Singers are the busiest of all artists, so what happens when the pandemic presses pause on their careers? Read an except of this month’s cover story on our Champion Singers.
Related: Meet 10 Emerging Filipino Artists Who Are Changing The Music Industry
In fact, if I were to manage talent, I would go for singers because of their expansive reach and incredible earning potential—there are recordings, concerts, national, regional and international shows, and of course, there are royalties—some, even in perpetuity. But, as the world changed and stages were closed, it was also the singers who were one of the most affected in the entertainment industry. Suddenly, there were no more concerts, no more shows, and no more audiences.
So what are singers to do when they can no longer sing to their public in person?
Star in a Million Grand Champion Erik Santos shares his fears.
“Pinaka-naging fear ko, kung after this pandemic, will I still be relevant? Kasi nga dahil sa ang bilis ng evolution ng music. ‘Yung parang relevant pa ba ‘yung music ko after this pandemic?”
Erik Santos
Kukunin pa kaya ako sa mga teleserye and movie theme songs? Tapos parang kapag ba nag-concert ulit ako, mapupuno ko ba ulit ang MOA, mapupuno ko ba ulit ang Araneta or kahit na anong venue? ‘Pag ba nag-abroad ako, susuportahan pa rin ba ako? Kasi iba na ‘yung music nu’n siguro pagdating nu’n. So, ‘di ko alam. ‘Yun ‘yung fear ko. Sobrang fear ko ‘yun,” he shares.
In a time when everything is moving so fast and change is sped up, if an artist stops, there is a very real possibility of irrelevance. And I get Erik’s fears.
For Pinoy Dream Academy’s Grand Star Dreamer, Yeng Constatino, the fears were more of a practical nature.
“Sa finances, nakakatakot naman talaga, nakakapanibago. Pero mindset ko kasi, um, bukod du’n sa mga bagay na ‘yun, meron din akong personal na pinagdadaanan as a human being. Parang tinignan ko na lang siya sa brighter side ng, ‘Ano kayang puwede kong gawin right now? Should I deal with my evolutional health and mental health?’ So, alam mo ‘yun? ‘Yun lang talaga. Parang sa umpisa lang, kasi lahat naman tayo magugulat, eh. Ako, gan’on, nagulat, nakakatakot financially. Ta’s somehow, parang kailangan dumating ka sa point na i-accept mo na, eh; ito na ‘yung nangyayari.
So, what are you gonna do, Yeng? So, let’s just seize this moment to heal kung anong dapat i-heal, so wala kang gagawin ngayon, wala kang out-of-town, walang out-of-the-country. I get to be with myself. Ayun, talagang maging introspective; ano ba talagang gusto ko, saan ba talaga ako masaya, ano ba ‘yung gusto kong next na gawin? ‘Yung really gustong gusto kong gawin. So, may mga decisions ako na kinailangan gawin nitong pandemya. Nagpa-release na ako sa Star Music, with Star Magic, wala na ako.
True, the pandemic forced Yeng to think about what is really best for her.
For The X Factor Philippines first Champion KZ Tandingan, her fears were even bigger.
“Siguro mas malaki ‘yung takot? Kasi, like, sila kasi before the pandemic, talagang, like, marami talaga silang hit songs. And ako, parang for the longest time, after winning X Factor, parang I was always told to fit into a mold na ito talaga ‘yung dapat na singer, ito ‘yung itsura, ito ‘yung makeup. I mean, it’s not as hard ngayon kasi si Ate Yeng ‘yung talagang unang… ‘Hindi kami ganito lahat ng singers!’ ‘Yan, naka-Chucks siya ta’s naka-ganyan. So, medyo nu’ng nakita ako ng mga tao…iba.” “Pero ‘yung fear ko nu’n is, before the pandemic, hindi kasi… Tanggap ko naman na my music and the way I perform, the way I style myself, the way I present myself as an artist will never be everybody’s cup of tea. And sa fact na ‘yun, marami ang hindi talaga nakakaintindi.
