Glaiza de Castro will be holding her first solo major concert this October 3 at the Music Museum.
Titled Dreams Never End, Glaiza's concert will also feature Regine Velasquez as one of her guests.
Glaiza started her singing career when she was 13 years old, when she released her first album Magbalik Ka way back in 2001.
Late 2006, she released her self-titled album carrying the single “Paano,” which was used in GMA-7's musical-themed teleserye Kaputol ng Isang Awit in 2008.
In April this year, she released her third album Synthesis, which she produced herself.
During the bloggers’ conference of her concert at Book and Borders last September 10, the 27-year old actress told PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) and other reporters that she did not actually plan to hold a concert this year.
She explained, “Grabe parang until now, honestly, parang until now hindi ko pa rin siya nai-imagine na mangyari.
“Parang, ‘Ah okay, nandito na siya, totoo siya.’ Ganon!
“Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala kasi parang never ko naman pinlano na magka-concert this year.
Glaiza also shared that this concert will be her way of thanking those who supported and contributed to the success of her recently-concluded drama series The Rich Man’s Daughter (TRMD) and her album Synthesis.
“Nasa isip ko yun, na siyempre gusto ko sanang magperform eventually, mag-create o mag-produce ng show na may playlist ko, talagang hands-on ako.
“Pero it happened at the right time I think, you know because of the success of The Rich Man’s Daughter and Synthesis.
“Parang I think that I owe it to them, yung mga tao.
“So in a way, this will be my thank you letter sa mga tao na talagang sumuporta sa akin.”
The idea of having a concert started because of comments she heard when she was still part of GMA-7's now defunct Sunday musical variety show, Sunday All Stars.
“Kasi, di ba, I was doing gigs, mga mall tours, mga bar tours, ganyan.
“Tapos sa Sunday All Stars rin, kapag nagpe-perform ako, yung mga audience, [sumisigaw ng] ‘Concert! Concert!’
“Gumaganon sila na parang… ‘Guys, wag kayong ganyan!’
Glaiza and her Team Galura, composed of her family members, then decided to turn it into a reality.
“Tapos parang naiisip nga namin na ‘O, bakit nga hindi?
“Actually, parang laro lang siya na ‘Sige, tignan natin sa Music Museum kung merong free date.
“E, puno na. Nangyari lang na may nag-inform sa amin na parang, ‘Uy, libre tong date na ito, o. Kunin mo na.’
“Ayon, from the time na nakapag-down[payment] kami at saka pa lang ako nakapag-conceptualize.
“Actually, given the time, medyo masasabi kong hindi gaano kahaba yung preparation time namin. Pero in a way, naging maganda yung kinalabasan kasi ang daming tumutulong.
“It’s a collaboration between me and the supporters because as you can see, hindi siya naging posible kung hindi sa help ng Team Galura.
“Kumbaga, hindi sila yung Artist Center, or yung GMA na nagsabi na ‘Sige, blog con tayo o mag put up tayo ng something from your concert.’
“I would say na yung mga supporters na bumili ng album at pumunta sa concert yung naging way para matuloy to lahat."
COLLABORATION WITH ANGELICA PANGANIBAN. Forher Synthesis album, Glaiza collaborated with her friend, ABS-CBN actress Angelica Panganiban.
Angelica created the lyrics while Glaiza created the music.
Two songs composed by Angelica were included in the album: “Barcelona” and “Waiting Shed.”
Glaiza narrated how her collaboration with Angelica started.
“Actually si Angelica, hindi namin pinlano na mag-compose. It just happened na time niya pa yun with Derek [Ramsay, Angelica’s ex-boyfriend] and medyo marami siyang pinagdadaanan na problema.
“Kaya nga thankful ako sa music o sa kahit na anong form ng art kasi yun yung naging parang [outlet].
"Do’n ka nagdidispose, e, yun yung nagiging escape mo ng lahat kasi kung iki-keep mo lang siya lahat inside, parang mababaliw ka 'ata, e.
“Kaya siguro [ganoon] kalalim yung lyrics niya, gano’n katindi yung emotions niya.
“Kasi yung time na binabasa ko pa lang yung text message niya, parang imposibleng hindi ka ma-hit, hindi kumabit sa 'yo.
“Parang ramdam mo kaagad yung emotions, e."
