'Not Mr. Christmas': Jose Mari Chan featured in Time

MANILA, Philippines — Popular singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan has once again refused any moniker or title relating to Christmas. In his most recent interview with Time magazine, the balladeer said he is not comfortable being referred to as "Mr. Christmas." 

He shared that as a devout Catholic, he would prefer that the "spotlight remain focused on God." 

In past interviews, Chan also declined the tag "Father of Philippine Christmas Songs" for the same reason. 

Apart from his stand on the monikers being given to him, the feature also detailed how music came to be for the then-sugar scion from Bacolod. 

The young Chan released his first album in 1969 while taking care of the sugar trading business he inherited. His family had to move to the United States after the sugar crisis hit Negros Islands in the 1970s. They only returned after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. 

Five years later, Chan recorded "Christmas in Our Hearts" with his then-teenage daughter Liza. It was a song that he could have recorded with then-promising young singer Lea Salonga but the project did not push through. 

Today, "Christmas in Our Hearts" is one of Chan's most iconic Christmas songs played around this time of the year.  

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