Over the years, GMA-7 has discovered many new talents through its various singing competitions and helped them hone their skills by turning them into regular performers in its musical programs.
The currently airing All Out Sundays, for instance, puts the spotlight on homegrown stars Julie Anne San Jose, Rita Daniela, Hannah Precillas, Thea Astley, Mariane Osabel and Jessica Villarubin who have collectively formed a queendom.
The six young pop divas’ mesmerizing harmonies didn’t go unnoticed, that’s why the Kapuso network’s concert and event production arm, Synergy, is putting on a concert for them. Queendom: Live takes place tonight, 2 December, at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Newport Mall in Pasay City.
The headliners are set to perform numbers that showcase not only their vocal prowess but also how their voices blend. But, rest assured, no sapawan or attempts to upstage anybody, they said during a recent online media conference.
“Sobrang fan ako ng mga babaeng ito (I’m a big fan of these girls),” exclaimed San Jose, who’s the most seasoned and successful in the group. Her long list of achievements includes staging the solo concerts Limitless and JulieVerse, hosting the singing competition The Clash and being chosen as a superstar coach in The Voice Generations.
“Although hindi naman medyo bago sa akin ang concert scene, ako ang mas nae-excite for them. Kasi siyempre first time magko-concert ang iba sa kanila. Sobrang excited ako na ma-unleash nila ang full potential nila sa stage. I cannot wait for that moment. Alam ko na ibibigay nila ’yung best nila. (I’m not that new in the concert scene, but I’m the one who’s more excited for them. It’s the first time for some of them. I’m excited for them to unleash their potential on stage. I know they’ll give their best.) “
Daniela couldn’t agree more with her long-time colleague and friend, with whom she started in 2005 when they both competed in the singing competition Popstar Kids where she emerged as the grand champion. What makes her more excited is returning onstage after giving birth to her first child, Uno, on 22 December 2022.
Aside from their expectedly showstopping group numbers, each of the six performers will have a solo spot.
San Jose will be detouring from her usual repertoire to tackle a “classic song.” Daniela described hers as “definitely pasabog (explosive)” because she hasn’t sung the song ever.
For her part, Precillas chose a song that she first sang as a little girl. The grand winner of the 2014 singing competition Bet ng Bayan pointed out, “Hindi ko alam kung sino ba ang unang maiiyak, ako o ang audience, basta emotional ito at may kuwento. Hindi ko na lang alam kung sinong hindi mata-touch. (I don’t know who’ll cry first, me or the audience, but this is a very emotional piece and has a story. I don’t know of anybody who hasn’t been touched by this song.)”
Astley has likewise performed her chosen song, but not in a concert venue. She said it reveals an edgier side of her as a performer with soulful vocals, who spent her formative years in Doha, Qatar before returning to the Philippines and joining the second season of The Clash. “This is so true to my core when performing,” she said. “I think this will different and kinakabahan po ako (it makes me nervous).”
Villarubin recalled thinking of just one song for her solo spot, one she hasn’t performed yet. She’s simply excited for her and her colleagues to show what they’ve got, said the Cebu native who topped The Clash in 2020.
Osabel, who won first place in the fourth season of The Clash, has opted for a song that she finds the most challenging. The Iligan City native pointed out, “Basta mahirap s’ya, and sana magustuhan ng mga Queenies, ’yung mga supporters ko. Ito kasi ang gusto nilang pakantanhin sa ’kin. Ito ang song na kakantahin ko para sa younger self ko. (It’s a difficult song to sing, and I hope my supporters, collectively called Queenies, will like it. This is what they want me to sing. I’ll also sing it for my younger self.)