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By Camille R. Magsadia
AFTER being absent for some time, Bituin
Escalante’s star makes a comeback in the recording circuit. With
the influx of younger singing contest champions and reality search
winners, Bituin and her equally talented batchmates Anna Fegi and
Luke Mejares suddenly found themselves pushed to the sidelines in
terms of television exposure and live performance gigs. Anna opted
to go to Hong Kong Disneyland and is enjoying a regular high-paying
job in the Disney production of The Lion King, while Luke, for lack
of better things to do, has chosen to join a group of has-beens for
a weekend show called Sabado Boys on RPN-9.
Although Bituin remains consistently astonishing
in terms of her incomparable musical artistry and signature vocal
prowess, she also found herself retreating to a corner and accepting
road shows for the Filipino communities and overseas workers in key
European and Asian cities.
And now, she’s back after a hiatus that
allowed her to re-evaluate which musical direction she really wanted
to pursue. She’s got a new sound and a newly released
independently produced studio album Ur Luv Thang.” The one is a
soulful, heartfelt CD filled with emotions and artistry, so
different from her past albums, which were more into the pop genre.
Bituin brings into play her distinct style in collaboration with Dan
Gil who wrote and produced all the tracks on the album.
According to Bituin, most of the songs are kind
of like “make-out songs,” slow and sultry mixed with an urban
flavor, like “Inconsiderate,” which is a slow-sizzling blend of
soul and reggae. This brooding piece features an irresistible
groove, and some of Bituin’s sweetest singing moments. On the
other hand, some of the songs are upbeat like the “Last Tango in
Manila,” which is a Latin and hip-hop dance-y tune, featuring
Ill-J.
“This has always been my kind of music,”
Bituin shares, when asked why she switched from pop to this new
genre. She says that when she was singing pop, she felt that
what she was doing was more of mimicry of what was “in” at that
moment, though she says that she liked what she was doing then, she
just realized what she really wanted to do now. “It’s time I
sounded like myself, to thy own self be true, you can’t be happy
if you can’t be true to yourself,” she adds.
Bituin is known as the singer behind “Kung Ako
Na Lang Sana,” which was considered the biggest OPM hit of 2003.
She also took musical theater by storm with outstanding performances
in the Manila production of Jonathan Larson’s RENT and Andrew
Lloyd Weber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Her much raved-about
performance as Effie White in Dreamgirls has earned her rave reviews
from theater critics.
R&B, soul, jazz, reggae, Latin, hip-hop and
a little bit of everything, Bituin shows she can do it all.
Featuring guest performances by Dan Gil, Johnny Alegre, Artstrong,
Ill-J and Alvin Cornista, among others, this CD is certainly worth
your money.
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