Christopher’s other career

Today’s generation – or even those of his era – may be surprised to find out that Christopher de Leon actually sings. He always had – except that his singing had always taken the backseat to his acting career.

I remember Christopher performing in quite a number of musical specials and even awards presentations in the past and was good at what he was doing.

In the early ’80s, he even did a musical with Juno Henares: the second local adaptation of They’re Playing Our Song (the first to do it were Leah Navarro and Bernardo Bernardo) at the Manila Hotel.

Below, I asked Christopher a series of questions – no, not about the movies for a change – but about his singing career.

From which parent did you get your musical genes – Lilia Dizon or the late Gil de Leon?

From both actually, my dad was a singer at the Manila Grand Opera House before World War II and my mom was a singer in her time.

Why didn’t you pursue a singing career back then? Maybe you could have done it along with acting? Wasn’t that possible?

Well, I was pretty much into singing also. Many years ago, I was with a band named The Blitz for some time. I was also with the group Bananas where we did a lot of concerts and shows here and abroad. There were several movies where I played the role of a singer or musician and sang in the soundtrack albums or even in the film. Of course, during movie promos and awards shows, I would also sing and TV and concert guestings were abundant. Mas napansin lang siguro yung mga movies.

Can you name your Top 5 favorite songs – five local, five foreign?

Too many to mention but foreign songs would include Sting’s Be Still My Beating Heart, Holy Mother, Elvis songs, KC and the Sunshine Band songs.

As for the local songs, most are in my album: Bituing Walang Ningning, Paraisong Parisukat, Sisikat Din Ako, Hanggang, Pangarap Ko Ang Ibigin Ka.

What finally convinced you to come up with your own CD? How did this project come about?

It had been a dream to have a solo album of my own and I thought of this legacy as my way of thanking all the movie viewers and audiences who have supported my movies for the past 30 years.

I first recorded three songs as demo (Sisikat Din Ako, Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga and Hanggang) and submitted them to a few recording companies. Viva took instant interest and Boss Vic signed me up immediately.

Who thought of the concept of movie theme songs for your CD?

Matagal na itong concept na ito sa utak ko. But I wasn’t known as a recording artist, so it didn’t push through. But I always told myself that if I were really to record an album, it would be the soundtrack theme songs of my favorite movies.

How did you select the songs considering that you’ve done a lot of movies with really unforgettable theme songs?

That was the hardest part, making a long list then scrapping some of them since they all couldn’t fit in one album. There were many things I took into consideration when we (Viva, my producer and myself) finalized the lineup.

First, we considered the buying public who will support the album. So the songs must be familiar.

Second, we thought of the current music trend. Medyo uso pa rin ang acoustic that’s why many songs are arranged in an acoustic manner. Others, like the Willy Cruz songs, have very beautiful melodies, so medyo orchestra-inspired ang arrangements.

Third, we had to balance the leading ladies para naman walang magtampo, so may theme songs dito ng movies namin ni Vilma (Sinasamba Kita and Hanggang from Dekada ‘70), Nora (Beloved), Hilda (Umaga na Naman and Tuwing Umaga from Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising), Regine (You Are My Song from Wanted Perfect Mother and Pangarap Ko Ang Ibigin Ka), Sharon (Bituing Walang Ningning, Sana’y Maghintay) and siyempre Sisikat Din Ako where I met my wife Sandy Andolong in this movie (Kakabakaba Ka Ba), etc.

One movie you did (with Alma Moreno) in the ’70s was Paraisong Parisukat, which had a wonderful theme song. Why wasn’t it included? I even remember you sing it in one special a long, long time ago.

We didn’t forget that. It’s one of my top favorites that was written by Ryan Cayabyab. But I wanted to record Iduyan Mo (from Aguila) at once as a tribute to FPJ and my parents. There are many movie themes that I hope I can do. Viva has opened the possibility of a book two. So if this album does well, we will record the other favorite songs, including Paraisong Parisukat.

How did you convince Sharon Cuneta to sing a duet with you in this album? How was it working with her – musically this time?

I’m very grateful to Shawie. I called her when we decided we wanted to do Sana’y Maghintay as a duet. It wasn’t hard convincing her. She said yes at once so I’m really grateful because our duet is one of the highlights of the album. I’d like to think our voices blend well.

How long did you work on this CD? What were the difficulties you encountered?

Honestly, no difficulties were encountered, as far as I was concerned. Lahat ng aspeto tama, swak talaga. The musical arrangers, the choice of songs, all the people involved in this album, Sharon and Regine easily saying yes to the duets... Lahat ito walang naging problema kaya magaan yung feeling nang natapos yung album. The only reason why we weren’t able to finish it at once was because I had to finish some movie commitments. I was doing several TV series, may trips abroad. Ganun lang yung naging delay, but otherwise, you can say I breezed through the album.

Did you have to take voice lessons for this? What were your preparations?

No formal voice lessons. My only request was to ask for the minus one a few days before our recording so when I reached the studio, naaral at na-emote ko na yung song. It was just a matter of hitting the right note which was not easy because I was very hard on myself. Di pwedeng may sabit kahit konti. To my standards, it had to be perfect so there were songs I’d go back to because I wasn’t happy. Sabi kasi ni Eloisa Matias, my producer, I and even my grandchildren will listen to the album for the rest of our lives. Hindi rin pala ako nagpupuyat kung may recording the next day so my voice is in good condition.

Is there a second CD coming up soon?

Hopefully, soon!

How serious are you with this new career? If it comes into conflict with your acting job, which are you going to choose?

I am actually at a crossroad now. I really enjoy singing. I think I’m going to keep singing for a little while.