Christian Bautista: One of highest paid singers in PHL

Is Christian Bautista one of the top ten highest earning singers in the country? The Asian Balladeer, who is leaving for Singapore on Monday to do the series The Kitchen Musicals, believes so although he hastens to add that the actors earn more than singers because of their bigger talent fees.

"I don't like to claim that because baka manakawan na naman ako," said Christian at the presscon for his endorsement Ink All You Can which renewed his contract for another year. "I'd like to thank Universal Records because I am able to do shows in various places in Asia. Thank you to TFC (The Filipino Channel) and ABS-CBN, plus STAGES, because I am able to do shows in different places as well so I guess I do earn quite a sum so that would probably make me one of the top earning singers in the country.

"The actors get bigger talent fees compared to singers because they have more endorsements and they do teleseryes but if we are only talking about earnings as a singer, I believe I am quite comfortable with my talent fees," added Christian.

But even if he's earning a lot, Christian does know how to invest his money wisely. Instead of buying his dream car - a Chevrolet Camaro (which according to him is quite expensive) - the hunky balladeer decided to invest his hard-earned money in a business of apartments which he is renting out and selling. The property is located in Bayang Luma. Imus, Cavite, one of the small town there where Christian traces his roots.

He's setting his goals in investing in business ventures while continuing with his work as a singer. "I am not in a hurry and I am also not planning to slow down. I've told my parents to resign from their jobs but they don't want to. They still want to keep their jobs. They don't want to retire because they feel their minds might stop working, which is true. And I love them for that."

But mind you, Christian is not the breadwinner in the family although we could surmise that with his earnings in showbiz, he could provide for his family's needs.

Christian is leaving for Singapore to do The Kitchen Musicals, together with fellow STAGES talent Karylle, as well ABS-CBN contract artist Thou Reyes.

He won't be able to do ASAP XV while doing the The Kitchen Musicals and he's very thankful to ABS-CBN for giving him the green light to accept the project, for which he was handpicked for the role. "They realized that this project is a good thing for me. Otherwise, had they not given me the permission then I won't be able to do it. It's one big opportunity that would have probably gone wasted."

Doing The Kitchen Musical would further cement Christian's status as an Asian superstar and it might likewise open more opportunites for him in the Asian region. "It's an international event and I can say it's a life-changing thing for me. We will see if it would turn out as something for the better for me or not. I will be away from the Philippines for four months. In case this musical makes good, it would probably have a second season. Then I would be spending more time again in Singapore," Christian explains.

"If that thing happens, then I would have to change my mindset, that I would no longer be based in the Philippines. Like Lea Salonga, Martin Nievera and Lani Misalucha are now based abroad since there’s work for them there. Well, I can probably be based in Asia and would probably just come home to the Philippines once in a while. That is if that’s the kind of path this stint with The Kitchen Musicals would lead me to."

Christian says he would have to weigh his options as well. He says there’s no certainty as to where this stint with The Kitchen Musicals would lead him. He had a number of projects lined up that they had to push back when The Kitchen Musicals came into the picture.

While Christian expressed desire to do a soap opera, he says he opted to accept The Kitchen Musicals for the time being. "Had an offer to do a soap opera for ABS-CBN materialized or had there been second season for the talent show Star Power that we co-hosted with Ms. Sharon Cuneta, then I would probably not have been able to accept The Kitchen Musicals. I’d like to act in teleseryes or the movies perhaps. But in the absence of such projects then I might as well take on the opportunity to do something big," he said.

"It’s just a matter of telling our ABS-CBN bosses of whatever offer is presented to us. If they say yes, fine. Now, if there are no more offers abroad then I could be back to Manila and resume my career here. It is also important for me to be busy here so that the people abroad would also know that I am still visible in the entertainment scene here."

Christian will fly to Singapore for four months to shoot the first Pan-Asian musical series The Kitchen Musical, which will be aired in the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia and across 17 countries. Here, Christian will play Chef Daniel opposite fellow STAGES talent Karylle’s Chef Madeline. It’s a musical series that boasts of combining the exciting elements of a cooking show, a drama series and a musical.

Aside from the TV musical series, Christian’s full-length international movie titled A Special Symphony, shot, produced and directed by Indonesians, will premiere this August 3 in cinemas nationwide. A Special Symphony follows the story of Jayden, an aspiring Filipino singer who was forced to go to Indonesia, only to find himself discovering the true essence of his existence. "It is a heartwarming story of a teacher and his students with special needs," recounts Christian. "The movie has a lot of heart."