Looking out for La Diva

MANILA, Philippines - “Don’t let the shouts of the crowd overwhelm you. Just focus and sing from the heart.”

That’s the advice of La Diva’s Jonalyn Viray to Zyrene Parsad, when she sings the national anthem before an international crowd at Manny Pacquiao’s fight against Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13 (Nov. 14, Manila time).

Jonalyn remembers that day, almost a year ago when she and fellow La Diva members Maricris Garcia and Aicelle Santos stood before boxing fans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas to sing the national anthem in Pacquiao’s fight against Miguel Cotto.

“There was no monitor; the speakers stood far from us. So the sound came to us was a bit delayed. It was hard for the three of us since we had to blend our voices. Thank God we pulled through.”

Maricris adds, “It was hard to concentrate because people were shouting and cheering. Others were booing.”

It gave them the scare of their lives, but that stint gave La Diva the worldwide exposure any group would give its right arm to get.

Performing in big venues outside the country, like Los Angeles, Hong Kong — and soon, the Middle East —   has since become a walk in the park for the all-girl trio.

So, too, it seems, is winning awards. This month, La Diva won two trophies from the second PMPC Star Awards. The first was for Best Group of the Year, and the second was Best Music Video of the Year for their debut album’s carrier single Kasiping Ka.

Aliw Awards added another feather in the group’s cap when it gave La Diva Best Group Performance in a Concert honors for its first concert, Only La Diva.

The group won the People’s Choice Award at the Awit last year.

It’s an out-and-out vindication for a trio some sectors thought they would never make it when they started out in the defunct noontime show, S.O.P.

The group happens to be at the right place, at the right time. Boy bands are all over the place. But no one has come up with an all-girl group since the days of Vanna Vanna years ago. It was easy for La Diva to fill a void when they came along in 2008.

Now, Jonalyn, Maricris and Aicelle not only do what they first set out to do when each of them emerged as solo acts after becoming grand champions and runner-up, respectively in Pinoy Pop Superstar.

They’ve also shed their long gowns for sexier minis and even bra tops as regulars of GMA’s noontime Sunday show Party Pilipinas.

The gown-to-mini change is big deal for them.

“We were used to dressing manang-style,” recalls Aicelle. But no way can you remain conservative when you’re in the hip, upbeat Party Pilipinas. And no way can you stick to singing alone.

So it took some time before the trio settled down to its Sunday routine.

“It was hard at first,” petite Jonalyn admits. “It was challenging to sing and dance at the same time. I was panting a lot.”

Maricris jests, “We blame it on Lady Gaga. When we had a hard time at rehearsals, we’d justify everything by saying that we’re singers, not dancers.”

But regular rehearsals and practices can work wonders. The girls slowly shed their inhibitions and felt more at home before the camera.

“But we don’t consider ourselves sexy,” insists Maricris.

After all, they’re in TV shows to sing, not to dance. It’s nice to try dancing and even hosting now and then. But the girls are happy being tagged as singers, thank you.

Jonalyn is the soprano, Maricris the mezzo soprano and Aicelle the alto of the group. Sometimes, the lines blur when the song, and their vocal coach call for it.

“We complement each other,” observes Jonalyn.

Otherwise, no way can they perform well on provincial tours and local and international shows (plans for a concert in California in January or February are being finalized).

Then, too, it’s easier for their sound to evolve — from belting to other styles like R&B and even rap.

“We must always offer something new and different to keep the audience interested,” says Maricris.

She, Jonalyn and Aicelle hope they can make the audience ask for more from them the way all-girl band Destiny’s Child has kept people at the palm of their dainty hands.

“Beyoncé is our favorite idol in Destiny’s Child,” Jonalyn and Maricris chorus.

“I hope we can last as long as the APO (Hiking Society) has,” adds Aicelle.

So far, so good. But La Diva is not about to rest on its laurels.

“Yes, we feel the pressure. We can’t be complacent. We have to perform even better,” says Maricris.

“Our latest award inspires us to work harder so we can please more people,” states Aicelle.

Read: You ain’t seen nothin’ yet. For La Diva, the journey has just begun.