Kyla’s Very Best

Last Nov. 20, Kyla marked her 15th year in the business with a successful concert appropriately titled Flying High. It was a celebration of her achievements and a time for her to reflect on everything that she’s been through in the past decade and a half of her career.

Looking back on all of that, Kyla said she feels “very, very happy” and “very fulfilled” because — and this is true — 15 years is quite long for a singer. “I’m just happy and glad I’m still here and can still entertain people.”

The concert itself could be considered one of her biggest achievements, especially with the crowd reaction she got (one of her numbers, her rendition of How High the Moon, a song originally performed by Ella Fitzgerald in which Kyla scatted for nearly five minutes, earned her a standing ovation). Flying High, which was staged at the Kia Theater, was Kyla’s first time back on the concert stage in 10 years, and her audience could really feel how excited she was that night. It was an unforgettable night indeed, and one she will remember for a long time. But Kyla reflects that of the many things she’s done, the albums, the songs and the awards, nothing is sweeter than the first time.

“Para sa akin, lahat ng pinagdaanan kong achievements, awards, albums, lahat ‘yon pantay-pantay, but if I really need to pick one that stands out, it would probably be the very first award,” she says. “It might not necessarily be the biggest, but it’s definitely the most memorable.”

Kyla has won a number of awards in her 15 years in the business, but she doesn’t intend to just rest on her laurels. Her mentors in the industry have always encouraged her to keep going, to keep writing songs and exploring different music genres. She and her management are putting plans in place for the next phase of her career; these include recording another album, doing more movie and teleserye theme songs after On the Wings of Love and possibly even going international and reaching out to audiences abroad.

This is something she personally believes in as an artist, the importance of staying on her feet and to keep moving forward and doing new things to stay relevant. “Lagi akong sinasabihan ng mga musikero to keep writing songs, and I believe it’s worked for me,” she says. “I never really stopped making new music, experimenting and exploring different genres. That’s what makes things exciting.”

Kyla is very satisfied with where she is at present in terms of both her married life and her career. Married life, she shares, is “very, very good”; her husband Rich Alvarez is very supportive. He has never asked Kyla to give up what he knows she loves and enjoys doing, and is very proud of her.

“Actually, ang swerte ko kasi he’s very supportive about my career and gives me lots of advice. It’s been good also because for the last four years, we’ve traveled quite a lot, with our baby, we’ve explored a lot together, marami kaming natututunan together.”

She may have been around for 15 years, but Kyla feels that now, the next phase of the game is just beginning. She has so many ideas, so many things she wants to do, but the overriding feeling is that she needs to do something major as her way of giving back to the people who’ve helped her reach this career milestone. “Feeling ko I need to do something big na tatatak talaga, na ‘Yes, 15 years na.’ I want to do something nice dahil alam ko maraming ine-expect sa akin.”

That is why she gives her best in every recording, show and performance. Her latest album, My Very Best, is a compilation of the songs she’s done in the last 15 years, some of which are collaborations with other artists. There are so many memorable songs — “kung pwede nga sana kahit dalawang CDs eh” — that she really wouldn’t mind releasing another album soon.

Even after nearly two decades, she still gets excited each time she’s on stage. “Sabik na sabik pa rin ako,” she declares.

Kyla continues to work and to dream, and is happy and content. “Oh yes,” she says with a happy smile, “nandito ako sa point ng life ko, where I’m really happy and content kung nasaan ako. Everything I need sa career ko, nasa akin na. I’m just really happy to be here.”