New acoustic princess hits big

With her looks and credentials, it would be so easy to imagine Princess holding her own in corporate boardrooms. The girl behind the CD Addicted To Acoustic studied in Assumption College for her elementary and high school. She then went to De La Salle and graduated with degrees in Communication Arts and Advertising Management. She continued the learning process at the University of the Philippines for her Master of Business Administration. She even went into teaching as Assistant Professorial Lecturer on Marketing and Advertising also at La Salle.

Wow, I say. And there is more to wow about the latest toast of the acoustic circuit. Princess was born with an angelic voice and looks to match. She is of mixed Chinese, Spanish and Filipino parentage. She plays the guitar and also writes songs. She also loves to sing and at this time in her life, she chose to ditch the academe in favor of recording and intimate concerts. It was a gamble that paid off in a big way. Thanks to producers Sunny and Sherbet Ilacad and Vicor Music, who took the risk, Princess now has the biggest selling and most played CD in the country.

Addicted to Acoustic is actually formulaic. Industry veteran Sunny picked out 18 of today’s most popular tunes for Princess. He next gave these new jazzy, acoustic arrangements featuring the guitar. Then Princess sang them all in her light, breezy style. It all seems so ordinary but get a copy and you will instantly find out what a winner this CD turned out to be. This is pure listening pleasure of the sweetest sort from the get-go of the first cut, Beyoncé’s Single Ladies down to the unlikely closer Decode by Paramore.

Aside from the voice of Princess and Sunny’s simple but effective arrangements, Addicted to Acoustic is also a triumph of melody. All of the songs in the album have beautiful melodies. This is what great songwriting is really all about and what a lot of new composers seem to have forgotten. Did you ever think that I Hate This Part by the Pussycat Dolls is actually a soulful ballad without the embellishments? If there is a good melody, as in If I Were A Boy by Beyoncé or Akon’s Right Now Na Na Na which is one of the best cuts in the CD, you can pare down the arrangement to its most basic and the song will still work. Of course, it also helps if somebody who sounds like Princess does the singing.

Also included in Addicted to Acoustic are Thinking Of You by Katy Perry; With You by Chris Brown; I’m Yours by Jason Mraz; Love Story by Taylor Swift; Crush by David Archuleta; T-Shirt by Shontelle; Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis; Bug by The Jonas Brothers; Say It Again by Marie Digby; Realize by Colbie Caillat; The Time of My Life by David Cook; Ordinary People by John Legend; and Thunder by Boys Like Girls.

If you are among those who like light acoustic jazz sounds on your player, then you might want to check out Feels So Good. This two-CD set is a real budget saver. It is a compilation of 28 popular songs performed in a jazzy manner by various artists. With bossa nova, Mas Que Nada by Tamba Trio; standards Autumn Leaves by Chet Baker; and pop favorites We’ve Only Just Began by Joanna Wang. It also serves as an excellent sampler for which albums to look for if you want more of the same. Best of all, this is the sort you can just put it in the machine, forget about and still have great music throughout your day.

Cuts include Third Time Lucky by Basia; I Will Be Blessed by Lisa Ekdahi; Voce E Eu by Carlos Lyra; ‘S Wonderful by John Pizzarelli; Girl From Ipanema by Lisa Ono & Joao Donato; Aguas De Marco by Stan Getz; So Nice (Samba de Verao) by Ellaine Elias; Besame Mucho by Rosa Passos; Forever In Love by Kenny G; My Cherie Amour by Marion Meadows; Desafinado by Lisa Ono; Daybreak by Lisa Ekdahi; Waters of March by Basia; Duet For Lovers by Sadao Watanabe; Do I Love You? by Jane Monheit; Night And Day by Keiko Lee; As Time Goes By by Steve Tyrell; Tamara by Warren Hill; and Caravan of Dreams by Peter White.