MANILA, Philippines — In case you haven’t noticed, Julie Anne San Jose is among the busiest Kapuso stars these days. You see, apart from singing engagements — the last being with Regine Velasquez and Christian Bautista in 3 Stars, 1 Heart — Julie Anne is also into acting with the weekly sitcom Pepito Manaloto honing her skills in comedy. Televiewers also occasionally see her pinchhitting for Iya Villania as Chika Minute segment host in 24 Oras. As if that’s not enough, Julie Anne lands a title role via GMA 7’s musical romantic comedy series My Guitar Princess, set to air on weekdays before Eat, Bulaga beginning today.
“Well, I’m just really blessed and thankful to GMA for continuously giving me projects,” said the Kapuso homegrown artist. “I feel great about working na parang kasi hindi na sanay ang katawan ko na hindi nagtra-trabaho and I’m so glad that I get to do stuff that I really want.”
Among the things she appreciates the most about her job is working with her idols like Regine and Christian. Julie Anne revealed that she felt she was on Cloud 9 while performing with the two singers during the second leg of their concert held in Dagupan recently. “It was surreal. Nakakataba ng puso to perform with people whom you only get to see on TV before, and now I have the opportunity of having a duet with each of them.”
Julie Anne also treasures those moments with Regine and Christian whose success stories all the more motivate her to do her best both in singing and acting. “It really feels good to be surrounded by people who push and inspire me to be better in my craft.”
Even before she entered showbiz, Julie Anne knew she was born to make good music. Thanks to My Guitar Princess, Julie Anne gets to display her talent not just in acting and singing but also in playing the guitar. According to her, she was about seven or eight years old when her dad started teaching her to strum the guitar.
With co-stars Gil Cuerva (left) and Kiko Estrada
“My dad taught me by playing some chords and since then, I fell in love with it. Actually, what I had then was piano lessons so with the guitar, I played it by ear. But eventually I stopped my piano lessons because I felt dinadaya ko lang ang tinuturo sa akin dahil nakakabisado ko yung mga tono (laughs) although I learned how to read (musical) notes.”
She continued, “With the guitar, it serves as the best accompaniment for me when I write songs. But you have to be careful with the guitar because once you strum the wrong string, ‘yung isang tiklado lang ng guitar, pag namali ka maa-out of tune ka talaga. Me, I only play the guitar by ear.”
No wonder, she sees herself in her character Celine in My Guitar Princess. The series is not just about music but also tackles about developing good family relationship.
“My mom’s character doesn’t want her to sing and I’ve been in that similar situation before. My dad didn’t want me to join showbiz because what he wanted was to see me finish my schooling. He was also worried about intrigues. So when I joined Popstar Kids, I had no expectation of reaching the grand finals and after that, my dad told me to stop.”
Asked how she was able to convince her dad to allow her to continue her showbiz career, Julie Anne said, “We made a deal. I told my dad that I will finish school with honors and thankfully, I did. I really worked hard for it to the point of losing sleep, especially during my last year when I took 30 units per sem. I stopped for one semester to take a break and to concentrate on the soap that I was doing that time. Fortunately, I was able to graduate and I thank the Lord for giving me the strength to do all my tasks. It’s really nice to be positive at all times because eventually, my dad allowed me to continue doing what I love.”
Besides, Julie Anne feels she is cut out to make music. “My great grandmother was once a singer and my grandma is fond of celebrities so she persuaded me to continue. But I’m really happy that I am here, showing my passion for music because I guess I was born to make music.”
Having been able to finish college with a degree in Communication Arts, does she see herself pursuing any top-earning positions in media in the future?
“I’d love to and I know it takes a lot of wisdom and experiences but I don’t want to stop learning. Gusto ko maraming ma-achieve at matutunan. I am willing to take every opportunity that will come my way,” she concluded.
(My Guitar Princess also stars Gil Cuerva, Kiko Estrada, Jazz Ocampo, Sheryl Cruz, Kier Legaspi, Frank Garcia, Maey Bautista, Rob Sy, Marc Abaya and Lui Manansala. Director is Nick Olanka.)