Cris Villonco grows up - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby Gil

It is difficult to say when people start getting old. Age creeps up on you. Pessimistically it is when you realize that the joints are not as supple as you thought they were. Optimistically, it is when you start believing that age is all in the mind. But it is easy to tell when little girls grow up. The hair gets styled, not cut. The shoes acquire pointed heels from which peep painted toenails. There is pink lipstick and blue eyeshadow. Then when the occasion calls for it, there is the strapless top that defies gravity and really stays up. And suddenly the little girl is gone.

It is a new and grown up Cris Villonco that we find in the new album A Girl Can Dream. Gone is little Cosette from the local production of Les Miserables. Gone too is the girl singing Paglaki Ko in the APEC promo video. You knew change was beginning to take place when she surfaced in those Pop Cola ads with Pinoy pop idol Billy Crawford. But the new look and the new sound still came as a surprise. Would you rather have Cris the way she was? Maybe. We all wish kids can stay the way they are. But since there is really no stopping the process, we might as well just brace ourselves for exciting possibilities.

Cris makes the transition from teeny bopper to pop princess in A Girl Can Dream. She is in the place currently inhabited by the likes of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. There are a few contenders on the local front but she seems to have the edge. She has the pedigree, being the grand child of well-known personality Armida Siguion Reyna. She has the looks being pretty in a Dresden doll sort of way. Best of all she has a voice which is clear and sure like a young Lea Salonga or Rachel Alejandro. This was what got her the role in Les Miz and it was what made listeners take notice of the inspiring Paglaki Ko.

The album is made up of assorted radio-friendly pop songs. They take Cris from dance, It’s You (The Problem is You) to ballads, A Girl Can Dream to a bit of the Manila Sound, P’wede Ba and even the very popular inspirational tune of the moment, the Jubilee Song, which she sings with Jose Mari Chan. She acquits herself very well in every cut but previous outings have shown that she is capable of more and you cannot help but wish she gets her hands on heavier stuff soon. One cannot really blame the producers for this though. They know she’ll have time enough for those later. The important thing now is to get those young listeners hooked to her music singing along with her. And the best way to do that is with songs that kids can relate to.

It’s You (The Problem is You) is the first single but I’d much rather go for A Girl Can Dream and Wish both of which really shows off her beautiful voice. Other cuts are Askin’ the Stars, Eyes Don’t Lie, I’ll Be Here to Love You, Di Inaakala and Do You Feel.

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Jesuit Communications Foundation has produced videos of three religious songs with the aim in view of reaching out to more people through their music. These are Humayo’t Ihayag featuring the Bukas Palad Ministry. This was used to promote the CBCP’s National Mission Congress 2000 held in Cebu last September. One More Gift with Ariel Rivera performing with the Bukas Palad Ministry, which comes from the Far Greater Love album and Hesus ng Aking Buhay performed by Himig Heswita with Vincent Martin Pinpin as soloist and which is from the album The Best of Himig Heswita. I do not know if copies of these videos are for sale but those interested might want to check out most of the local music channels where these are at present getting airplay.

Still on videos and for those who asked: Baby Songs, the recently released series of tapes featuring a combination of songs and visuals for young children that entertain and educate at the same time, is available in most video outlets, most especially Video City.