Can you really make it big in music without an original song of your own? Sabrina is giving it her best acoustic shot.

THE MEASURED words of transcendent travel writer Pico Iyer capture perfectly how cover versions exemplified the Filipinos? complicated relationship with their former colonizers.

?This development of musical mannequins struck me as strange, especially in a country that understandably regarded its musical gifts as a major source of national pride,? Iyer wrote. ?I could certainly see how the Filipinos? brilliance at reproducing their masters? voices, down to the very last burr, had made them the musical stars of Asia ? the next best thing, in fact, to having a real American. But as a form of self-expression, this eerie kind of ventriloquism made me sad.?

Our country?s relationship with the cover version itself is equally complex. Singing someone else?s songs has always been a path to stardom [hence Eddie Mesa became known as ?The Elvis Presley of the Philippines?] and a band?s chameleon-like transformation from one sound to another has enabled musicians to make a tuneful living. Sometimes they sing a song so well, it?s better than the original, like Paolo Santos? sleek take on Peter Mayer?s ?Moonlight Over Paris.?

But even acts well known for their cover versions have always aspired to break out with their own material, for example, come-backing Side A with ?Di Pa Huli,? and the disbanded MYMP with ?Now.? That?s how you make it big. Or at least, that was how it used to be.

In the unlikely avatar of Sabrina is an entirely new paradigm of Filipino musical nirvana. That?s because this pretty chinita, all of 19, has just finished what is technically her fifth album, and has reached platinum sales status in Southeast Asia ? all without an original song of her own. Sabrina herself would argue that all those cover versions are original in their own way, like she is. Where does the construction end and the creation begin? Sabrina is a fascinating case study in both.

Roli Alexandra ?Xanxan? Orial of San Pedro, Laguna is the youngest of three children born to businessman Rolando Orial and wife Lydia, both of whom are very musical. Xanxan?s father plays the guitar, while her mother sings. ?I remember having a vocal coach as early as seven,? recalls this recording artist whose favorite piece from those early years was Celine Dion?s ?My Heart Will Go On.?

At Manresa School in Parañaque, Xanxan remained musically inclined. ?I sang in every school program and would conduct the National Anthem for every flag ceremony. I was also the school?s official singer and sang during Mass and the feastday of every saint there is.? In fact, she adds, she had wanted to become a lawyer when she grew up, but one who also sang.

When Xanxan was 14, she performed at a family occasion where veteran producer Sunny Ilacad and wife Sherbet were present. ?There was something in her voice,? Sherbet remembers. ?It was different from the rest. It was the X-factor. So I told her come see me in two years.? Xanxan was only 14, too young it seems, and her voice still lacked polish, Sherbet thought.

Two years later, Xanxan finally auditioned and Sherbet was impressed. ?Her voice had developed; I found it perfect for recording.?

At the time, Sunny was looking for someone to do a bossa nova album, which was then the trend. That was how Xanxan got her first album, 17 songs all of them bossa nova, all covers.

She also got a new moniker, Sabrina, from Vicor?s Steven Tan. ?They were thinking of the teenage witch,? Sherbet says with a laugh. Xanxan went around promoting her self-titled new album even as she was still getting used to her new name. ?People would call me, ?Sabrina,? and I wouldn?t turn around,? she recalls.

Shortly after, she launched her second album, ?Manila Sound,? still all covers. When Sabrina turned 18 last year, she moved to a new label, MCA Music and a musical shift took place.

?Sunny said that Sabrina needed something younger. He was also thinking of bringing back the acoustic genre in the industry because it was all bands and loud rock,? says Sherbet. ?We were sure about Sabrina?s voice but we were afraid that the market might not like it and she?d be ruined. She won?t be going anywhere if she fails.?

The album, ?I Love Acoustic,? had 17 songs, all covers, all in English, but there was something different. Somehow, Sabrina had developed a sound of her own with a bit of audio alchemy. Her voice gave each song a chirpy, cheerful tone lifted by light guitar work and pinpoint piano. ?I Love Acoustic? was certainly eclectic, with songs ranging from Hoobastank?s ?The Reason? to Ne-yo?s ?So Sick,? Beyonce?s ?Irreplaceable,? and Enrique Iglesias? ?Hero,? yet somehow the songs sounded transformed.

It was Sunny who re-arranged the songs. ?He thought that the songs needed to reflect my personality and fit my image,? says Sabrina, adding that she is just as perky and optimistic as her songs. ?I?m very adventurous. I take it as it is.?

MCA has released a deluxe edition of ?I Love Acoustic? with two extra songs, while Sabrina shot two music videos, covers of Vanessa Carlton?s ?A Thousand Miles? and Five for Fighting?s ?Superman,? to promote it.

