Alexa Ilacad hopes for more career breakthroughs

Alexa Ilacad summed up her 2021 as “blessed” after successive projects — a movie, a primetime series and a reality show.

“My 2021 was blessed. I had projects. I had Four Sisters Before The Wedding. I had Init Sa Magdamag. I had Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) which was such a breakthrough for me. So, for 2022, I’m hoping for more, continuous breakthroughs and answered prayers,” the 21-year-old Kapamilya actress-singer told The STAR in a recent one-on-one interview.

As for roles this year, the former child star wished, “I wanna do everything. I wanna do horror, I wanna do action, I wanna do rom-com. I want to do everything talaga, be it bida or kontrabida.”

A rom-com project shouldn’t be far-fetched, what with fans shipping her with fellow PBB alum KD Estrada. Their tandem dubbed KDLEX will have a fancon on Alexa’s birthdate, Feb. 26, via KTX.ph and a possible series together, according to a source.

Alexa, who described KD as her “soulmate,” said about being in a love team: “That’s okay with me, I don’t mind being in the love team. I had experienced some of that before with love teams. But I’m also proud to say I’ve established myself as an independent actor. So, wherever the wind takes me, I think I’ll be fine.

Another highlight of her 2021 was completing her Marketing degree at Treston International College’s School of Business and Technology. She finished her last term in college as a dean’s lister with a GWA of 1.0 or “flat uno.”

When asked what she planned to do with her degree, she said, “That’s something that me and my mom are currently talking about — how we want to set up a business or what kind of business I want to do. But for now, we’re focusing on investing, like stocks and all of that.”

She, nevertheless, has ventured into real estate. “I’ve started my small business because real estate talaga yung gusto ko pasukan ever since. So, I have an AirBnb of some sort, like I have a space for rent for passive income. That’s why I love real estate. It’s something I’ve wanted to get into. So yun muna for now, because I don’t think I can juggle too much. I don’t want to overextend myself.”

The last time The STAR chatted with Alexa in mid-2021, she wanted to experience adulting stuff like living solo and being in a romantic relationship. This 2022, her personal priorities have changed.

“Being independent I experienced inside PBB. That taught me so much about myself. So that’s checked off the list and for the love naman, now that I’ve been blessed with so much work, I don’t think I want to. I mean, it’s not something I want to focus on but if it comes, okay, my doors are open. But I need someone who truly understands my work and who won’t, you know, get in the middle of my work. But right now, my heart is really happy with the relationships I have,” Alexa said.

Meanwhile, music is drawing most of her focus nowadays. She just released a song titled Paano under Off The Record, which is available on Spotify, Apple Music and all digital streaming platforms. She wrote it five years ago when she was 16 and trying to process the pain she experienced over her first-ever heartbreak. With the help of her best friend Eunice Jorge of Gracenote, she was able to turn Paano from being an acoustic number to its current version that has the electro-pop feel in the tradition of her previous original releases under Off The Record, such as Love At First Sight and Stay Right Here.

What kind of songwriter is she? “Just whatever flows, whatever I feel. I feel like I’m pulling a Taylor Swift… And it’s also now a passion of mine. And I also like to get from the experiences of other people. I am a storyteller, that’s the perfect word to describe me (as a songwriter),” she said.

Alexa is obviously not afraid to write about heartbreak. And it’s safe to say, another heartbreak song is coming as she opened up, “Huling nakaranas was siguro, it was inside the PBB house. Not naman heartbreak talaga but may napagdaanan that made me sad, love-wise,” without naming names.

“I’m a strong girl so when I choose to move on, I really move on,” further shared Alexa, citing two things that have made her “stronger” as a person — being in the industry since toddler years doing commercials and finishing college.

“OK naman kami ng tao, we talked it out. We were able to settle everything and we’re trying to work it out here in the outside world so it’s all good. It just didn’t really pay off sa loob ng bahay. We didn’t want it na pressured or natukso ng ibang tao. We wanted it to come organically.

“Of course, music helped me. With KD, I was able to write songs about the situation. So that’s where I channeled all my emotions. It was my therapy, which is why I was able to move forward,” added Alexa, who has since written more than 20 songs.

In case you don’t know, Off The Record is a new indie music label and entertainment company established by industry veteran, former MCA Music Philippines boss Ricky Ilacad, over the pandemic.

Even though Alexa is the daughter of his brother and he was aware of her past works, Ilacad recalled that it was a Dua Lipa cover by Alexa that blew him away and became the “turning point” for them to work together under the label.

As for Alexa, she admitted feeling the pressure of living up to the family name and reputation in the music business. Nevertheless, she said, “Baka magbuhat bangko eh (laughs). But I mean, I haven’t done anything bad that would hurt the name. And in everything that I do, I give it my best. Even though people say I am underrated, I think I made the family name proud. I mean, my dad says he is proud so that’s enough for me.”