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Alessandra de Rossi has never been boring. When iGMA got word that she became a recording artist, we immediately got in touch to get the dish from Alex herself.
Alessandra de Rossi has never been boring. Her sense of style, media buzz, taste in guys, and career moves have all been consistently unpredictable and delightfully eccentric. So when iGMA got word that she recently embarked on a new challenge as a recording artist, we immediately got in touch with her, prepared to be surprised the nth time around by the ever-witty Alex. Text by Jillian Q. Gatcheco. With interviews by Leda E. Beltran, Darwin G. Chiong, and Connie M. Tungul. Photos by Mitch S. Mauricio. Remake with a twist Her first single is “Sailing,” an ‘80s original hit by American singer-songwriter Christopher Cross. But one has to listen very closely to actually recognize the song, since Alex’s stellar rearrangement of the melody has left little or no trace of the original tune. Alex shares that she’s been planning to come out with a single for two years already, but her vocal range stopped her from pursuing more popular forms of music. “Kailangan bumibirit masyado para masabing singer ka. Di ba maski nga sa contest, hindi ka mananalo kung hindi ka bumibirit? So noong tumanda na lang, saka ko na lang naisip na pwede ka naman gumawa ng genre na pwede sa’yo para at least hindi ka trying hard.” Her interest in mixing music greatly contributed to the song’s electric rifts. “Na-hook [ako] sa electronic!” she says, adding that she personally mixed and arranged everything in her computer. No single is complete without a music video, and direk Rico Gutierrez (Showbiz Central) headed the project superbly, despite Alex’s specific creative requests. “Tinawagan niya ako one week before the shoot, for the concept,” explains direk Rico. “She has wanted to play a mermaid ever since she was a kid, so I played with the ‘water nymph’ idea.” He liked the way Alex is experimenting with different things as an artist, and as a former director for QTV’s old show MMS which Alex co-hosted, he says the girl does have talent. “Pwede. Minsan mahiyain yan, pero kailangan seryosohin niya!” he comments. True enough, Alex did become a mermaid in the music video. Direk Rico used computer graphics for Alex’s mermaid tail, but that wasn’t the hard part. “I liked the challenge na gumawa ng music video na [low-budget],” he says. Some difficulties they encountered were minimizing air bubbles underwater, strapping weights to Alex so she would remain submerged, and the basic fact that he, too, had to be underwater as well! How was Alex during the shoot? “Nahirapan [ako!]” she remarks. “In fairness, after two shots [lang] nag-give up na talaga ako kasi parang pumasok na lahat ng tubig, tapos sabi ko, ‘Sandali lang direk!’ Sabi niya, ‘Sirena [gusto mo], di ba? Sirena?!’ [Kaya naman sinabi ko], ‘Oo nga, sige na, let’s go!’” (Click here to view the music video!) Reviews Alex isn’t in a hurry to release a full album, although she will make her single lucrative by selling it on iTunes. “Gusto ko [magka-album] pero iniisip ko pa kung anong next [single] kasi masyadong bongga yung “Sailing!” Mahirap i-top, hindi ka naman pwedeng maglabas ng wala lang di ba?” Why a recording career at this point in her life? “Yun lang din naman yung alam kong gawin aside from acting, singing at saka writing,” she replies. “Nagsasawa kasi ako sa ginagawa ko everyday e, at least, kontrabida ka man dito, dito naman, may iba kang ginagawa na nakaka-excite.” What did her fellow artists say when they heard her song? “Super galing. Wow, kaboses ni Enya! Hahahaha! Minsan nakita ko si Janno Gibbs, sabi niya napanood nga daw niya. Natuwa daw siya na ibang-iba yung arrangement. Pwede daw. Nakakaaliw, kasi yun naman talaga yung gusto ko marinig e! Kung may marinig akong pangit na comment, parang kokontrahin ko lang—‘Wala kang alam sa art!’ Hahahaha!” Remake with a twist Alex clarifies that although she likes Bjork and Frou Frou among other unconventional artists, they weren’t her inspiration for “Sailing.” “Nagkataon lang siguro talaga na doon ako napunta dahil sa pagmi-mix ko sa computer. Sabi ko, halika, i-electronic na lang natin ito. Kakantahin ko itong “Sailing” at gagawin kong chill out. At least swak naman yung kanta sa genre. Alex shares that she writes her own songs too, as an outlet for her emotions. “Yun nga lang problema ko, yung mga songs ko, medyo nasa ‘lost’ na level kasi [kadalasan] pikon ako [pag nagsusulat], so hindi pa ako nakakapag-happy song! Pag lumabas yung buong album, puro malulungkot!” Is there a process to her songwriting? “Basta ma-feel mo lang,” she says. “Minsan naman, nauuna yung beats, like yung best friend ko, mahilig kami maglaro sa computer. So minsan may narinig siya [tapos] ipapasok namin. Habang ginagawa niya yun, ginagawan ko na rin ng song.” She continues, “Like yung ‘Sailing,’ ang nauna [doon] tambol lang na paulit-ulit. Sabi ko, kunin mo yung lyrics noong ‘Sailing,’ kantahin natin. Kung paano ko siya kinanta the first time, ganoon din siya lumabas. Hanggang sa in-arrange na lang at nilagyan ng mga flute kasi hind ako marunong noon!” Performing live Is she ready for mall shows and performances to promote her single? “Hindi ko siya kaya, natatakot yata ako!” Alex replies with a laugh. “Yun ang problema ko dating-dati pa—kaya kong gumawa ng album pero kailangan ko [rin] mag-promote, lalo na pag may taong gagastos for you. Syempre kailangan makisama ka. In the future, sige. Bongga kasi yung mga nasa isip ko eh. Yung mga imposible!” For instance, she’d want to have an orchestra when she does perform live in the future. “Kasi sobrang daming instruments doon [sa song], e. Gusto ko lahat ng nandoon, [present]. Hindi ako pwedeng mag-isa—ta-tumbling [lang] siguro ako!” When people hear “Sailing,” Alex says she wants people to listen to the lyrics. “Gusto ko, lahat ng sasabihin ko, i-absorb mo tapos bahala ka nang mag-isip kung ano ba talaga meaning noon. Usually ganoon e—bawat lyric, bawat line, bawat word, kunwari mabigat yung word, mabigat din yung papasok na beat, para lagi siyang kunektado sa lahat.” The dreamer in her A self-confessed dreamer, Alex imparts that she chose “Sailing” because it reflects her personality. “Yung mismong lyrics niya na parang, ‘If the wind is right, you can sail away.’ Kung saan mo gustong mapunta, [doon ka]. About dreaming kasi siya e, so yun yung pinili ko para patok na patok sa puso ko.” Are there more dreams she wants to fulfill? With a big grin, she replies, “Natupad na rin—maging sirena! Ano na lang bang kulang? Ah, yung private plane ko na lang! Hahahaha! Dapat pala yung next song ko, ‘Flying’ naman para may plane na talaga ako kahit CGI lang din!” Always true to her unpredictable ways, Alex suddenly became serious when we asked her if she’s happy with her life now. “I’m Sailing. Hindi ko pa alam kung nasaan ako. Nasa gitna pa rin ako ng dagat pero masaya ako kung nasaan ako. Excited pa rin ako sa pupuntahan ko. Pero kung pabalik lang din yung wind, sige, okay lang. Basta [magse-sail] ako. Wala na akong pakialam sa iba.” And just as quickly as she changed the mood, she burst out laughing again. Talk about Alex’s new single “Sailing” in her iGMA Forum thread! Text ALEX to 4627 to Feel the Fun with Fanatxt! To receive picture messages from her, text GOMMS ALEX ON and send to 4627. (Each SMS costs P2.50 for GLOBE, SMART, TM, and TALK N TEXT, while it costs P2.00 for SUN subscribers. Each MMS costs P5.00 for ALL networks. This service is exclusively available in the Philippines.) More about Alex: Music video: Sailing with Alex! Excerpts from Alessandra’s Live Chat last August 22, 2007 iGMA Exclusive Live Chat with Alessandra and Polo Look who’s 23! Love Alex-isms Acting her best