Glaiza added, “Ewan ko, para siyang magic. Yung isang bagay na pure, kapag shinare mo sa iba, magkakaanak siya, magpo-produce siya ng other thing na pure din.
“So yun yung nangyari sa amin with [the song] 'Barcelona.'
“Actually apat 'yan, e. May isang song na 'Ganti,' yun yung unang song tapos 'Barcelona' tapos meron siyang London song kasi nasa London siya nang mga panahon na iyon.
“Kasi natuwa siya na nilalagyan ko ng melody yung lyrics niya. So bato lang siya ng bato sa akin. Parang ako yung, ‘Okay, ang saya! Ang daming lyrics!
“Panghuling-huli yung 'Waiting Shed,' tapos ayun, natuwa siya.
Glaiza mentioned that they want to sell their collaborations to other local artists such as Yeng Constantino and Jed Madela.
“Ano nga e, dumating sa point na gusto namin siyang ibenta sa musicians like sila Yeng [Constantino], sila Jed Madela.
“Tapos parang alam ko, nagka-interes si Jed sa isang song, tapos parang hindi natuloy lang.
“Dumating talaga kami sa point na pwede siyang maging seryosong venture. [Sabi namin]' Kung di tayo nag-aartista pwede tayong composer.'
“Tapos ngayon nga, concert na, so nakakatuwa kasi siguro yung feeling ko ngayon na hindi mo kasi talaga ineexpect, hindi mo talaga siya plinlano.
“Hindi siya as if umupo kami ng isang gabi tapos pinag-usapan namin kung paano namin gagawin yung isang bagay o paano kami gagawa ng ingay.
“So nangyari siya ng organic kaya yung feeling nakakatuwa talaga.”
She has also found a new collaboration with fellow Kapuso actress Alessandra de Rossi. Alex (Alessandra's nickname) is also passionate about producing her own music.
“Si Alex naman, since narinig ko kasi yung album niya, di ba nagpo-produce din siya ng sariling stuff niya, na-inspire ako doon na parang, ‘Itong Ale na ito, grabe din no?’
“Meron din talaga siyang…passionate din talaga siya sa music niya at saka wala siyang pakialam kung magiging successful, basta gusto niya lang gumawa.
“And noong time na pinakinggan ko yung song niya, sabi ko, ‘Siya ito!’
“Parang, ‘di mo na-imagine na kaya niya pa lang gawin at saka makakagawa pala siya ng gano’n.
Glaiza said that Alex became one of her inspirations in pursuing her music career even though she has already established herself in showbiz.
“Isa rin yun sa mga naging drive ko nung panahon na ginagawa ko [ito], na these people, they have to be told.
“And meant to be shared kung ano yung ginagawa nila behind the camera, na ito talaga sila.
“Kung paano sila sa araw araw at kung paano sila naglalabas ng saloobin nila at kung paano nila ginagawa yung isang bagay, hindi rin nalalayo sa mga normal na tao.
“Kasi baka yung pre-conceived idea ng tao [na] pagka-artista ka, nagiging mas madali lahat sa ’yo, nakahain lahat 'yan.
“Na pagka-artista ka, dahil sikat ka, nabibigyan ka kaagad ng oportunidad para mag-record, para makapagperform.
“May mga batch pa rin naman ng artists na dumadaan pa rin sa audition, ‘di ba?
“So yun siguro yung pinaka-essence nang lahat ng ginagawa namin at nakakatuwa na may opportunity para marecognize yung hidden personality nila.”
UP DHARMA DOWN AS MUSICAL INFLUENCE. Glaiza considers herself blessed to be given the opportunity to pursue her music career.
“Kasi alam naman natin na, as actors di ba? You’re a public figure and trabaho mo yun, e, na maging available ka sa TV o palagi kang makita on TV.
“And hindi kami masyadong nabibigyan, I think, ng opportunity to create our own stuff.
“So I think yun din yung pinagmumulan ng ibang artists na naka-collaborate ko sa Synthesis na meron talaga silang… hindi ko naman masasabing frustration, pero meron silang desire to make something with their own hands, yung ganon.
At this point, she mentioned the band Up Dharma Down (UDD) as one of her influences when it comes to music genre.
“Kaya siguro naging malakas yung connection ko sa UDD na ever since I started, nandoon yung purity ng music nila.
“And nakita ko kung gaano sila nagtrabaho, kung gaano sila ka hands-on with their music, with how they market their sound, at kung paano din sila pumipili ng mga movies na magiging involved sila.
