Isabelle de Leon’s LoveZone Bloggers’ Conference

Isabelle de Leon

It was during the 25th Awit Awards when I first saw Isabelle de Leon, an unassuming young woman, clad in a checkered shirt, who brimmed with excitement as she took to the stage as one of the evening’s performers. Isabelle sang a song called Feelingero while accompanying herself with a guitar. At that time, both Isabelle and the song didn’t ring a bell so I figured out that she’s probably a new artist and that the song was an original composition. Then I started hearing more about her and was stunned when I learned that this Isabelle was actually the child actress who portrayed Duday from the defunct series Daddy Di Do Du. I finally get to meet Isabelle in person and got to know more about her when she welcomed members of the press over at Polyeast Records in time with the release of her debut album LoveZone.

LoveZone is an EP made up of six, new and original tracks written by Isabelle herself. When asked during the conference if she ever considered doing a cover in order to break into the music scene with a familiar tune, Chito Ilagan, Polyeast Records' A&R Manager responded that Isabelle has come up with such strong material that covers were no longer needed. The album does boast of strong material led by 1 Week to Move On with its catchy chorus that is now heard on radio. She sang this song along with the some of the tracks from the album during the conference. She even obliged to give an encore and sang while playing the guitar Paramore’s The Only Exception proving that she’s the real deal. I always believe that it is a lot easier for singers to cross over into acting than for actors to dabble into recording. And most of these actors rely on their popularity and established fan base to carry them through. But Duday can really sing and is indeed a musician.

Despite the lean album of only six tracks, Isabelle revealed that she has written 25 songs so far and that the six that ended up being recorded were chosen based on the album’s theme of love. She also mentioned that Feelingero was the first song she ever composed and that she was thrilled that this was included in the album.

Since the conference, I’ve listened to the CD numerous times and I find Feelingero, 1 Week to Move On and Friend Zone a bit juvenile since they tackle love among the younger crowd. But I remembered that Isabelle, at eighteen years old, is still a teenager and it’s only normal and proper for her to write songs that appeal to her age group which also makes her current. The other three tracks, Alice Wonders, Pag-Ibig Ko’y Sa ‘Yo and Sa Yakap Mo show a mature side of her and they appeal to the Adult Contemporary market which is where I’m leaning towards to. Then again, with just six tracks, I find LoveZone extremely short and wish that there were more songs in it.

Isabelle de Leon’s LoveZone, released by Polyeast Records, is now available in record stores nationwide. 1 Week to Move On and the rest of the tracks can also be downloaded at MyMusicStore Philippines and in iTunes. Isabelle de Leon’s bloggers’ conference was made possible by Polyeast Records with special thanks to Pony, Hairshaft Salon and Outdoor Products.

LoveZone

Tracks:

1. Feelingero

2. 1 Week to Move On

3. Alice Wonders

4. Pag-Ibig Ko’y Sa ‘Yo

5. Sa Yakap Mo

6. Friend Zone