The queen's in the house

CEBU, Philippines - Sexy house siren Bonnie Bailey still had the Cebu hang-over when she tweeted this days after her recent concert at the Mariner’s Court Convention Hall: “Cebu you were one rocking live wire! 5,000 fans singing every word gave me chills!”

Like most club music artists, Bonnie rose to fame even as most people knew only her songs and not her face. That’s why it’s not surprising that even non-fans of the house genre would instantly recognize and sing along to her Beach House anthem “Ever After”, a global dance club favorite even up to this day.

And now we’re slightly weathered, we’re slightly worn/Our hands grip together, eye to eye through the storm, yet/I still believe in ever after with you, yeahhhhh /Cuz life is a pleasure with you by my side/And there ain’t no current in this river we can’t ride/I still believe in ever after with you

The first question we asked the singer-songwriter in an interview at Pancake House at the Ayala Terraces was the story behind her hit composition “Ever After”. “It was written when I was in a relationship and we had to go through good times and bad times. There was a struggle to where it was going to go. I wanted to get through and keep on going,” said the charming artist.

Is she that way in real life, persevering through a relationship despite rocky curves like what her song harps about? “Yes absolutely, if it’s with the right person. But there is a fine line between someone who is worth it and someone who isn’t treating you right. If a person gives to the relationship as much as you do, then you can bring it to as far as you can possibly go. But not if the person keeps mistreating you. Love doesn’t happen with every guy.”

Bonnie gushed about the people of Cebu, saying everyone she met was warm, kind and passionate. During her concert here, she was joined by turntable masters from Cebu, DJs Hans, Bong and Marvin and Boracay’s DJ Surf. Earlier, she held a meet and greet at the Ayala Activity Center where she obliged fans with photo-ops and autographs.

“I have a lot of fans on Facebook. They’re so sweet and they write all the time. I got my first impression of Cebuanos from there. It’s amazing, incredible and overwhelming! I absolutely love performing in the Philippines because there is a certain kind of energy and love from the audience.”

After concert night, Bonnie was off to Nalusuan Island for some tropical R&R.

Bonnie grew up in Glen Cove, Long Island, New York. She’s a multiracial American, with her mom being part Spanish-Japanese, while her dad is part Italian-German. It was at age four when she took interest in singing, and it helped that her parents encouraged her passion.

“I used to watch Shirley Temple, learn all the songs and sing them on a coffee table to my mom and dad. Then I got into school plays. I got the lead role during my senior year in high school. I was singing and I was happy. It was there that I really fell in love with music.”

Then at 16, Bonnie met Grammy award-winning record producer Ric Wake who was stunned by her talent. He developed her as an artist so that by 19, she released an alternative rock style album titled “St. Marks Place.”

“I was into alternative rock music like The Cranberries and Alanis Morisette. I had the singer-songwriter phase with the acoustic guitar. So I came from that background. I didn’t intend to go into dance music.”

How did she eventually transform from alternative rock artist to dancefloor diva?

“A friend of mine brought me into the club and said, ‘I’ll bet you’ll be doing dance music after this!’ I said, ‘Yeah, okay.’ We went out and the feeling of the music was really fun! That was the moment that I welcomed that kind of music into my life. It’s amazing, it moves me. When I hear it, I just wanna dance. I listen to Dido, with acoustic guitars and ethereal sounds on the background and I loved that!” recounted Bonnie, who also shared to being a huge fan of Tori Amos and Bjork.

Later on, Bonnie’s personal style of music evolved, so she scouted for a new music partner and producer. She was then introduced to Eric Kupper. They recorded an album and after submitting a track for a Hed Kandi compilation, she was signed on to the massive Dance label Hed Kandi.

Her first billboard hit “Everywhere” topped the charts in about 10 countries worldwide, as well as her dance singles “Millions of Milkshakes”, “Fall into My Heart” and “Kingdom of Pretty”.

Despite her songs being a staple of club spots, Bonnie’s lifestyle isn’t ruled by daily nightouts and partying. She prefers scenes that are less wild and more down-to-earth.

“I sort of went into a phase. The New York scene wasn’t as cool at that time. I went out for six months and didn’t like clubs and didn’t want to be around them. When I signed up with Hed Kandi, I was performing in clubs almost every night but not really partying. When I moved to LA, they have an amazing underground scene. They’re very warm, welcoming and down-to-earth people. You’ll find me in LA clubs once in a while ‘coz I do enjoy dancing,” she said.

Before the year ends, Bonnie is set to release her latest album “Twisted Sunshine,” some track samples of which are already available on YouTube. “I’ve been working hard on it. The album has a good vibe,” she shared.

Of her song-writing process, Bonnie revealed that ideas strike her in different ways. “For ‘Kingdom of Pretty’ and even ‘Ever After’, the melody came first. Every time I would get into the shower, the ‘Kingdom of Pretty’ chorus would play in my head all the time. Then I start writing the melody. Sometimes the lyrics come first or somebody will give me a track. I’m working right now with Chris Malinchak of Hot 22. He made the track for ‘Fall Into My Heart’ and I added the melody and lyrics.”

Writing is actually one of Bonnie’s other serious passions, aside from singing. She wrote in her blog how she came up with her first real short story at about 7 or 8 years old. It was about some kids who hunted for treasure on an island. It wasn’t the most original topic, but she made up for it with a construction paper cover, illustrations and even a thrilling blurb on the back cover about what to expect inside. Her mom said then that she was destined to be a writer, and that remark apparently stuck with her.

In fact, Bonnie is currently working on a book that has the same title as her upcoming album, “Twisted Sunshine”.

“It’s inspired by true stories and by a lot of things I went through. Some parts are mine and some parts are from other places. I love writing. I want it to be more than a story of an artist. I want to tell people that it always wasn’t easy. You have to go through things in life to appreciate what you have. Especially for young kids who think that dreams are so far away. You have to try to reach whatever your goals are, reach for the sun,” said Bonnie, who hopes to one day make novel-writing her bread and butter.

For all the diehard Bonnie Bailey fans out there, she’s very active online, making it a point to reply to every comment or message she gets from her over 10,700 Facebook fans. So one can easily interact with her and share their thoughts on her music.

“The music industry is not an easy business. What makes it worth it is to get emails and messages from people who appreciate what you do. I really find it gratifying and humbling,” ended the Queen of House.