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Walking inside the cavernous function room of the Crowne Plaza for
KC Concepcion’s album launch one sweltering day last week, I
honestly didn’t know what to expect. The only daughter of
erstwhile on-and-off screen lovers Ate Shawie and Gabby is just
about the only thing hotter than the weather these days (and I
don’t just mean her physical attributes), and while we’ve always
known the girl has inherited her mom’s vocal abilities (among
other things), adding “recording artist” to her already
lengthening profile so soon after her formal entry into her
parents’ career still demands careful scrutiny and attention.
Think about it: how would KC Concepcion, the
closest thing our Third World country has to showbiz royalty, design
her very first collection of songs to introduce herself as KC
Concepcion, the singer? The way I see it, she could’ve gone either
one of two ways: Agonize about it and hire an expert team of career
strategists and music recording authorities to try and carve the
most viable and practical route to critical and chart success. Or
throw all caution to the wind, pick songs based on no other criteria
other than the fact she’s got a fondness for all of them, record
them, then stand back and see what happens.
After listening to her debut album which she
charmingly called “aKa Cassandra,” I’m willing to bet she went
with the latter route. Over-thinking things may be the way to go for
some people, but we all know they don’t always produce the best
results. In this case, KC explained she was given a free hand by the
label lucky enough to contract her services (Sony BMG) to create an
album based on her own whims and fancies. The first-time listener
will no doubt drop words like “bewilderment” and “confusing”
to describe their initial impressions on the record; and how can you
not when you have a remake of Joey Ayala’s iconic tribute to
environmental degradation “Agila” next to Roxette’s
equally-classic-but-for-entirely-different-reasons “It Must Have
Been Love.” There’s also her reworking of Rihanna’s
“Umbrella” into a slower, mellower ballad that reminded me of
the one done by Marie Digby, and another remake of the Modern
English hit “Melt With You.” The Paris-educated KC, who
namedropped Feist and Pinikpikan as those who have contributed to
shaping her sound, also couldn’t resist recording a version of her
all-time favorite song, Lennon’s “Imagine” and including it in
the album.
But lest people hastily discard Ms
Concepcion’s well-intentioned effort as yet another one of those
unimaginative releases that offer nothing else but rehash old hits,
there are some original tracks here that, surprisingly offer a much
clearer glimpse into her personality and style than the covers.
“Ngiti Lang,” penned by Ryan Cayabyab, is a throwback to her
mother’s recording past yet remains fresh and contemporary; the
forceful “Imposible” shows off her range and the two songs
contributed by Raimund Marasigan, one of which is a hidden track,
prove to be major high points in the album. It is the Joey De
Leon-written, South African beat-based song, “Doo Be Doo”
however that I found myself taking an instant liking to. If somebody
had told me a month ago that I’d be bobbing my head to a song by
KC Concepcion while taking a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive, I’d
have told him he was crazy. But the song is that pleasant and
infectious, and just for that song alone, I’d say KC’s recording
career is off to a good start.
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