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| 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
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