Erik Santos Bloggers’ Meet Up

Erik Santos

I’ve seen Erik Santos perform during J.P., ang Gig ni Rizal which gave me a glimpse of how he would fare if he ever decide to try musical theater. Well, he eventually did and I was able to catch the preview night of Disney’s The Little Mermaid where he played the role of his namesake Prince Eric. I’ve also been to his PowER IKons concert where he paid tribute to music icons hoping that one day, he’d be an icon as well. I’ve also bumped into him on several occasions when I watched other concerts and shows. But remarkably, I’ve never had the chance to know Erik more as a recording artist (he is dubbed as the Ultimate Serenader and Prince of Pop before that) until recently when he had a bloggers’ meet up held at the Kitchen of  Cakes and Coffee at Tomas Morato in Quezon City.

During this afternoon, Erik eagerly answered questions regarding his seventh and latest album Awit Para Sa’Yo, his thoughts about branching out musically and in other fields, and ultimately, his long term goals as an artist and as an individual. His latest album under Star Records containing 14 tracks (nine originals and five covers) by local composers displays his strength as a balladeer. Erik mentioned that plans to stick with ballads since that is what he does best and what basically put him to where he is right now. But he is willing to explore in the arrangements of these songs. He does experiment a lot and go outside of the box during concerts and other live performances like doing some fast songs and attempting to dance as well. And when he was asked, Erik stated that he is open to recording a track or two that sound and feel different from his previous songs. But as far as recording a whole album that is radically different, he said that that isn’t the direction that he wants to take.

A different direction that Erik did take late last year was venturing into musical theater. He recalled that his stint at musical theater taught him not to be late and to be mindful of other people’s time. He also learned to do his homework and give his all because at the end of the day, he believes that he is only good as his last performance. He added that he plan to do more musical theater work but he hopes that it’s a meatier role and a different one compared to the one that he just played. As for the future, he plans to put up a business but he refused to divulge more details about it. He does see himself as a family man with kids about a decade from now. Ultimately, he wants to be like Basil Valdez in terms of recording and be like Martin Nievera in terms of concerts and other live performances. He is also looking forward to celebrating a decade in the showbiz industry which happens next year.

The tracks in  Awit Para Sa’Yo feature the typical soaring ballad (quiet at first as it builds into an epic climax) that showcase Erik’s vocal range. And it is this type of singing that endears him to mothers (he does acknowledge that they are among his biggest and most loyal supporters). One of Erik’s favorites in the album is Pangarap Ko Ang Ibigin Ka which he really wanted to include in the album. He said that while this song is strongly associated with Regine Velasquez, the arrangement put a different spin on it. Another song that had to go through a different arrangement was Paminsan-Minsan, a Richard Reynoso original. He admitted that this was difficult for him to record since the song was not only just a huge hit in its heyday, but it has also become a videoke staple. One of his own compositions, Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin (Gary Valenciano co-wrote it) made it to the album but he feels that he isn’t ready yet to start writing songs for others although he has written a bunch of songs but for personal consumption only. Lastly, he is pleased though that an original song, Kulang Ako Kung Wala Ka was chosen as the lead single for his album and that it was received well by the listeners. I’ve had his album for sometime now and I admit that his epic ballads do tend to get emotionally heavy. I told Erik personally that it was hard for me to listen to his entire album in one go since I always needed to take a break after a bunch of songs. I feel that the emotions and the epic nature of the tracks will just overwhelm me should I attempt to listen to the whole album in one sitting. I'm just glad that there's the track Langit which is my favorite because listening to it does lift me up to the heavens. Lastly, Erik's songs in this album, especially the last track Muling Buksan ang Puso, make me wish that he sing with a full symphony orchestra. And if he ever does a concert backed up with an orchestra, then count me in since that will truly be epic.

Awit Para Sa’Yo

Tracks:

1. Kulang Ako Kung Wala Ka

2. Kailan Ka Magiging Akin

3. Hindi Na Magbabago

4. Bakit Mahal Pa Rin Kita

5. Sana Ikaw

6. Langit

7. Mula Sa Araw Na Ito

8. Pangarap Ko Ang Ibigin Ka

9. ‘Di Lang Ikaw

10. Hanggang Kailan Kita Mamahalin

11. If You Have To

12. Paminsan-Minsan

13. Sa Iyong Paglisan

14. Muling Buksan Ang Puso