A Pinoy version of J. Lo

There is of course, J. Lo. At a time when it seems inconceivable to find another pop singer sporting the name Jennifer, (Jennifer wanna-be’s named Jennifer will most likely change their names to something else,) let alone somebody singing the same kind of danceable mix of pop and R&B, we come across one such girl. And she is not only named Jennifer and living in New York, like J. Lo, she is also Filipino with the very familiar surname of Cuneta.

Although their families are not that close, there is definitely a relationship between this Jennifer and the local Megastar. Jennifer’s father is the youngest brother of Sharon’s late father, Mayor Pablo Cuneta. The reason why we did not get to hear about her earlier is that her family has been living in the US of A for many years now. Like Sharon, Jennifer is pretty. She can sing. And she wants very much to be a singing star, most particularly in the Philippines.

Jennifer or J Cee, as she was first known abroad, has already had some measure of success as a singer. She performs the song Now We are Free, the love theme from the Academy Award winning film Gladiator. Those who have copies of the soundtrack album doubtless recall that after the grandiose, tragedy inducing instrumental score, there is this song titled Now We are Free by somebody named J. Cee. Well, as we recently found out, that J. Cee is none other but Jennifer Cuneta.

Aside from the Gladiator soundtrack, Jennifer also scored big with club hits like Do It for Me and What You Do, which reached the top ten in Billboard’s Club Pinoy Chart and the R&B tune Spirit Man. There is also Potion from the album Groovilicious, which made the UK Club charts, and the soon to be released Freedom.

The Club Chart though is only a small sibling for Billboard’s Hot 100 list and this elite circle is what Jennifer is aspiring for at the moment. This is the reason why she was advised to drop J. Cee, despite her success with dance hits, and use instead her full name, Jennifer Cuneta. Unlike dance or hip-hop artists, pop singers usually use their full names just like Christina Aguilera. Then maybe, when Jennifer reaches that tier in stardom when the mere mention of her first or last name cannot mean anything else, she can revert back to J. Cee like J. Lo did.

Meanwhile, alongside the massive promo program she is set to embark on this year to establish her footing as a pop singer in the US of A, Jennifer is also in the midst of making her bid for stardom in Asia. Starting points are Japan and the Philippines where her album Dreaming of Love was released last December.

Strictly pop with bit of her trademark dance expertise thrown in, the album is made up of 15 cuts that include her cover of the Buggles classic Video Killed the Radio Star. The others are her own compositions with the upbeat opening cut presented twice with an extra remix. First single out is the upbeat Chip on My Shoulder. The others are Dreaming of Love, Give You a Chance, When I Talk to You, You Want Me, Running Back to Your Arms, Please Don’t Go, Love is All We Need, In So Many Ways, Potion, her bid for the huge Latin music market. Quiero Tu Amor and the tune with the hottest chart potential, No One But Me.

All because of Valentine

The only reason I can think of for the predominantly mellow and mostly romantic composition of today’s hit charts is that Valentine’s Day is almost upon us. Or maybe, it is just the sentimental streak in Pinoy music lovers that is making itself felt after all the dancing and the merrymaking of the past Yuletide Season. But whatever it is, what most of us have been listening to these past few weeks are soulful, R&B love songs from a very pop, mostly young and sad to say, foreign artists.

Here now are the hits of the moment: Drowning by the Backstreet Boys; Queen of My Heart by Westlife; Don’t Say Goodbye, Say Goodnight by Binocular; Superman by Five for Fighting; In the End by Lincoln Party; Here by Enrique Iglesias, Tree by Lighthouse Family; I’m a Slave for You by Britney Spears, Ikaw Sana by Ogie Alcasid; and What If? by Babyface.