Apple Chiu, a household name on the radio waves, returns to her one true love —singing.
Her name surfaced on the national stage as a contestant of Philippine Idol on ABC5. It all the more became a staple in the local music industry as a regular Songbee of ABS-CBN’s Singing Bee (2008).
During her venture into theater, with notable productions like Resorts World’s staging of The KIng and I, Apple suffered back injury from gym training and had to put her performing on hold. But the call of showbiz proved too strong for Apple to resist and in 2014 she answered the invitation to host Net25’s morning show Pambansang Almusal, noontime musical variety show Letters and Music, and as a DJ for DWDM PinasFM 95.5’s afternoon show Funbansang Hapon.
She also self-produced her Youtube Channel which features makeup tutorials, travel vlogs and interviews with celebrities.
Now, Apple has returned to the big stage as a Grand Finalist of Tawag ng Tanghalan Celebrity Champions on It’s Showtime.
“I was also very happy as a DJ. And the listeners know that when they listen to me on-air. One of the factors why it made me happy, was getting to meet and interview established and new artists in the industry,” Apple talked about her experience as a DJ and TV host.
“Everytime I interview artists, I made sure they’re able to share the things that needed to be shared about them kasi yun ang pakiramdam ko na hindi ko naexperience when I was in their place when I used to do radio guestings or tv guestings. I wanted them to feel at home, feel relaxed, yung maramdaman nilang baguhan man sila sa industriya, they are still wanted, they are equally important as the big stars,” she added.
Though singing was her first love, it got to a point that her hosting gigs got in the way. And she thought people had already forgotten that before becoming a television host, she was a singer first.
“As much as I wanted to sing hindi ko din naman maiwan ang pag-DDJ ko kasi laging live yun. It was sad but I never lost hope. I kept praying for it. I knew the right time will come,” she related.
True enough when her radio DJ contract was not renewed she knew right away that there’s something else that she needed to do.
“I attended church and prayed, when I got back in the car after to check my phone, Voila! An answered prayer! A talent coordinator from ABS-CBN contacted me to ask if I wanted to be part of a new segment for Its Showtime. One of the worst days of my life turned out to be the best day after all,” she beamed.
Apple compared her “Tawag Ng Tanghalan” journey to a solar coaster ride.
“The last time I joined a singing competition was 13 years ago. Akala ko sa pangalawang pagkakataon, mas less na ang kaba, hindi pa rin pala! Parang dumoble pa.”
“I won’t call this realization, more of a revelation, since I’m a religious person, I know my faith. Thru my TNT experience, I felt God’s presence in my life all the more. Mas lalo kong nakikita kung paano niya ako gina-guide sa mga bagay na ginagawa ko. Kumatok ang TNT sa panahong may nagsarang pintuan sakin. Dun ko lalong naramdaman na lagi Siyang nakabantay sa akin. At dahil dun, ramdam na ramdam kong napakapalad ko.”
Apple plans to release a single in the first quarter of 2020. She also wants to go back to theater because it’s been years since she last did a musical.
“You’re going to see more of me singing and performing in the coming years,” she ended.
Follow Apple on Instagram at @iamapplechiu and like her on Facebook at facebook.com/iamapplechiu. Catch her live every week at 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. as she hosts Net25’s musical variety show Letters and Music.