Aubrey Caraan
After years of performing as part of the music group Pop Girls, singer-actress Aubrey Caraan is back performing as a solo artist. And the transition, she admitted, was quite nerve-racking at first.
“I started out solo before joining Pop Girls. And after being with the group for years, I became accustomed to sharing the stage with other members. But then we disbanded [in 2017]. I was very nervous going solo again because I wasn’t sure how I should carry myself onstage and interact with the fans. Those were my worries,” she told the Inquirer at a recent virtual conference.
Aubrey, who finished fourth in the reality singing competition “Pinoy Dream Academy: Little Dreamers” in 2008, stayed with ABS-CBN for two years, before transferring to Viva Entertainment. There she landed roles in various acting projects such as “Diary ng Panget,” “Indak” and “Ang Manananggal na Nahahati ang Puso”—in addition to her Pop Girls stint.
While she has been doing more acting as of late, Aubrey’s new single “Sana” (Vicor Records), marks the start of a more focused effort toward her music career. “Tuloy-tuloy na. After this, we plan to come out with more singles next year. It’s just that I have been getting more chances to act these days. That’s why I want to focus on music again because some of my fans have forgotten that singing is my first love.”
But that doesn’t mean she’s putting acting on the back burner. She has grown to love both fields and plans to hone her skills to be a more well-rounded performer.
“I get compliments for my acting and singing. They’re both challenging; talent isn’t enough. You can’t treat them as hobbies,” she said. “In music, you have to study your song and practice how you carry yourself onstage. And it’s the same in movies, you don’t only memorize the script—you put your heart into it. Both entail hard work.”
About wishful love
“Sana” is Aubrey’s first foray into songwriting. “I had no idea how to start, but I’m very thankful I had a cowriter who helped me brainstorm. I wanted to come up with something about love. I have no deep experiences yet when it comes to love; most of them involve only crushes or kilig moments. And that’s where the idea behind ‘Sana’ came up,” she said. “It’s about wishful love or hope; about a dream you want to come true.”
But the song isn’t strictly about love. “Sana” resonates with her, she said, because she still has a lot of things she hopes to achieve in her show biz career. “I have been in show biz for quite a while now and I hope to get more breaks and success in the future. I also hope to provide for my family, give them what they need and what they want,” she said. “But I feel like I’m getting there.”
One of Aubrey’s biggest dreams is to hold a major concert and share the stage with one of her biggest musical influences, Sarah Geronimo. “I’m wishing for that collaboration. I also hope to do acting projects outside romantic comedies. I want to try other genres like action and horror,” she said.
While she has released other songs in the past, all of them were written for her by other people. Having creative control over her own material is challenging, but at the same time, empowering and fulfilling.
“I have released singles before and I’m so thankful that there were people deciding for me when I was younger, because I didn’t know how the creative process worked. But now I really enjoy being part of it. I enjoy creating songs, conceptualizing its video, choosing visuals and my makeup,” she related. “I also feel honored that they trust me enough to do this now.” INQ