A ‘secret’ wedding for Krista K

MANILA, Philippines - In Paulo Coelho’s popular bestseller The Alchemist, there’s an oft-quoted line that goes: “The universe will conspire to bring you what you desire in your soul.”

From the recent turn of events that has transpired in her singing career and personal life over the past few months, Krista Kleiner seems to be a living testament to that truism.

From her beauty queen pedestal, the 2010 Bb. Pilipinas-International nurtured her dream of becoming a singer/recording artist, forged her battle plan and with grim determination established herself in the Asian circuit where she eventually earned rave reviews and a recording contract with Warner Music in Malaysia.

To this day, Krista acknowledges international superstar Julio Iglesias’ major role in inspiring her to follow her dreams, and mentoring her when she joined his concert tour shortly after her coronation. While she had previously enjoyed taking the spotlight as an actress-beauty queen, Krista felt another kind of adrenaline rush singing and dancing in front of humongous crowds.

It’s not uncommon for Krista to pinch herself just to make sure that she’s not dreaming these days. Consider, for instance, her luck sharing centerstage with some of the biggest names in the rap and hip-hop circuit such as Craig David and Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas.

And despite the last-minute cancellation, she was also scheduled to headline the F1 Grand Prix After Party in Singapore last September, alongside Moby, Iggy Azalea, Snoop Dogg and Far East Movement. Krista was also slated to perform in Ke$ha’s Warrior Tour concert in Malaysia late October, but again, authorities slapped a last-minute ban on the controversial songstress due to religious/cultural issues.

Despite the setbacks, the statuesque beauty believes that “for every door that closes, another one opens.” And true enough, Krista can’t help but gush about her latest collaboration with Taboo.

She says, “Working with him feels like the biggest blessing and such a dream come true. It started off doing shows together, leading to him inviting me to try recording in L.A. That trip went so well that he offered to up the commitment and take me on and completely mentoring me, producing lots more songs for me, and working on a live show together.

“He really understands what I want to do and has been such a great help in guiding me to find myself as an artist. We not only have a great creative partnership, but have also become good friends. I respect him so much as a person and an artist. I’m so excited to have this opportunity to continue working with him on original music and a show together.”

A possible offshoot of their recent collaboration is a series of shows that they might stage in Manila within the next few months.

And as if that weren’t enough, Krista was also ecstatic about finally meeting apl.de.ap during her quick two-day stay in Manila mid-October.

Following on the heels of her Feels So Good single, the newly-minted dance pop diva is gearing up for her promotional plans for her latest single, Bading Ka Ba Baby?

“I’m totally itching to get it out already. I’ve been holding on to this song and the finished music video for what feels like ages now because I’ve been so busy, so when I finally put it all out I’m sure it will feel a bit like finally giving birth, hahaha. The song and music video are just so funny! I really believe the Philippine market will enjoy this one. 

“I conceptualized it and wrote it really using what I had picked up while in the Philippines, including gay lingo, hahaha. The celebrities that guested in the video (including John “Sweet” Lapus, Bianca Manalo, Divine Lee, Becky Nights, Jay Gonzaga and more) really contributed to taking the song to a whole other level of hilarious.”

Amid the whirlwind of activity in her bustling career, the indefatigable Krista tied the knot in a civil wedding with her Australian-Singaporean fiancé, Patrick Grove.

After two big engagement parties earlier this year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and in L.A., they were initially leaning towards a two-day wedding in Bali. They were also thinking of “possibly running away to somewhere far and romantic spontaneously and doing our own ceremony just the two of us before then… Santorini, Greece? Maldives? Maybe both!”

In a text message to The Philippine STAR last Nov. 4, Krista said: “I just wanted to share that Patrick and I are doing our civil wedding in Santorini, Greece today in four hours! I can’t believe it! Feels so surreal and definitely incomplete without my best and closest friends being here to share it with. But I will just keep strong looking forward to celebrate with all of you when I visit and have a proper wedding August next year.”