Last Sunday, I had a priviledge to interview the Asian Sensation Christian Bautista as he adds another feather to his cap as he launches his first international album Outbound. Universal Records in Cooperation with Orange Magazine TV held its bloggers conference at the Universal Records Office in QC.
Was able to ask the first few questions with him and surprised that aside from real charmer, he is a funny and amiable to interact with.
Rod: Can you describe how big you are right now in Asia?
Christian: Well, I can say that I was able to hit a few market in Singapore and Malaysia but in Indonesia, that is where we conquered a bigger market. And now that Kitchen Musical will be televised in around 15 to 20 countries, thats a big market for us too. I would say Im happy with the crowd because they know the songs! Yun ung fulfilling.
Rod: Are you done shooting with the Kitchen Musical?
Christian: Yes.
Rod: Does the series will have its second season?
Christian: Uhm, we are trying to look on the agreement, but for now wala pa. We’re hoping kase the responses are very overwhelming.
CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA starred in his first international film A Special Symphony. He is part of the first Pan-Asian musical TV series The Kitchen Musical. He is also the only recording artist to receive a 4x Platinum Record Award for Romance Revisited: The Love Songs Of Jose Mari Chan for 2011. He worked with Grammy-nominated pianist Jim Brickman, K-Pop R&B trio One Way, and fronted for the concerts of K-Pop sensations Rain and 2NE1. He also topbilled jampacked concerts here and abroad. He also has numerous endorsements tucked under his belt coupled with billboards all over the Metro and has consistently won numerous awards and citations.
ALBUM: Outbound
OUTBOUND features Christian’s collaboration with music producers and artists he met and worked with from the United States, Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia. The album consists of eight songs which is a good mix of slow and upbeat ballads. The first single All That’s Left offers Christian’s new, bolder sound, and further proves that he is more than just a balladeer.
“Slowly nag-build up kasi ‘yan because of The Kitchen Musical. Parang nabigyan ako ng confidence to try something na kakaiba, na mas current na contemporary. So I told myself, sige let’s try this,” says Christian.
“But that doesn’t mean that I’ll turn my back on my ballads.”
While taping for The Kitchen Musical, Christian never stopped to get in touch with some of the region’s movers in the music industry until he met Tat Tong, composer of the anthemic All That’s Left.
In a phone interview, Christian shares, “Tat Tong kasi is a friend of Kewei [Tay]. Kewei and I did a duet for Please Be Careful With My Heart in Singapore. She later on, introduced me to Tat. And then through e-mail, I asked him: ‘Hey! I’m coming up with a new album. Do you have songs?’ So he gave us one [and] we all liked it. After that, we told him na, ‘Okay, make three more! Haha. [And] With Tat Tong kasi, steady lang kami e. We would throw ideas and stuff. And if it doesn’t work out, we would always tell na okay let’s do the thing tomorrow. We write and write and we never stop…”
And write they did. The remarkable results were All That’s Left and the other song Unphotographable.
Tat’s other masterpieces-original songs in Outbound include What Can I Do and his masterful arrangement on Christian’s cover of George Michael’s Faith, which is very special for Christian because it was used in his first big solo number in The Kitchen Musical.
Aside from Christian’s collaborations with Tat, Outbound gathers its noteworthy works with Grammy-nominated multi-platinum instrumentalist Jim Brickman for Never Far Away, the K-Pop R&B trio One Way for Wrong Number, Indonesian songwriter Satrio for the hit song I’m Already King, and with Avex Japan’s amazing Baby M for the lovely duet Sakura.
Christian’s music videos always feature familiar and beautiful female celebrities: from Anne Curtis, Georgina Wilson, Solenn, and Angel Locsin (in Beautiful Girl) to Christine Reyes (in I Remember The Girl) to Paula Taylor (in Tell Me Your Name) to Carmen Soo (in Afraid for Love to Fade) to Angelica Panganiban (in Nakaraang Pasko) to Sarah Geronimo (in Please Be Careful With My Heart).
In All That’s Left, it features CosPlay Queen Alodia Gosiengfiao. When asked what’s like working with her, Christian says, “Alodia’s beautiful, she’s talented, she stayed up with us [from] 8 PM to 8 AM. We danced all night long until 3 AM. It was fun.”
And while it’s apparent that Outbound has drawn him out of his comfort zone, Christian admits that it does not mean he will stop being a balladeer. As a performer, Christian believes he’s improved, but he’s not reached his peak. “Honestly, I do feel that I’m at my best so far. [But] I just hope I’m not at my best.”
Outbound is out now in all major record bars nationwide under Universal Records.
TRACKLISTING:
1. All That’s Left
2. Unphotographable
3. Faith
4. I’m Already King
5. What Can I do
6. Never Far Away
7. Wrong Number
8. Sakura
Christian Bautista’s Bloggers’ Conference is brought to you by Universal Records in cooperation with Pinoy Magazine and official online partner Orange Magazine TV. Special thanks to Ever Bilena Blackwater.
FREE Christian Bautista “ALL THAT’S LEFT” Ringback Tone! For GLOBE users text UD344 and send to 2332. For SMART users text FALT and send to 2728. Text GetSong[space]6151903 to 2728 for SUN users (P15 for 15 days).
FOLLOW CHRISTIAN BAUTISTA:
Christian Bautista Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/xianbautista
Christian Bautista Twitter: http://twitter.com/xtianbautista
The Kitchen Musical Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/TKMOfficial
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