After their successful concert in the Philippines on March 31, Filipino singers Angeline Quinto, Klarisse de Guzman, Morissette Amon and Jonalyn Viray are ready to take on the world, beginning in the Middle East. Dubbed ASAP Birit Queens, the four are bringing their now-famous musical collaborations from the Sunday variety show, ASAP, to Abu Dhabi on April 7.
Aside from their singing prowess, the four have one factor in common: they are all products of singing competitions in the Philippines.
Quinto, 27, was the winner of Star Power: Sharon’s Search For The Next Female Pop Superstar in 2011. From there she became The Queen of Teleserye Themes, as the voice behind some of the most iconic teleseryes (television soap opera) in the Philippines.
Video by Irish Eden Belleza/Gulf News
From being first runner-up in the first season of The Voice of the Philippines, 25-year-old de Guzman has now moved to the front row as a popular soul singer.
The 21-year-old Amon, also a product of The Voice, has now become a sought-after concert performer in and outside the Philippines, earning her the tag The Next Big Diva.
Viray, who came from a rival network, found a home in ABS-CBN when she joined the singing quartet. The 27-year old singer has also proven to be a favourite Kapamilya performer.
“We have one goal [in this concert tour] — to relive our kabayan’s [compatriots] homesickness,” says Amon.
The quartet are expected to perform their own hits, as well as iconic Original Pilipino Music (OPM), classics and covers of Billboard Top 100.
Video by Irish Eden Belleza/Gulf News
Despite being in a group of singing divas, the singers say competition has not been an issue.
“We don’t try to outshine each other,” says de Guzman. “We just play our own part in a given musical arrangement.”
“When it comes to harmony or melody, we are assigned who will do the alto, soprano, etc. We are helped by our coach. We do rehearsals every Saturday. So that when we perform, it’s all about the harmony,” she says.
Quinto adds: “It’s not our thing to outshine each other. We have our own parts in the songs. And we are not the ones who decide what part to sing.”
In terms of experimenting with different genre, the singers agree they are willing to be flexible with their repertoire.
Viray says: “I’m very open to that — to interpret songs in different genres aside from birit [high-pitched renditions of songs]. I’ve previously performed in mixed pop and classical shows. Even if I’m not a graduate of the conservatory, I learned to do classical styles.”
Asked on their take on artists doing lip sync, they shared a common answer.
“If you are a singer, it’s not appropriate to do lip sync. It’s like fooling your audience. For us, we never do that,” says Quinto.
Viray, however, did admit she had to do it once out of necessity.
“For me, if you are a true singer, I think it’s not a good idea to do that, unless you have a really good reason to do so, like if an event can’t be cancelled anymore and you are sick or have a very hoarse voice.”
“I once did a lip sync in a praise and worship song because I lost my voice due to illness and I couldn’t cancel the performance. That is perhaps where you can apply an exemption,” she says.
The details
When: April 7
Where: National Theater in Abu Dhabi
Gates open at 4pm and show starts at 6pm
Ticket prices: Dh250 (Platinum), Dh165 (Gold) and Dh95 (Silver).
