KATRINA Velarde gained fame for being a “biritera” as the Suklay Diva. She now gets a sound makeover in her latest single for Viva Records, “Sa Panaginip”.

“I did it for a change kasi nakakapagod din namang puro birit at matataas ang kinakanta mo,” she says at the zoom presscon hosted by Viva’s Baby Gil for her. “So now, lumihis ako nang konti with this R&B upbeat song para may iba namang marinig sa’kin ang listeners. This new song is a long process, with top songwriters Thyro Alfaro and Ivan Lee Espinoza collaborating on the lyrics, plus Marvin Querido and my husband, pop jazz musician and drummer Mike Shapiro, working on the music production with the help of Viva. All the instruments are live, some musicians are even imported from abroad to help us.”

She likes the song for its positive message. “It says na sa panaginip, lahat, puedeng mangyari. Iba ang vibes niya, very encouraging and uplifting, specially sa panahon ngayon. E ako, masayahin akong tao, so gusto ko ito. Very singable siya. Madaling kantahin at sabayan. Puede ring nilang sayawin, lalo ngayong usung-uso ang mga nagtitiktok.”

She was then called Suklay Diva for combing her long hair while singing. But now, she sports very short, colored hair and it looks good on her. She doesn’t hide that she had facial enhancements and she definitely looks more gorgeous now than ever before.

“New look, kasi married na ako. I’m now Mrs. Shapiro. At mas okay raw ang short hair sa’kin, kasi kapag mahaba ang buhok ko, mas nagiging maliit akong tingnan. At yes, ayan, o tingnan nyo, ang ganda ko, sa tulong ng siyensiya.”

Katrina and hubby Mike were married in Tagaytay only last May.

“I met Mike 5 years ago sa U.S. tour ni Tito Gary Valenciano who gets me as back up singer and as his front act. Drummer siya ni Sergio Mendes and other top singers pero sa Pinoy, kay Kuya Gary lang siya tumutugtog. So doon ko siya na-meet, but naging on kami, two years ago lang. Hirap kasi sa ako sa pa-English-English. Ngayon nga, pag nag-aaway kami, walkout na lang ako para hindi na ko mag-English. Ha ha ha!”

Mike is now based in Manila. “He loves it here, he loves our culture. Kahit naman nandito siya, may projects pa rin siya roon thanks to today’s technology. Dito niya nire-record at sine-send niya na lang doon. Ang buhay ko ngayon is a dream come true for me. Kasi may anak na ako and I really want to settle down na. Magkasundo kami kasi we’re both musicians. Sa ngayon, wala nang kulang sa’kin. Height na lang kasi 4’11” lang ako, e halos 6 feet siya. But as of now, sanay na siyang yumuko so he can reach me down. Mike helps me grow. We’re now doing a new song na love song-wedding song for our next release. The title is ‘Sa Dulo ay Ikaw’.”

She asks Mike to join her in the presscon. So how is it being married to Katrina?

“We’re having a good time together,” he says. “I’m kind of an introvert, on the shy side, but we have a lot of things in common and we have a similar vision about what music and why we do it. It’s not just to make money but because it’s what we love. And it’s nice to do that and be creative with the person you love. We have a really good working relationship.”

Katrina says the pandemic hit singers like her quite hard. Her shows at the Music Hall where she’s the resident singer were always sold out but the lockdown closed it down.

“For six months, wala akong work. Buti na lang nauso yung streaming. And then Viva got me to be part of ‘Masked Singer’, where I won as first runner up, then kinuha nila akong judge sa ‘Born to be a Star’. And now, I’m releasing a new single. And Viva is planning a digital concert for me na bale apat kaming singers na iba-iba ang puso pagdating sa pagkanta, pero pagsasamahin kami in late August. so abangan nyo yon. At sana nga, matapos na itong pandemic para makapagkantahan na tayong lahat uli.”

Meantime, check up Katrina’s new song and the music video of “Sa Panaginip” as directed by Michael Loyola now available in all music channels and outlets.

Jason requires partner Vicky not to watch his extra hot movie

JASON Abalos is so fortunate as he’s one actor who’s busy during the pandemic. He has a new soap on GMA-7, “Las Hermanas”, opposite Yasmien Kurdi and Thea Tolentino, and he has a new movie, “Silab”, directed by Joel Lamangan and starring newcomers Cloe Barreto and Marco Gomez.

He plays Emil, a farmer, and Cloe as Ana is his wife. Marco as Rod is his best friend. He invites Rod to stay with him and Ana to help him in his farm, but Rod ends up tending Ana’s own “bukid”. They are supported by Chanda Romero, Lotlot de Leon and Jim Pebanco. He has daring scenes with Cloe. Would he ask his sweetheart, Vicky Rushton, to watch the sexy film with him?

“Naku, sabi ko kay Vicky, huwag na lang niyang panoorin kasi baka ma-shock pa siya dahil no holds barred ang mga eksena sa movie,” he says.

Didn’t he have any hesitation doing the sexy love scenes? “No. I’m just happy to work with Direk Joel Lamangan again, kasi may unfinished business kami ni Direk Joel, e. Siya ang una kong direktor sa isang teleserye, ‘Vietnam Rose’, noong nagsisimula pa lang in 2005. And that time, hindi pa ako handa, e. Na-starstruck pa ako sa mga kasama kong artista. Pagod din ako, wala akong energy. Lagari kasi ako sa movie and teleserye. Nagalit siya. Natakot ako sa kanya. Sobrang tinalakan niya ako.”

He got scared when Direk Joel ordered someone to get his belt. “Sabi niya, ilabas nyo yung sinturon! Akala ko hahampasin niya ako. Yun pala maghihilahan kami dun sa sinturon. Technique pala niya yon. Binuhay niya lang yung energy ko. Paraan niya para maibigay ng isang artista ang hinihingi niya sa eksena. Sabi niya, ang lakas mo palang humila. So, blessing na ibinigay itong chance na makatrabaho ko siya uli rito sa ‘Silab’, kasi gusto ko talaga siya uling makatrabaho. And I felt so happy when he told me that he’s proud of me sa trabaho ko ngayon.”

Since ‘Silab’ is about infidelity, what does he think causes it and has he ever been unfaithful? “Iba-iba naman ang factors sa infidelity. I admit, naging unfaithful ako noong araw, but now na nagkakaedad na, dapat sa isang relationship, huwag ka magkulang para hindi rin maghanap ng iba yung partner mo. Alamin mo kung ano ang mga kailangan niya and you should serve her well.”

Didn’t he have a hard time working with first time actors? “Surprisingly, parehong napakahusay nina Cloe and Marco. Hindi mukhang mga baguhan. Laging take one lang. Nakatulong din na lock-in shooting kami, so concentrated kami totally sa trabaho namin. Also, with the guidance of Direk Joel, they did really well. Malayo ang mararating nila at puede silang makipagsabayan sa kahit sa kaninong artista. I always ask them after each scene we did: okay lang ba kayo? Kasi mahirap talaga ang mga ipinagawa sa amin, and I think they did fine.”

What does he think is the message of “Silab” for married couples? “Actually, baliw ‘yung movie, e. Dumating sa point na masasabi mo… ha? Ganun? Maraming twists, e. I think ang message niya is huwag mong papasukin ang isang bagay na hindi ka sigurado. Very challenging ‘yung mga eksena namin sa movie but may tiwala kami kay Direk Joel kaya from the start, handa na kaming ibigay ang lahat ng ni-require niya sa amin.”