SANTOS. Her exceptional musical talent is showcased anew in her newly launched EP, “Liwanag.”
WE’RE SO glad that Aicelle Santos has finally come into her own as a stellar performer. Even before she auditioned for “Katy!” in 2012, we sensed that she had much more to offer than what she was “allowed” to show as a member of the singing trio, La Diva.
So, when she appeared at the Spotlight studio to audition for “Katy!” along with the best and brightest in Philippine musical theater, we got our chance to see exactly what that would be.
We put her through a particularly challenging audition that not only required her to push her musical performance skills to the max, but also to put her real emotions on the line, by way of a “personal, private experience” test.
Instead of backing off as some other auditionees had done, Aicelle took a deep breath and “ bravely” stepped up to the plate, honestly revealing facets of her performing and personal essence that had until then remained unshared.
Artistic courage
For her “artistic courage,” we agreed with producer-performers Isay Alvarez, Robert Seña and Tricia Amper-Jimenez that Aicelle should be “rewarded” with the lead role of teen and young-adult Katy de la Cruz—which turned out to be a starmaking vehicle for her!
She was so good, “brave” and hardworking that she fully deserved the plaudits she got (reviewers hailed her as “the best musical theater discovery in years)!
Next came “Rak of Aegis,” which made Aicelle an even bigger musical theater sensation—and finally enabled her to break out of “supporting” status on TV and other performing platforms.
After years of tweedling her thumbs as part of the “smorgasbord” of talents on weekend noontime TV musical shows, she finally went solo as a singer, performed with top stellar TV talents like Regine Velasquez and Jaya, and got to act in teleseryes.
Exceptional talent
Even better, her exceptional musical talent was showcased in recordings, like her newly launched “Liwanag” EP (extended play) album, for which she wrote the title track.
We trust that radio stations will “push” it and other OPM compilations, to popularize “our very own,” as Aicelle has already done for local musical theater, by way of “Katy!” and “Rak of Aegis.”
For that earlier contribution, Aicelle has been rewarded with the Aliw Awards’ trophy for best female lead musical theater performance, besting a particularly tough field that included Cris Villonco and Cherie Gil!
What’s up next for Aicelle in 2016? Her third original Filipino musical starrer, please! And, on TV, a big challenging role in a GMA 7 teleserye that isn’t viciously vile!