The Whistling Diva

If there is one thing positive about the current onslaught of reality-based singing contests on television, it is that it’s a potent ground for discovering and developing fresh musical talents – aspiring singers who might not have the chance to shine any other way.

One such pleasant discovery is Shanna Hife, a February finalist on the ABS-CBN 2 talent search Star in a Million. Indeed, Shanna has all the odds against her. She didn’t grow up pampered and privileged. She’s petite and morena in a town that worships the statuesque and mestizo.

Still, Shanna has pure, unadulterated talent going for her. When she starts to sing, she can make even the harshest of critics feel optimistic for the beleaguered music industry. Converted, really, because there is something spiritually uplifting about the power of her voice. Yes, such a soaring voice to offer a direct line to the Almighty.

Musical director Gerard Salonga, who was one of the more stringent jurors on Star in a Million, often put Shanna to task, "for sounding like Celine Dion and Mariah Carey." Gerard can really be tough, Shanna acknowledges. "He even gave a zero score to the others."

Finally, when Shanna sang a song straight from her heart, without the Celine or Mariah baggage on her back, she managed to impress the finicky judge. "He told me that he actually liked the way I sounded," she recounts in the vernacular. "The real sound of my voice."

Shanna is unruffled by even the most hurtful of criticisms and, in fact, turns such negative comments into something positive and constructive. "That pushes me to strive to be even better," she admits. "To improve from my last performance. I get to learn from my mistakes. I really learn a lot."

Such a good-natured attitude would surely help Shanna go a long, long way in the highly competitive world of show business. From all discernible indications, Shanna is coping beautifully in spite of the twin challenges of competing on Star in a Million and being part of the comedy-band K and the Boxers. "They are very supportive," she says of her bandmates. "In fact, they even allow me not to join the gigs on Friday nights, to help me conserve my voice for the Saturday contest."

True to form, Shanna looks at her shows with K and the Boxers as yet another productive way to spend the rest of her week. "Performing onstage with K and the Boxers allows me to rehearse with an actual band, with an actual audience," she affirms. "It’s a big help. I get to rehearse in an actual live performance set-up." Nothing beats that, really.

Also, her bandmates never tire in giving her tips on performing on stage. "They tell me if I did well or if I didn’t do a good job," she notes.

Although she is a relative newcomer in the band, Shanna has blended beautifully with the rest of the multi-talented troupe: Kakai Brosas, Daniel Lardizabal, and Cris Samonte. "At first, I couldn’t stop laughing even onstage," Shanna relates. "They’re so good in comedy that I find myself just watching them even though I am also onstage with them. I couldn’t sing because I couldn’t stop myself from giggling."

Needless to say, K and the Boxers are extremely proud of their baby, the newest addition to the gang. "She is amazing singer," Daniel confirms. "She is a powerful belter," Kakai states. "She is one of the rare few who can do the whistle," Cris points out. "It’s even higher than the head tone."

That’s why she’s called the Whistling Diva on Star in a Million because she can reach places (and octaves) only the likes of Minnie Ripperton and Mariah Carey would dare scale.

Shanna gets along just as famously with her fellow Star in a Million contestants.

In fact, she is also considered as the baby in the group because she is the most petite and fragile-looking. "I’m the shortest," she chortles. "At first, they thought I was quiet and shy. Later on, after I opened up, they realized that I could also be super talkative and super kulit. Every time I open my mouth to tell a joke, they can’t stop laughing." Shanna has always relied on good humor to insulate herself from the pain and poverty of her childhood.

During the press conference for Star in a Million, Shanna couldn’t help but shed tears as she recalled her family’s struggling days. "When they started asking me about my past, I cried because I remembered everything my family and I had to go through," she explains.

They’ve been through the wringer, so to speak.

From their home province of Sorsogon, Shanna’s family moved back to Manila, where her father worked as a construction worker and her mom sold snacks. They lived in a shanty town beside the railroad tracks. They lived under the bridge, beside an open sewer, "an estero." She even helped her parents sell bibingka. Hers is a modern-day, thoroughly Pinoy Cinderella story.

But now, since she is on the verge of bigger and brighter prospects (because of Star in Million and K and the Boxers), the Whistling Diva can also choose to live happily ever after.

Just like Cinderella.