From singing, Esang tries her hand at songwriting

Esang de Torres is no longer the eight-year-old kid who earned the admiration of audiences by singing Broadway and pop tunes and secured a Top 4 finalist placement in The Voice Kids Philippines Season 2. Now 15, the PolyEast Records artist has ventured into songwriting and remained loyal to singing.

“I was also able to join the cast of Matilda the Musical and I was Matilda,” said Esang when asked about her musical endeavors after playing Little Cosette in the 2016 Manila staging of Les Miserables, during a group virtual interview.

“That (Matilda in 2017) was the first musical that I was in a lead role and I really had to focus (on) and internalize being Matilda myself… After that, I had some songs that were released when I was around 11 to 12. Then, pandemic came and I focused more on my studies. Now, I’m starting to write more songs when it comes to being a songwriter myself, which is something that I’m starting to explore more.”

Testament to it is her self-penned and original song titled Praising Hours, released under PolyEast Records last year and “about getting to know someone thoroughly,” based on the piece of information given to this paper.

“I first discovered songwriting through (writing) poems,” recalled Esang of how she got into this another creative activity. “I tried to write poems myself during (the early parts of the) pandemic.”

Her artistic muse starts from a thought that she thinks has the rich potential of becoming a song, like “about friends, about the environment… the nature itself, about certain people,” added she.

Once the idea has come into her mind, Esang said she begins to consider the question, “how would I want, like, the song to sound.”

Sometimes, the inspiration manifests itself when Esang hears certain words that for some reason pique her interest.

“Let’s say, my first single that I was able to write myself, Praising Hours. The story behind that was, I was somehow interested (in) the word ‘stumbled,’ so I wrote lyrics out of it and it eventually had its own story,” said she.

“I managed to form, like the message I (wanted to put across) or portray in the song. (The inspiration) comes out of nowhere. Let’s say after school, parang biglang maiisip ko na, wait lang, parang pwede akong magsulat tungkol sa ganyan or interesting ng word na ito, na pwedeng nating gawing potential title or pwedeng a part of a song.”

She added that her songs can be autobiographical and the inspiration is very random. Then, Esang explores and experiments the idea through music apps like GarageBand and Raw Tools, so she can further visualize the possible sound of the song. From there, she will make a demo. The emerging songwriter in her is just proof of how passionate she is about music, but Esang, the singer is still there and sees herself doing collabs with music creatives.

She can be a singer-songwriter in one project and a singer in another. That’s why she also released the song Heartbeat and the cover of Lea Salonga’s Mula Noon Hanggang Ngayon. According to her team, the former is an upbeat song that presents the ideas of young love and happy crushes, which is in some respect related to her The Voice Kids coach’s song. With that, Esang is now a young lady and also welcomes the thought of doing acting projects. What fans and the public can look forward to is the release of her EP.

“As an artist, being 15 is very much parang you wouldn’t know what happens in the future,” she described such life phase. “I feel nervous and excited about it. Being as young as 15, parang pwedeng pa pong, madami pa pong pwedeng mangyari with my career and I’m very much looking forward to it.”

As a teenager, who is away from the recording studio and performing scene, this is the stage, said Esang, “(where) I’m experiencing adolescence, yung puberty. (It’s) more of getting to know more with other people and at the same time, getting to adapt (to) who I am starting to become as I’m growing older… This is being between a child and an adult.” Listening to family’s pieces of advice is helpful, added she.

Asked about giving her own rendition of Broadway superstar and Pinoy pride Lea’s early tune, Esang had this to say: “I was happy about having the opportunity to actually sing the song with my own version because coach Lea has always been my idol ever since I was younger.

“I just admire her in every aspect, you know, how she sings, how she always expresses things clearly and just evidently, I always love that about her. She helped me through in so many things, like the (pieces of) advice she gave. Even in my previous musicals, she helped me.”

Esang’s version of Mula Noon Hanggang Ngayon is her another way of paying homage to an inspiration who has helped the teen artist nurture more her knack and love for singing.

To enjoy Esang’s songs, from the self-penned, originals (written by songwriters) to covers, follow her on the artist’s social media accounts. Visit, too, PolyEast Records on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok on @polyeastrecords.