KATRINA VELARDE gained fame for being a “biritera” as the Suklay Diva. She now gets a sound makeover in her latest single for Viva Records, “Sa Panaginip”.
“I did it for a change kasi nakakapagod din namang puro birit at matataas ang kinakanta mo,” she says at the zoom presscon hosted by Viva’s Baby Gil for her.
“So now, lumihis ako ng konti with this R&B upbeat song para may iba namang marinig sa’kin ang listeners.
"This new song is a long process, with top songwriters Thyro Alfaro and Ivan Lee Espinoza collaborating on the lyrics, plus Marvin Querido and my husband, pop jazz musician and drummer Mike Shapiro, working on the music production with the help of Viva.
"All the instruments are live, some musicians are even imported from abroad to help us.”
She likes the song for its positive message.
“It says na sa panaginip, lahat, puedeng mangyari. Iba ang vibes niya, very encouraging and uplifting, specially sa panahon ngayon.
"E ako, masayahin akong tao, so gusto ko ito. Very singable siya. Madaling kantahin at sabayan. Puede ring nilang sayawin, lalo ngayong usong-uso ang mga nagtitiktok.”
She was then called Suklay Diva for combing her long hair while singing. But now, she sports very short, colored hair and it looks good on her.
She doesn’t hide that she had facial enhancements and she definitely looks more gorgeous now than ever before.
“New look, kasi married na ako. I’m now Mrs. Shapiro.
"At mas okay raw ang short hair sa’kin, kasi kapag mahaba ang buhok ko, mas nagiging maliit akong tingnan. At yes, ayan, o tingnan nyo, ang ganda ko, sa tulong ng siyensiya.”
Katrina and hubby Mike were married in Tagaytay only last May.
“I met Mike 5 years ago sa U.S. tour ni Tito Gary Valenciano who gets me as back up singer and as his front act.
"Drummer siya ni Sergio Mendez and other top singers, pero sa Pinoy, kay Kuya Gary lang siya tumutugtog.
"So doon ko siya na-meet, but naging on kami, two years ago lang. Hirap kasi sa ako sa pa-English-English. Ngayon nga, pag nag-aaway kami, walkout na lang ako para hindi na ko mag-English. Ha ha ha!”
Mike is now based in Manila.
“He loves it here, he loves our culture. Kahit naman nandito siya, may projects pa rin siya roon thanks to today’s technology. Dito niya nire-record at sine-send niya na lang doon.
"Ang buhay ko ngayon is a dream come true for me. Kasi may anak na ako and I really want to settle down na.
"Magkasundo kami kasi we’re both musicians. Sa ngayon, wala nang kulang sa’kin. Height na lang kasi 4’11” lang ako, e halos 6 feet siya.
"But as of now, sanay na siyang yumuko so he can reach me down. Mike helps me grow. We’re now doing a new song na love song-wedding song for our next release. The title is ‘Sa Dulo ay Ikaw’.”
She asks Mike to join her in the presscon. So how is it being married to Katrina?
“We’re having a good time together,” he says. “I’m kind of an introvert, on the shy side, but we have a lot of things in common and we have a similar vision about what music and why we do it.
"It’s not just to make money but because it’s what we love. And it’s nice to do that and be creative with the person you love. We have a really good working relationship.”
Katrina says the pandemic hit singers like her quite hard. Her shows at the Music Hall where she’s the resident singer were always sold out but the lockdown closed it down.
“For six months, wala akong work. Buti na lang nauso yung streaming. And then Viva got me to be part of ‘Masked Singer’, where I won as first runner up, then kinuha nila akong judge sa ‘Born to be a Star’.
"And now, I’m releasing a new single. And Viva is planning a digital concert for me na bale apat kaming singers na iba-iba ang puso pagdating sa pagkanta, pero pagsasamahin kami in late August. so abangan nyo yon. At sana nga, matapos na itong pandemic para makapagkantahan na tayong lahat uli.”
Meantime, check up Katrina’s new song and the music video of “Sa Panaginip” as directed by Michael Loyola now available in all music channels and outlets.
