‘The Real Me’ turns Bea Alonzo’s dream into musical reality
By Rito Asilo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:50:00 06/27/2008
Filed Under: Entertainment (general), Celebrities
MANILA, Philippines—When we heard the news that Bea Alonzo has been chosen for the coveted lead role of the local version of Fernando Gaitán’s wildly successful telenovela, “Betty La Fea,” we were pleased—the break couldn’t happen to a nicer actress!
After all, the 1999 Colombian soap opera has become a worldwide phenomenon that has since spawned countless spin-offs on the boob tube—including “Ugly Betty,” the Peabody, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning American TV series, topbilled by America Ferrera. The exposure, we thought, could give the pretty actress’ career a much-needed push.
Immensely popular
But, we weren’t very enthusiastic when we learned that Bea has also decided to dabble in recording. Sometime ago, we caught her singing Colbie Caillat’s immensely popular radio hit, “Bubbly,” on ABS-CBN’s “A.S.A.P.”—and, while we were not turned off by what we heard, we weren’t thrilled, either.
Worse, when we switched to GMA-7’s “S.O.P.,” Regine Velasquez herself was having a go at the ubiquitous acoustic ditty. For the record, Velasquez—along with Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey—is the 20-year-old actress’ favorite singing idol. Really, now—just how does she compare? Unsurprisingly, the single’s likable but conspicuous melody rang in our ears for the next couple of days.
Fortunately, Bea doesn’t run away from challenges. A single spin of her guitar-and-drum-driven acoustic cover of Whigfield’s dance hit, “Close to You”—the third cut from her solo recording debut, “The Real Me”—is enough to prove that the girl can, indeed, carry a tune. In fact, she does it very well—with a lot of help from Mike Villegas’ catchy, finger-snapping arrangement!
Initial apprehension
In the album’s liner notes, she shares her initial apprehension: “It has always been my frustration to be a singer. But, growing up a fan of Whitney, Mariah and Regine, I thought I could never be one! Thanks to Tita Annabelle Regalado-Borja and Jonathan Manalo (the album’s producers), who made me realize that a person need not have a high-pitched voice to be a real singer!” And sing, she does.
However, Bea’s vocal quality doesn’t quite fit the conventional ballad-and-pop mold. As the generic-sounding tracks, “I’m Missing You” and “I’m Crazy About You,” demonstrate, her voice has a certain grungy quality—and her nasal-to-throaty singing style swings from Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan to Sara Bareilles and, yes, Lolita Carbon in her heyday with Asin.
She loves twisting half- and quarter-notes and enjoys scooping them on her way to the right melody—which sometimes makes her falter! Obviously, if she chooses to pursue this vocal route and style, she would considerably limit the type of songs she could sing.
Original compositions
The singer-actress possesses a raw but unique voice that would benefit more from singing original compositions than revivals. For instance, she acquits herself well in her remake of Michael Johnson’s “I’ll Always Love You,” though her version of the Eric Kaz-Tom Snow ballad is a far cry from Nina’s recent seamless cover.
Truth is, Bea is at her best when she just sings it straight—devoid of the off-putting vocal curlicues—as she confidently proves in the album’s bonus track, “Kagandahan,” the theme song of the upcoming “Betty La Fea.” When she gently croons the tune’s sweltering final notes, she’s got us hooked!
|
