Sam Cruz wants to make it on her own

Sam Cruz is trying to carve her own career path as a recording artist.

But it’s also not hard to see the bubbly 16-year-old daughter of actor-singers Sunshine Cruz and Cesar Montano as an actress, host and even beauty queen!

Sam shows a lot of promise and certainly forms part of the next-gen of showbiz royalty that fans should watch out for in the next days or months to come.

And no, she never tried to stay away from showbiz despite the pressure of being a celebrity child growing up. She told The STAR in a virtual one-on-one recently: “Ever since I was little, I kinda fell in love with (my parents’) work and I love watching them on TV. Nakaka-proud pala na, oh my gosh, those are my parents, whenever I see them on TV.

Sunshine Cruz’s Instagram account.

“I’ve always looked forward to following in their footsteps and trying what they do because it’s really entertaining and I love that they make people happy... So, no, there hasn’t ever been a time when I wanted to stray away from showbiz.”

Sam just dropped her first-ever single Train of Thought under Universal Records via TikTok. The song is about having feelings for someone who can make you lose your mind or yourself.

She, nevertheless, said that there are other things that make her personally go crazy, and one of them is Nutella. She’s not allowed to have a boyfriend yet, she pointed out.

“Hindi pa allowed magka-official boyfriend because sabi ng mom ko when I’m 18, dun na po siya papayag. Pero sinasabi niya palagi, not just because you’re 18, right away you’re gonna get a boyfriend na. So, I wanna focus on myself, my work and my school for the meantime. But my mom allows me naman to have crushes and to have inspiration from them.”

The middle child in an all-girl brood is tapping into this inspiration as she’s fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a singer. She loves Ariana Grande, Rihanna and is into the pop and R&B genres. “Pop songs, catchy songs or songs that you would love to listen to on repeat,” she said.

Sam, who recently signed up with ABS-CBN’s talent management arm Star Magic, also plays the guitar, ukulele and a bit of keyboards. Read on.

On finally following in her family’s footsteps:

“Nakaka-overwhelm po talaga na I’m finally following in the footsteps of my parents because they’re both very talented actors and actually singers din po. Especially my mom’s side, the Cruzes, lahat po sila kumakanta, and they’re all in showbiz (such as her mom’s cousins Donna Cruz, Sheryl Cruz and Geneva Cruz).

“So ayun nakaka-pressure po talaga but it motivates me to do better in my acting or singing, and give myself a name one day and not just as, ‘Ito yung anak ni Sunshine Cruz or ito yung anak ni Cesar Montano.’ One day, I wanna work as hard as my parents and my Titas.”

On becoming a recording artist and budding songwriter:

“I feel so happy that I’m finally a recording artist because ever since I was little, I’ve always dreamt of becoming a singer. Once I got to release my first-ever song under Universal Records, I’m nothing but grateful and feeling super blessed with this opportunity.

“Recently, I’ve been trying to write songs na rin po. I usually get my inspiration from whatever is happening and going on in my life. Example, if meron po akong crush, as it’s very common for everyone my age to have crushes, hahaha, so that’s it, I start writing, I write what I feel.

“Soon, I’ll be releasing more songs and renditions of already made songs, so you guys can watch out for that! And of course, I may be making an album with Universal Records which is why I love working with them so much because they make me express myself and really push me to write my own songs.”

On going into other fields like acting, hosting and even pageants:

“Now that I have the opportunity to try acting also, I’ve actually been given workshops with Star Magic and I really want to try doing both at the same time, if that’s possible po. I want to try new things, different things, including hosting, but I really want to put forward singing because ever since that’s what I’ve always wanted to do.

“On beauty pageants: A lot of people have been telling me because ako po yung pinaka-matangkad sa three girls. I’m 5’6” — almost taller than my mom. I’m not sure po, maybe soon, someday, hahaha. I’m super interested because I always watch beauty pageants.

On being a confident, body-positive girl:

“My mom has always been telling me, be proud of what you have, flaunt it. Like the people, with their mindset, they sexualize people just because of what they’re wearing, which is very wrong for me because it’s not really the women who have to change for men.

“I feel like it should be the men who should change their mindset. We don’t dress like this for you. We dress like this for ourselves because we’re proud of our bodies and we feel happy with what we are wearing. And it makes us confident. I’ve just always known that if you’re confident, just show it to the world and don’t mind the people who bring you down or sexualize you.

“As for bashers online, sometimes, my mom tells me to ignore it. But, if it’s something that’s already affecting us, like my family, we always have to speak up about it. We just can’t let that slide. Speak up if there’s something wrong. Call them out and let them know it’s not true or it’s wrong to say things like that. I know that there are gonna be people who are not gonna side with me or will bash you; it’s part of being public and out there in showbiz. I try to use it as a motivation to be better at my work.”

On what her father, Cesar, thinks of her entering showbiz:

“My dad has always been supportive of me and he was very happy. There’s this one time I was at ABS-CBN and I saw a poster of his song in a recording room so I took a picture of it and sent it to him, ‘Uy Dad, it’s you,’ and he said, ‘Finally, it’s your time to shine.’ So, he’s always there. Both my parents are very supportive. I’m just grateful to have them both there for me. The biggest advice that they’ve both given me is to stay humble and never lose myself in whatever fame there is.”

On her mom Sunshine’s best showbiz advice:

“In entering showbiz, she always tells me, always stay humble, be easy to work with, and always be on time. Marami po siyang advice and all of those I really take to heart. Palagi din niyang sinasabi na, focus on your studies, academics first, because my schoolwork is very important to her, and my education.

“I’m not an honor student but I have a lot of straight A’s except for one subject, Math. I could have been an honor student if it wasn’t for this one, hahaha! But yes, I’m very serious with my school kasi laging sinasabi ni Mommy na school is always first.

“Actually, for me, it’s been a lot easier to balance school, work and showbiz since right now since it’s all online. So, you could always schedule. For example, if I missed a test, I could make up for it or I could reschedule work. I really just have to learn time management and sorting out which I should put first. But I have to always put school first.”