“Kumbaga it’s a matter of parang knowing your niche or knowing your market and knowing where to put your sound instead of just, ‘Sige, game ako kahit saan.’
“Kasi before, I was like that, na parang gusto kong maging known yung album ko or maging known yung music ko pero wala siyang system, wala siyang direction.
“So parang now, I’m having a much clearer na parang vision of what my music will be.”
VENTURING INTO MUSIC COMPOSITION. Glaiza then expressed her desire to take up a College course involving music and song composition.
“Sa MINT [College] kasi, meron akong nakitang Music Management course.
“Parang na-realize ko na minsan, may mga proseso na di ba ang normal na proseso o ang conventional na proseso ng tao, mag-aaral siya tapos maghananap siya ng trabaho.
“Parang sa proseso namin ngayon, nakahanap kami ng trabaho, nagustuhan namin tapos pag-aaralan pa namin lalo.
“Kasi, nando’n na kami, e. Parang it will save years of finding the right job or finding the right path.
“Kasi di ba, maraming nag-aaral [for example] mag-nurse tapos mare-realize nila na, “Ay, hindi ko naman ito gusto, magsi-shift ako.’
“So parang, why not try to look for a job and then when you found your job, study it. So parang yun yung nangyayari sa akin.”
RHIAN RAMOS AS GUEST. Glaiza also has a promising lineup of guests for her October 3 concert. First is Jay-R, who also acts as her distributor, and Rhian Ramos, her love team partner in The Rich Man's Daughter.
Their love team dubbed RaStro had such a strong following that Glaiza decided to contact Rhian if she could guest in her major concert.
“Si Rhian kasi, alam naman natin yung passion ng mga RaStro kapag sila ang nag-request.
“Talagang napapaisip ka rin na parang, ‘Oo nga naman, bakit hindi?’
“Sabi ko nga, talagang malaking pasasalamat ko sa kanila and I think hindi naman ikakasama ng concert kung pagbibigyan ko sila.
“And si Rhian naman is very wiling to participate. Sabi niya nga willing naman siya magtrabaho on her birthday so sabi ko, ‘No pressure ha, parang ang dami lang kasing nagtatanong kung pupunta ka or pwede kang i-guest.’ So ayon, um-okay naman siya.
Acoustic idol Aiza Seguerra is also set to grace her upcoming concert.
“And then si Aiza kasi, since malaki yung naging following ng music ko and TRMD, parang I think, isa siya sa mga strongest people na related sa music ko, sa kung ano yung nirerepresent ng TRMD. So in a way parang tribute rin yun, e.
“Sobrang dali niyang kausap, nag-baka sakali lang ako, lumapit din naman ako sa ibang artist kasi parang tine-test ko kung sino yung puwede, sino yung okay, sino yung sasagot agad.
“So isa si Aiza sa mga tinest ko lang kung sasagot kasi siyempre, though I know her, pero not personally. I never worked with her nang matagal so nung nag-text ako sumagot agad siya. Okay!”
Concertgoers can also look forward to seeing Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez, whom she calls Ate.
Glaiza acted as Regine’s nemesis in the 2010 musical-comedy teleserye Diva.
She narrated how they were able to get Regine as a guest.
“Nanggaling 'yan sa creative team na, ‘O, bakit hindi mo i-guest si ate,' Since nakatrabaho ko siya sa Diva, sa Party Pilipinas.
‘Sabi ko, masyadong mataas si ate, parang hindi ako worthy, parang, ‘Wait lang ha, sige try ko na rin, wala namang mawawala.’
“So nagtext ako sa handler niya, tapos ang bilis niya rin sumagot!
“Parang sabi nga noong musical researcher namin, ‘O, ang lakas mo ha! Kasi napapayag mo si ate!’
“Siguro dahil nakita nila yung struggle din kung paano ko pinaglaban yung music ko.
“Alam ni Ate na habang nag Pa-Party Pilipinas pa kami, sinasabihan ko si Kuya Ogie [Alcasid] ng mga nagawa kong songs tapos humihingi ako ng advice.
“And finally, parang ngayon nakikita nila through social media and parang in a way, ‘O, kawawa naman itong batang ito,” Glaiza joked.
“In a way, parang naging inspiration ko noong time na medyo nagdo-doubt ako kung itutuloy ko ba or hindi.”