Sitti takes a break from bossa

MANILA, Philippines - When Sitti Navarro first got tagged as the country’s Queen of Bossa Nova some years back, the title made her uneasy so much so she would ask for it to be removed from media releases or introductions before her performances.

“At first I requested people to take it out because the label made me uncomfortable. I felt that I still had to go through a lot to deserve it. Feeling ko marami pa akong dapat kainin para matawag na queen,” shares the singer.

But what validation a decade has given Sitti. She released a series of best-selling albums beginning with Cafe Bossa in 2006 that didn’t just reintroduce the genre but also sparked a craze that resulted to singers following suit. And the title — perhaps not quite age-appropriate for a singer who is only 26 years old — she has laid claim to it by her own merit. Her lush and lilting vocals and sweet mien on and off stage proved to be a good fit for the genre’s signature soothing and subdued sound. “I never claimed that my bossa nova was authentic. The kind of bossa I’m doing is very personalized. I fell in love with bossa because masaya siyang kantahin,” Sitti says.

 The interest in the bossa might have subsided these days and the bossa artists that mushroomed after her might have faded out, but not Sitti. She is celebrating the 10th year of her singing career —  prior to her foray to the mainstream, she spent five years as a lounge singer — with a concert titled Sitti... Ang Aking Awitin at the Music Museum tonight.

Because continued growth as an artist also requires being unafraid to explore new territory, Sitti is taking a breather from the music that has largely defined her career. Among her guests in the concert are Rico Blanco, Duncan Ramos, Jett Pangan with the special participation of DJ Dense Modesto and the Whiplash Dancers. Given her choice of guest performers, viewers can expect rock duets and dance numbers. 

“It’s going to be an all-OPM concert. I’ve never done it before. It’s not really a departure from bossa. I just want to show a different side of me,” Sitti says.

The theme of the concert would make a good follow-up to her most recent, self-titled album that came out last June. While the album features songs that had a bossa treatment, it’s composed of more easy-listening tracks, which were specially written for her by such composers as Gary Granada and former Sugarfree frontman, Ebe Dancel. She also penned two songs herself in the album, End It With You and Baby I’m In Love.

Songwriting is one of her foremost goals as her career enters its first decade.

“I just wanna improve as an artist, not just (be confined to) bossa. I wanna write and write more songs. I also wanna go back to theater, the last one I did was Spring Awakening in 2009.”

Sitti, who just came from a successful US concert tour with the ASAP Sessionistas, reveals that she nearly snagged the title role of the epic musical-film Emir, but had to give it up because it was in conflict with her scheduled US tour in 2009 with her ASAP group. She was also supposed to essay the role of the older sister of Sarah Geronimo in another film, but that didn’t push through as well because of another tour.  

She says, “I don’t know what God is trying to tell me, although nakakatawa kasi yung coincidence. Pero gusto ko talagang umarte. I just wanna try other things.”

Interestingly, one major happening in Sitti’s life was finally reconnecting with her father, who is based in Tawi-Tawi, a few months ago. Sitti, whose complete name is Sitti Katrina Baydin, says that her father belongs to the Muslim tribe of Mapun. When she was in Tawi-Tawi last April, Sitti, who is raised a Catholic, tried to learn as much as she can about her father’s culture and heritage.

Asked if the emotional meeting has had changed her as an artist, she says, “Hindi ko nga alam. I cannot say if I did. A lot of people have been telling me, baka complete ka na, or ibang Sitti na ang mapapanood namin because of that. Pero di ko pa nasabi. Maybe, I’m just waiting for someone to tell me that.”

Whatever has happened to her, both in her career and personal life, she has embraced it wholeheartedly. “I’m happy at everything that has happened. Feeling ko lahat na nangyari sa akin, nakatakda po talaga na mangyari,” she ends.   

(For details on her concert, call Backroom at 435-1108 or 435-1120 or e-mail at [email protected].)