Retail princess Bea Tantoco takes on a new stage

MANILA, Philippines - “Bea’s so good,” Katrina Tantoco-Lobregat gushes. “I can’t wait for you to hear her sing!” Bea, in this case, is Bea Tantoco — youngest of the Tantoco brood and emerging diva set to take the local R&B world by storm. The name Bea Tantoco has been popping up among the bar scene for the last few months. With her powerful voice, singing in a style she calls “deep soul,” it’s impossible not to take notice.

The petite morena who reminds me of Malaysian beauty Carmen Soo performs a whopping 30 songs with a band, most of which are Alicia Keys hits. This performance in Club Phi, Metrowalk was no exception. “I’m an Alicia Keys fan,” she shares. “So most of the songs we perform are hers.” While she considers every song in their repertoire special, Bea has a few favorites. One is her idol’s Empire State of Mind and the other is an old song that she and the band have remade into their own: “We do a jazzy remake of Stevie Wonder’s Superstitious. That’s one of my favorites because it’s really our own version of the song.”

While everything looks natural and relaxed on stage, Bea’s performances are a result of hard work coupled with a little help from genes from a musically inclined family. Speaking of hard work, she goes to rehearsals with her band two times a week and has keyboard lessons in between. Following in her idol’s footsteps, Bea aims to be able to perform like Alicia Keys: “In a month or so, you will see me playing the keyboards together with the band.”

The Tantoco family, unbeknownst to many, is a musical one, as Katrina shares: “We all sing. I think we got it from our dad. He’s so into music that he even listens to our current R&B hits. He likes Rihanna’s Shut Up and Drive!”

High notes: Bea belts out one of the Alicia Keys songs in her repertoire. Photos by JUDD FIGUERRES

In Bea’s extensive repertoire, she sings three of these songs with her sister: Bette Davis Eyes, True Colors by Eve Cassidy and Moving Too Fast by Artful Dodger. Their voices blend perfectly together as Bea’s powerful alto voice is balanced out by Katrina’s rock-and-roll husky tone. Inspired by her quick trip to the musical spotlight, Katrina has now gotten herself enrolled in formal voice lessons. “I want to do Bea proud,” the beaming sister explains. “So I have to learn the proper techniques of singing to make our duets easier when I go onstage with her.”

Bea’s road to musical stardom started early as she got into singing at the tender age of five, which she claims is partly Katrina’s fault. “Katrina and I would sing along to our favorite songs. From there, I started taking voice lessons on and off. I also learned how to play the piano. In college, I took up classical music. And well, here I am now.”

The singer is certainly hands-on when it comes to her music, which includes a close collaboration with her band. During their performance, you can see the easy camaraderie that flows into beautiful music. Being the only woman in a band of men poses no problem with Bea as she looks up to them for more musical know-how. “They constantly teach me how to appreciate music more and my love for music grows each day.”

The sentiment is echoed by her band members. In the three months that they’ve worked together, keyboard player Jay Casupanan claims that Bea has been nothing but a breeze to work with. “Walang ere. Comfortable agad kami sa isa’t isa. Marunong makisama.” (No airs. We were comfortable with each other right away. She knows how to work with the group.) Drummer Walter De Vera vehemently nods and pipes in. “She’s so easy to work with, a true rock star.”

With her larger-than-life presence on stage, it’s easy to forget that behind the talented performer is a woman deeply connected to her loving family. The close-knit clan wholeheartedly supports their youngest. “Go, Bea!” Bea’s sister Katrina cheers as she arrives early with husband Paolo Lobregat. Later, dad Rico Tantoco arrives to lend his support. Bea certainly feels this overwhelming support. “They watch all my shows. I can count on them to be there to support me and to cheer me on,” she exclaims. “It’s such a wonderful experience to have them there.”

Family portrait: Bea squeezes in some family time with sister Katrina Tantoco-Lobregat and brother-in-law Paolo Lobregat in between sets.

But the family love does not stop there. Bea’s family also helps her amp up her already-beautiful visage when stepping onto the stage. “Gerard Gimena, retail manager of Zara Rockwell, and my sister Katrina have been my awesome stylists,” Bea shares. “I tell them the look I’m going for, and together we create an outfit that I love and feel comfortable wearing onstage.”

On this particular Monday, Bea walks into the bar in a black maillot tucked into a pair of wide-legged pants topped off with tons of gold necklaces and sky-high black pumps. She later admits it’s mostly Culte Femme, her sister-in-law Hindy Webber-Tantoco’s design label.

Off stage, she also embodies the Tantoco flair for fashion. She takes the opposite tack, veering away from the edgy, rock ‘n’ roll-inspired outfits she dons for gigs. Instead, she goes for an eternal summer look with dresses, shorts, tank tops and jeans. As a fan of Zara and Culte Femme, she admits that she regularly consults with her sisters-in-law for fashion advice. “I always ask my sister Kat and sisters-in-law Crickette, Hindy and Dina for advice on outfits. Most of the time, I get my favorite outfit ideas from them.”

Back to music shop talk, Bea admits that she has a long way to go. But so far, she has had many great experiences in her road to musical greatness. She recounts her wonderful collaboration with talented artist Chico Cristobal whom she considers a great and supportive friend. “The first (gig we did together) was back in February in Cebu at Club Vudu together with Manolet Dario and Bombi Balquiedra. It was my first gig ever. It was an amazing experience! We also did two acoustic nights at Members’ Only in June.”

She also recalls how she became a part of Ramon “RJ” Jacinto’s “The Latest and The Greatest” concert series, one she considers her biggest performance to date: “There were video cameras everywhere and a big screen across the stage where I could see myself performing with Tito RJ and the band. And in front of me were what looked like hundreds of people. It was surreal!”

It seems like, at this stage in the game, Bea Tantoco indeed has the world at her fingertips. The singer, whose ultimate goal is to take her career abroad, has a lot of things in store for her before the year’s over. She talks of an album set to be recorded with songwriter and composer Francis Louis Salazar by December of this year. Also, a Christmas performance with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra is considered by the singer as a chance of a lifetime. “I believe this will be an epic musical moment for me! I’ve started training already for it and am really excited!”

So watch out, world: the newest singer to hit the music scene is set to take the world by storm. As Bea belts out to Alicia Keys’ Superwoman, singing, “Say yes I will, yes I can,” I say, yes, I will and can see Bea sitting at the top rung of that music industry ladder. And that, my friend, is no lip service.

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Catch Bea Tantoco perform live this October at Club Phi, Metrowalk on Mondays, 9:30 p.m. and at NU.VO Greenbelt 3 on Wednesdays, 9 p.m.