‘Perfectly imperfect’ Sarah

As is the usual case with singers turned actors, Sarah Geronimo’s music career was shoved to the backseat to make way for films, product endorsements and television. Recording new songs was seen as an afterthought to be attended to when she was not that busy. It was a great career move but I believe that this should not be the case because the music is always the career driver in these cases. Nothing would have been possible without Forever’s Not Enough in Sarah’s case. So, the rule should be — have a hit song once in a while and then you can relax or be an actress for a year or two.

Thankfully, before the next film with John Lloyd Cruz began shooting and before the second season of The Voice Philippines where she is a coach began airing, Sarah found the time to record, Perfectly Imperfect, an album of totally new materials. The album is worth the wait. The variety of sounds it contains is mind-boggling and it is nice to hear Sarah trying out new beats, experimenting with her ad-libs, testing her limits and getting away with the totally unexpected. Best of all, it is nice to know that she can now relax for a while. These songs will keep her in hits for at least a year while she attends to her other commitments.

Perfectly Imperfect brings a mix of old and new friends with perfectly different but all new sounds. New for Sarah is working with the talented Canadian songwriter and producer Adam Hurstfield who co-wrote and produced the hip-hop tunes Perfectly Imperfect and Bulletproof. Adam also brought in the Lebanese/Canadian hip-hop star Celeb to collaborate with Sarah in the album’s bonus cut, Last Night Of Our Lives.

Sarah went back to old friends Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana for Kilometro and Dulo and to Gianina Camille del Rosario and Julius James de Belen for Minamahal and Julius James again and Ricardo Jose Santillan for Bangon, the Filipino hip-hop entries in the album. Then there are the emo ballads, This Fight composed by Kito Romualdez and Until Forever and Kung Sabagay by Agatha Obar.

She has no concerts scheduled locally but you can catch Sarah singing songs from Perfectly Imperfect and her other hits as she makes the rounds of Ayala Malls. The tour starts tomorrow, Oct. 4 at Fairview Terraces Mall in Quezon City. This will be followed by shows in Market! Market! on Oct. 10; the Harbor Point, Oct. 11; Ayala Mall, Cebu, Oct. 18; Centrio Mall in Cagayan de Oro, Oct. 25; and at the Marquee Mall in Pampanga, Oct. 31.

Still on Sarah’s music career. The local Pop Princess has been nominated for the second time in the Best Southeast Asia Act Category of the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA). This is the annual awards show that celebrates the year’s hottest artists from around the globe and across genres. This year will see the biggest names in music battle it out for honors once more like British group One Direction in a face off with their Aussie rivals 5 Seconds Of Summer or Katy Perry against Taylor Swift for Best Female or Nicki Minaj against Iggy Azalea for Best Hip-Hop. And Sarah is among them.

Up against Sarah for Best Southeast Asia Act are NOAH from Indonesia; Yuna, Malaysia; Stephanie Sun, Singapore; Slot Machine, Thailand; Agnez Mo, Indonesia; and Ho Ngoc Ha, Vietnam. Voting is now going on and fans of Sarah are invited to visit mtvema.com and vote for their idol. Make that not just Sarah fans but Filipinos all over the world who I am sure would be proud to see a local girl capture the honor.

The voting will close on Nov. 8 at 11:59 p.m. The winners will be announced at the spectacular MTV EMA, which will be held in The Hydro in Glasgow in Scotland. This is the first time that the MTV EMA will be held in Scotland and the Scots are excited about the event. But no need to worry that you will be getting only replays of the event. MTV Pinoy out here will broadcast the show live into your homes.

 And now here are this year’s MTV EMA nominees. You can also vote for your favorites:

Best Song: Problem, Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea; The Monster, Eminem feat. Rihanna; Dark Horse, Katy Perry feat. Juicy J; Happy, Pharrell Williams; Stay With Me, Sam Smith.

Best Pop: 5 Seconds Of Summer; Ariana Grande; Katy Perry; Miley Cyrus; One Direction.

Best Female: Ariana Grande; Beyoncé; Katy Perry; Nicki Minaj.

Best Male: Ed Sheeran; Eminem; Justin Bieber; Justin Timberlake; Pharrell Williams.

Best Live: Beyoncé; Bruno Mars; Justin Timberlake; Katy Perry; One Direction.

Best New: 5 Seconds Of Summer; Ariana Grande; Charli XCX; Kiesza; Sam Smith.

Best Video: Iggy Azalea feat. Rita Ora, Black Widow; Katy Perry feat. Juicy J, Dark Horse; Kiesza, Hideaway; Pharrell Williams, Happy; Sia, Chandelier.

Best Rock: Arctic Monkeys; The Black Keys; Coldplay; Imagine Dragons; Linkin Park.

Best Alternative: Fall Out Boy, Lana del Rey; Lorde; Paramore; Thirty Seconds To Mars.

Best Hip-Hop: Drake; Eminem; Iggy Azalea; Kanye West; Nicki Minaj.

Best Electronic: Afrojack; Avicii; Calvin Harris; David Guetta; Hardwell.

Biggest Fans: 5 Seconds Of Summer; Ariana Grande; Justin Biber; Nicki Minaj; One Direction.

Best Look: Iggy Azalea; Katy Perry; Nicki Minaj; Rita Ora; Taylor Swift.

Best Push: 5 Seconds Of Summer, Ariana Grande; Charli XCX; Cris Cab; John Newman; Jungle; Kid Ink; Kiesza; Lorde; Sam Smith; Zedd.

Best UK & Ireland Act: One Direction, Calvin Harris; Sam Smith; Ed Sheeran; Cheryl.