Like many music artists of her generation, Kyla also wants to be relevant and appeal to the millennials, now considered the biggest music consumers.
Born Melanie Calumpad, with her distinctive voice, she arrived on the music scene with a bang. Her career took off in 2000 with OctoArts EMI Philippines and rose to prominence with the release of her second single “Hanggang Ngayon.”
Due to the massive success of the single, it won the MTV Viewers’ Choice for Southeast Asia at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. It made Kyla the first East Asian female artist to win at the MTV Video Music Awards. The Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) certified her debut album as platinum.
“I can still remember my experience calling every radio station to request for that song. I did that personally because I didn’t have a name yet and people still didn’t know my music, too,” Kyla told Manila Standard in an exclusive interview after her performance at the launch of the newest branch of Blue Posts Boiling Crabs and Shrimps restaurant in Davao.
“I would call RX, Magic and Wave and my opening spiel would be ‘Hi, this is Kyla, the singer, can I request for my song?’ Those were the days but I must admit, it’s worth it.”
She added as well that she used to ride taxi cabs going to radio stations just to promote the single. It’s the same reason why she considers the song not just her most successful but also as her most memorable single she has ever released.
The 34-year-old chanteuse revealed that she’s currently working on an album, which she plans to drop in the third quarter of the year. The new record will be her ninth studio album and will be her first under Star Music.
“We are planning to have all-OPM album but we received a contribution from an American composer. So, his two songs will be included in the album. I’ve already heard these tracks and I am very excited to share them with my fans,” Kyla said.
Over years, the R&B artist has been pouring her energy writing songs. And with the new album, people will get to discover her mettle in conveying her emotions through the writing lyrics. She also believes that she’s mature enough to share valuable lessons in life she experienced herself.
“Writing your own music is much different from just singing songs written by someone else. The emotions and the story behind the song are easier to interpret when you experienced it first hand,” the R&B queen shared.
Also with the new album, Kyla wanted to create music that the younger audience can relate to. She is positive that with her new music label, she would be able to achieve this goal.
“People associate me with my first hit. That’s the reason why I wanted to come up with another song that has the same appeal. With ABS (CBN) and Star Music, my audience became more diverse. The exposure became even bigger, too,” she shared.
She explained that she’s able to reach a wider audience primarily because she’s now with a network that caters to a wider audience especially those based overseas. And this is one of the highlights of her 17th year in the business.
“What I appreciate about the fans, when I transferred to Star Music, they were very supportive. I didn’t hear anyone from them that said it was a bad decision. I didn’t burn bridges and I’m still friends with everybody,” she concluded.