Christian gears up for groundbreaking projects

MANILA, Philippines - After eight years in showbiz, Christian Bautista has successfully established himself as one of the most celebrated musical acts of his generation. His latest album

Romance Revisited

from Universal Records received the elusive Quadruple Platinum Record Award for its outstanding sales, a rarity in the recording industry in recent years. Because of its success, a DVD of the album’s music videos has also been released.

Romance Revisited: The Music Video Collection, which received two awards from the recently-concluded 2011 MYX Music Awards (Favorite Mellow Video for I Remember the Girl and Favorite Remake, Beautiful Girl), is now available at all music stores nationwide.

“2010 has been a good year for me and my career, especially with the immense success of Romance Revisited. I remain very grateful to all my kababayan who supported these albums, including A Wonderful Christmas,” said Christian during the press conference for his latest DVD. “For 2011, I am excited because I know it is a groundbreaking year.”

Christian admits that after the highly-successful Jose Mari Chan Tribute Album, he feels a bit of a pressure for his next album. However, he is not backing out on this challenge.

“My next album is very important, but rather than be pressured, I am choosing to be excited about it,” shares the Asiansation. “With my bosses in Universal Records, We are collecting materials for my next album. It’s a tedious process, but I am enjoying it.”

He will also record a duet with former West Side Story leading lady Karylle — Say It Somehow, the love theme of the musical Light in the Piazza. STAGES is producing the musical in July with Karylle as the lead star.

Aside from his recording career, 2011 also marks Christian’s return to movie acting via the international film Jayden’s Choir. He was last seen in the movie Mano Po 5 in 2006.

This year, he is also set to do a teleserye.

“I will be undergoing a number of workshops to better prepare me for the demands of TV and movie acting,” enthuses the aspiring actor. “I really want to act. I am ready to commit to the acting craft.”

Christian, elected OPM VP for special projects, is also busy with various organization projects, specifically the first OPM Fair in July.

“It is high time for everyone in the music industry to hold hands and work towards the betterment of OPM,” says Christian. “I am inspired by the dedication that Kuya Ogie (Alcasid, OPM president) has for this cause. He is a very good leader — approachable yet firm.”

After making his presence felt in the whole Southeast Asian region, Christian hopes to penetrate Europe soon.

“Libre naman mangarap,” jokingly shares Christian. “We were there (in Europe) a few weeks ago, and we saw that the trend there leans towards ballads. Who knows? There’s no harm in trying. I just want to share to them our music.”