Janine Teñoso mines ‘personal battles’ to write original songs

Janine Teñoso

When Janine Teñoso first tried her luck in show biz, via the talent search “Born to be a Star” in 2016, the then 16-year-old aspirant sang birit songs.

It didn’t come naturally to her, she admitted, but willed herself to do it anyway because she was convinced that it was the only way she could win.

“Singing competitions on television are really popular. And in such shows, it’s usually about birit. And so, I rode that trend. But I don’t do it as much these days because I eventually realized that it wasn’t really my sound,” she told a group of reporters at the recent launch of her latest single, “Umiibig Muli.”

She didn’t win the title, but she has since found her own voice. She now adopts a hushed indie-inflected style, which she used to put her own spin on her song covers—the most popular of which are “’Di Na Muli” by Itchyworms, “Ulan” by Rivermaya and “Tag-araw” by After Image.“It’s chill … like something you would want to listen to in the car on a rainy day,” Janine said of her sound. “I listen to a lot of folk, blues and acoustic music—Bon Iver, John Mayer. I guess my musical influences all shaped my singing.”

Though she gained traction on the internet for her revivals, Janine does write her own material, which she plans to do more often once she has managed to establish a bigger following.

“I want to be known, not just as a singer, but also as a songwriter. Doing covers is a way for me to introduce myself, to connect with people,” pointed out the Viva recording artist, who was also part of the girl group PPop Generation before going solo. “By writing my own songs, I hope to be able to present who I really am.”

Her new song, “Umiibig Muli,” is a mellow, acoustic tune she composed with her friend and vocal mentor Pauline Lauron. “She already had the chorus. She let me listen to it, and I immediately fell in love with it. She then encouraged me to finish the song,” she related.

But because Janine hasn’t released a self-penned song in three years, she was initially hesitant to take on the challenge. “I was doubting myself; I didn’t feel confident about my skills. I thought I was getting too comfortable singing covers,” she said. “But I was surprised at how easy and enjoyable the process turned out to be.”

It was her personal struggles and disappointments that served as her well of inspiration. “I wrote about my battles and how I turned things around. Working on the song gave me the courage to start writing again,” said Janine, who hopes to experiment with other genres in the future.

“Of course, I would like to grow. I want to try alternative, rock, neo-soul or R&B if given a chance,” she added.

Last year, Janine won two trophies at the Awit Awards: best pop recording for “’Di Na Muli” and record of the year for “Awit Natin”—achievements she didn’t expect to come so early in her career. “I used to just daydream about these things,” she said. “Now, they’re coming true.” INQ