I'll be honest. At first, I didn't know who Sheng
Belmonte was nor any of her songs. But after a few searches on
Google, I learned that she was the voice featured in Gloc-9's hit
“Walang Natira”. I also learned that she's been quite the
fighter, persevering in reaching her dreams of becoming a recording
artist and an actress, with stints as a showband vocalist, stand-up
comedienne and a participant in Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2. With
that alone, she has earned a few points in my respect meter =)
Listening to her CD entitled “Single”
without any expectations nor biases was quite fun. The album has 7
tracks, and they all have a minus-one counterpart to make it a
14-track album. With no idea what to expect, I started with a “clean slate” on my mind and
here are some of my thoughts on her songs.
The album starts with “Sabik”, a song with
a dance pop tune that gives off a Destiny's Child/TLC vibe. I liked
its melody connoting girl power and female fierce-ness. The carrier
single “Single” is quite unique with its Taglish lyrics coupled
with reggae-ish and Latin tunes that remind me of Pu3ska. I am
heavily influenced by my sister, @MsVirna, with her love for reggae so
I really like this song's beat and melody, but was not too fond of the
lyrics though.
Her third track “Walang Kapalit”
has very simple lyrics that Pinoys would love to sing along to -
Wala kang kapalit. Walang, walang,
walang papalit.
Sa pag-ibig laging mainit. Parang kumot
sa lamig
Na kay ginhawa, walang hahambing.
Wala kang kapalit. Walang, walang,
walang papalit.
Wala kang kapalit.
Walang ibang kasing bait.
“Muli” is her
4th track, and so far this has been my favorite in this
album. It's a classic love song, with the right tinge of sadness
coupled with a good melody. Nice :) Next is “Akala Mo”, a song
that literally caught me off-guard. Akala ko it was about a
hopeless romantic na nagmamakaawa sa boyfriend nya, but turns out to be
defiant and confident in the end. Why not?! I loved this song's
guitar riffs! This is followed by “Sana”'s very sensual melody
that might just be a hit for karaoke bars/ videoke joints. It reminds
me of Tootsie Guevarra's Kaba. Now you might have an idea how old I
am. LOL!
Last on the list
is “Ulan”, a very powerful song that featured Sheng's vocal
chops. I loved the melody, and I suddenly missed Roselle Nava while
listening to this.
Sheng Belmonte
showcased her confidence and sensuality in this album. And reading up
on some of the write-ups about her, I am no longer surprised where she got
that vibe. I love the fact that there are still original Filipino
songs being produced and supported by recording companies such as
Vicor Music, giving chances to solo artists like Sheng. There's hope
:) Yay!!
Grab a copy of
Single at all recording stores nationwide. Follow her on Twitter
@ShengBelmonte and check out @vivavicor for more details.
PS: Special thanks
to Punch Liwanag (@punchaudiojunki) for trusting me with this. Yay!!
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