, Arnel Pineda and Lea Salonga. Proof of this was his admission that he wrote to Ellen DeGeneres asking to guest on her show. He told Boy he just wanted to thank Ellen for giving Filipino singer s and chance and to give her a big hug. (C'mon Martin, was that the real reason?) He got no reply. International fame is his biggest dream and he hasn't gotten anywhere even when he did several shows in Las Vegas.

Even if big fan Boy Abunda kept referring to him as the Concert King, Martin's standing on the entertainment scene is not as great as it used to be. Martin himself admitted he had too much success too early in his career. Now he's just coasting along, no longer at the peak of his career. Asked what is his greatest fear is, his reply was "Failure. Not being wanted anymore by the paying public."

A good interviewer should know when to come up with a follow-up question. So when Martin was asked if he was afraid of marrying again "after what happened," his reply was "I'm not good at it. I think there's a jinx on me. I'm not saying I never will be (married). I'm just saying right now I'm so afraid of it.

I realize that bringing up the Pops-Martin separation would have led to a longer discussion of the subject matter and there were so many aspects of Martin's life that needed to be discussed. Plus this topic had been overexposed already so many years ago. I still think Boy should have asked a follow-up question that involved Pops.

The seven Bottom Liners who submitted questions and gave feedback to the interview were just as kind to Martin as Boy was. A few of them professed to be great admirers of the singer.

We are much too kind when it comes to interviewing celebrities. I don't think any local media person would have the guts to ask boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, "Don't you think you suck as a singer?" or words to that effect. That's what one US journalist asked at a press con and he wasn't escorted out of the room.

So the bottom line is Martin fared better as a guest than Boy did as an interviewer.

Disclaimer: The views and observations of the author do not represent the position of Yahoo! Southeast Asia on the issue or topic being discussed.