Local sales, according to MCA Music, have reached the 10,000-mark, but ?I Love Acoustic? has an even bigger market in Thailand and Indonesia where it has gone platinum.

?Until now, it still feels surreal to me,? says Sabrina. ?Some people say I?m even more popular there than here.?

This doesn?t surprise Sherbet, who says that the songs being in English is a crucial factor, and that Sabrina?s winsome looks really go down well.

Having just finished a still untitled album with 17 songs, all of them covers, Sabrina just might do a promo tour of Bali and Thailand to push her music. ?People really want me to be there and we want to give them what they want,? she says.

Somewhat obscured by all these is the girl behind the notes. Sabrina has managed to be a full-time student all this time, and is set to graduate with a degree in Communication Arts from the University of the Philippines-Los Baños in March, possibly with honors.

School remains one of her passions, she says, adding that she gets up at 7 a.m. to make it to class on time from her Muntinlupa home. ?If I have to miss school, I do it very reluctantly because I hate missing classes,? she explains. ?I love school! I?m very weird.? At home, she relaxes by watching DVDs with her mom. ?I sing at the church, in the choir and as the psalmist, but when I?m home, I rest my voice,? she volunteers.

Despite the upward trajectory of her career, Sabrina has not forgotten Xanxan?s plans ? far from it. ?I?ll still go to law school. After college, I?ll focus on my career for two years, get a master?s degree and then go to law school.?

Anything else? ?Oh yes, I?m gonna audition for Broadway after I graduate,? she exclaims.

In the meantime, focusing on her career means tackling thorny questions regarding her discography of cover versions. Sabrina is quite sanguine about what the market wants. ?Let?s face it, the trend in the Philippines is that albums sell if they?re all remakes. People don?t really like original songs right now. They?re like, ?What is that song?? They really don?t appreciate [originals] that much, but they appreciate another version of popular songs.?

Sherbet backs her up on this: ?It?s the demand of the market. It?s not a bad thing. Whether it?s a foreign or a local [song], if it?s a remake, a revival or an original, as long as Sabrina has her own version that would still be hers. That makes it original for her.?

Sabrina asserts that the songs are effectively originals as well. ?When you look at it, those songs are all mine, too. I sang them and gave my own emotions to them. One thing I?ve learned in the industry is that we have to own the song. You don?t just sing it. You do it in your own style and give it your own take.?

Sabrina did submit some original songs, hopefully for inclusion in her new album, but MCA Music passed.

She isn?t bothered by it, says this young recording artist. ?I would love to have [my songs] recorded but maybe they?re still not that good. MCA decided against it, so there must be a good reason for it. They know what?s best and what the trend in the industry is.?

Explains Sherbet: ?As of now, it?s hard to give Sabrina an original song, which is what we?ve always wanted since her first album. But the trend in the market right now is the cover version. Even the big singers are doing it. Maybe, when it?s the right time. We were expecting her second MCA album would give her something original, but we have yet to pick the right material for her.?

The strangest twist to this strange story is that, amid criticisms of lack of originality, Sabrina has started her own trend, of acoustic cover versions that have infected FM radio. ?It works and other companies are following,? says Sherbet.? I?ve always believed that Sabrina has brought back the genre to the industry.?

As she gets ready to promote her new album, Sabrina cheerfully tackles all the brickbats thrown her way. ?I expected a lot of criticisms like, hey, why don?t you make your own songs. I do get that but not as much as I expected. People actually message me on Facebook to say that they like my version.?

Sabrina says she?s flattered by comparisons to Juris Fernandez, the similarly elfin vocalist of the defunct MYMP, although she states that they are very different. She also admits that there are songs she can?t handle: ?Rock songs! My voice is not hoarse!?

Other than that, Sherbet says she is amazed at how quickly Sabrina picks up her material. She can show up at the studio half an hour before her session, listen to her music-one once, step into the booth and deliver a pitch-perfect song in one take. And then there is her dazzling voice. ?Her voice is really different. You can pick out her voice from a crowd. You would know it?s Sabrina who?s singing. Her voice fits her genre. It?s soothing and it?s rare.?

It?s been pitch-perfect all along, says Sabrina. ?I enjoy having the best of both worlds. When I?m in school, I?m just Xanxan. People don?t really recognize me as Sabrina. I can go to the mall without makeup on and people don?t even look at me. But when I go to the studio, I?m this singer who?s apparently popular in Thailand and Indonesia, although I don?t really feel it. ?

As the record keeps playing, the songs may be those of others, but the girl is one of a kind.