PAT CARDOZA is a new and very talented singer-songwriter at the Viva Records stable.
Born Patricia Alyanna Gerona Cardoza on September 16, 1992, she grew up in Manila and has a degree in Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics from UST. She was also a board topnotcher for the Nutritionist-Dietitian Licensure Examination in 2012.
She then worked as a flight attendant for Philippine Airlines from 2016-2021 and got to travel to many countries abroad. But the pandemic came and she was retrenched.
It’s good she now has a fallback job as singer-songwriter. She was one of the winners of Viva Musika Search for Songwriters in 2020. Her songs “Mahal”, “Kailan Ka Babalik” and “Back To You” made her one of the 10 winning songwriters of Viva Musika.
She bagged a contract with Viva Music Publishing with an advance guarantee of P100,000. And because Viva liked the way she sang her entries, she also got a recording contract.
She released her first single under Viva Records on March 18, 2021, entitled "Nasa Puso Ko", a Tagalog interpretation she wrote for the song “Into My Heart” by Lee So Ram used in the Filipino adaptation of the Korean series, “Encounter”.
On April 30, 2021, she released her self-penned song, "Kailan Ka Babalik", one of her entries for Viva Musika 2020: Search for Songwriters.
“I thought it was the end of the world when I got retrenched as a flight attendant, because I really love what I’m doing,” Pat says.
“But I think this is God’s way of telling me, ‘o dito ka muna sa music mag-focus.’ I realized that the situation is like ‘bloom where you are planted.’ I just try to be at my best wherever I am now.”
And Pat Cardoza is doing exactly that. Her most recent song “Habang Buhay” is now the theme song for the upcoming Vivamax movie “The Wife.” Said film, from Gawad Urian Best Director Denise O’Hara, stars Louise delos Reyes, Diego Loyzaga and Cara Gonzales (the film is slated to premiere on the subscription platform on February 11).
“Habang Buhay” is a lovely sounding piano-decked ballad that Pat wrote.
“I like writing love songs. And writing positive-themed tunes is more my style. My lyrics are the opposite of a ‘hugot’ song.
'Ayoko na ng sawi songs kasi marami nang sawi dyan. I want songs to show the positive side of love, yung pagiging happy naman. I’m more on focusing about the uplifting feeling that being in love gives.”
Currently, Pat is a full-time singer-songwriter. And she believes that that’s a good thing. “I’m also pitching for three more upcoming movies, and I already have recorded songs that we (Viva) are choosing to release next titled “Duyan” and “Mahal.”
Looks like she has had so many boyfriends and has so much experience in love. “I’ve had 3 boyfriends. Yung una as teenager. Then for 4 years, I was on with another flight attendant. Yung huli, kabe-break pa lang.”
So which does she prefer: flying or writing songs?
“Pareho ko silang mahal. Kaya ko namang pagsabayin ang paglipad at pagkanta, e.”
Did she have formal music training and when did she start writing songs?
“I have no formal training in music or songwriting. In high school, I tried writing a song at nakabuo naman ako. I realized kaya ko pala, kasi kapag may emotions akong nararamdaman, kailangan ko siyang isulat para ma-express ko ang feelings ko.”
Who among the Viva singers would she like to collaborate with?
“Sa guys, si Arthur Nery kasi ang ganda ng voice quality niya. At may lalim at may substance ang songs niya so, baka may mapupulot kami sa isa’t isa. Sa babae naman, si Janine Tenoso. I really want to work with her.
"Right now, I just feel honored na napasama ako among Viva Artists with big names like Sharon Cuneta, Regine Velasquez and Sarah G. I really feel so blessed. Later, sana makapag-release din ako ng sarili kong album.”
