By Jeffrey O. Valisno
Bossa nova used to be known only to a few Filipino fans — until young singer Sitti came along, and suddenly the uptempo Brazilian music entered the mainstream pop consciousness of the country.
Soon, other artists were releasing bossa nova-themed albums, all following the lead of the then 22-year-old singer from Las Piñas. But while the copycats all suffered poor sales, Sitti continued to shine, with her albums reaching double platinum status, with sales of at least 60,000 units.
After releasing three studio albums, Sitti hopes to extend her winning streak by releasing a bossa nova-laced Christmas album called Ngayong Pasko.
Already, the 13-track album released under Warner Music Philippines is a certified gold record album, reaching sales of 10,000 units even before Sitti could formally launch it last month.
“I am just very thankful to everybody who already bought the album,” Sitti told reporters. “I am surprised that the album has already reached gold. I hope they will like listening to the album as much as I like recording the songs in it,” she added.
Featuring a healthy mix of the traditional and the new, Ngayong Pasko includes Sitti’s creative versions of “Someday at Christmas,” “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” “Jingle Bell Rock,” and “Boogie Woogie Santa Claus.”
“I grew up listening to and singing these songs,” Sitti said.
But what stands out the most is Sitti’s rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” Sitti may be known for her bossa nova vocal styling, but this track proves that Sitti can do ballads and still keep listeners interested. Having the Las Piñas Boys Choir as backup adds a sentimental flourish to an already-poignant song, making this track truly memorable.
“I am from Las Piñas, and I always dreamed of working with the Las Piñas Boys Choir,” Sitti said. “I am very honored that I got the chance to work with them now for this album,” she added.
“I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is followed in the album by another heart-warming song, “Grown Up Christmas List.” Sitti shows mastery of her voice in her version, giving each note the right attention, while staying true to the somber tone of the song.
Meanwhile, Sitti’s collaboration in the album with singer Christian Bautista also merits attention. After collaborating on the title track of Mr. Bautista’s recently released album, Captured, the two singers joined forces once more to perform “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in this album.
Instead of trying to outdo each other, Sitti and Mr. Bautista clearly showed how two beautiful voices can work together to come up with an outstanding song.
“Collaborating with others is always a joy for me,” Sitti said. “Christian (Mr. Bautista) was a natural choice for ’Baby It’s Cold Outside.’ I enjoyed working with him for his album, and it is nice that we have a chance again to work on another song, this time for my album,” she said.
Another noteworthy song is Sitti’s version of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Although the song has been very popular, thanks to the version of international pop star Mariah Carey, Sitti managed to employ her bossa nova techniques to come up with an equally beautiful version.
The album takes a bold step by including an original Christmas song in the lineup, the title track “Ngayong Pasko,” composed by former reality show contestant Lambert Reyes.
“I think that while we have so many beautiful Christmas songs, it is still nice to have an original song in the album. I consider it as my humble contribution to the wealth of Christmas songs that we already have,” she explained.
The other songs in the album are “Santa Baby,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Someday at Christmas,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and the “Christmas Song.”
“I’d long planned for this — to give something special to the fans — as grateful as I am for all the support that they had given me,” Sitti said.
Tags: Bossa, Official, Sitti, Sitti Navarro, Sittionline.com