This was before the pandemic. So, nu’ng nagka-pandemic, sabi ko parang babalik ba ako sa magdi-diva-diva ako para maging relevant ako? ‘Yung naka-gown, oo, gown, tapos ‘yung ta-try ko na panindigan na naka-gown ako, ganyan, pero maya-maya ‘pag nafefeel ko na talaga ‘yung kanta, biglang sisipa akong ganyan! So, nu’ng nagka-pandemic, alam mo ‘yung saan na kaya ‘to papunta?”
In her career, KZ finally reached a place where she can present herself the way she wants, the way she truly is, outside of the formula of the “singing contest champion,” but losing the work made her question. Especially since it wasn’t just her career that was on the line—there were very high stakes in her personal life too.
It’s a very different story for Moira Dela Torre. Because although she was a very popular contestant in the wildly successful hit reality singing show, The Voice of the Philippines, she did not win in the end.
But the songs she released throughout her very young career all almost immediately became hits and resonated with millions of music listeners. “Hugot” songs became the anthem of the current generations and she has become the queen of them, even releasing an album in the thick of the pandemic only to be received spectacularly and even up to 100 million views on YouTube.
“Well, for me, I felt like we were all in pain,” Moira expresses. “Or with how I started kasi, I had all these issues that didn’t have a name for. So, I thought it was just a normal thing, or it wasn’t a normal thing but no one really knew about it having grown up in the province. I didn’t know I had anorexia when I was 12 until I was 18 when I told my first psychiatrist. I told her I didn’t eat for a year and that was when she said, ‘Oh, you were anorexic.’ And then it wasn’t until I had therapy that I understood that I had lost the security and stability that a kid should’ve gotten as a child— but I was 3 when my parents were separated, 5 when he had a new family and for a time, my mom hid me from my dad. There was so much that I was carrying that I didn’t know about, and eventually, that’s how I started writing.”
“And so, I feel like that also translates to how people receive my music—as if by listening they discover a kind of pain that’s been there all along or as if the pain they have been feeling are being given a name or being identified. I also feel like it’s not just for the people that are going through it but also for people who are learning to empathize with people that they love. So, I mean all of us naman, even if hindi nangyari sa ‘tin ‘pag nanood tayo ng movie ta’s naramdaman natin ‘yung pain nu’ng character, masasaktan ka pa rin kasi… Ta’s hindi lang ‘yun, eh. Parang ‘di mo lang nararamdaman natatakot ka rin kasi paano kung nangyari ‘to sa ‘kin? So, there’s pain and then there’s fear, and I feel like that’s what my listeners hear.”
“I feel like before kasi, like let’s say when you are telling your story, I mean, I’m sure there’s so much more to what you said. But I know what it feels to feel lonely, to feel like no one hears or understands what you’re going through.”
“It was in those times when no one wanted to listen, that I got to write my songs— and those songs became the friends that I never had. And I feel like that’s why it’s become so important to me that my music can be the friend people can run to when they don’t know who else to talk to.”
Moira Dela Torre
And I think that it’s beautiful that Moira likens her songs to “friends” because that is what her music has been to many who listen to her in the times that they are down in life, much like these days.
To know how our Champion singers kept inspired during the pandemic, check out MEGA Entertainment’s September 2021 issue available in Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photography DOOKIE DUCAY
Creative direction JANN PASCUA
Art direction NICOLE ALMERO
Beauty Direction TRINA EPILEPSIA BOUTAIN
Makeup NIKI MEDINA (for Moira), JAKE GALVEZ (for Erik and KZ), LEI PONCE (for Yeng)
Hair MJ RONE (for Moira), MYKE ARCANO (for Erik and KZ), DANA NALOG (for Yeng)
Styling ICA VILLANUEVA (for Moira and Yeng), MYRRH LAO TO (for Moira and Yeng)
Production Design TIPPING POINT COLLECTIVE
Shoot Coordination ERICA LUNA and LOUIS ESGUERRA
Special thanks to ERICKSON RAYMUNDO, JEFF VADILLO, CARESS CABALLERO, CYNTHIA ROQUE, MAC MERLA, PHER MOYA, JEN VALENCIA, BETINA MEDINA, CJ CABUNGCAL, LIZ ALVAREZ
