Party All Night with Moony

CEBU, Philippines - Italian sensation Moony fired up Cebu clubbing scene last May 7 with San Mig Light Party All Night.

Moony (Monica Bragato) is the voice behind top hits “Point of View”, “(Dove) I’ll Be Loving You”, “For Your Love” and “I Don’t Know Why” among other dance tunes. She livened up the party with her all-time hits and new tracks from her own albums Lifestories and “4 your Love” plus well-loved collaborations with Spiller, Angel Moon, DB Boulevard, Richy Luchini, T & F vs Moltosugo and Robbie Rivera.

Moony sits down with The FREEMAN for an exclusive interview.

How do you find Cebu?

The beautiful thing in Cebu is, apart from the people which you know, are very welcoming, they’re friendly, and everybody is so nice. You have everything you need in the city, like the big city but at the same time you have some beautiful landscapes and a lot of nature. And the beautiful shores. It’s a very, very, very beautiful place.

What’s the story behind your screen name ‘Moony’?

(Giggles) Well, it’s kind of a strange story. Because I have a twin sister and then when we were little we have like nicknames so my nickname is Moony and her nickname is Booby. (laughs) They sound like cartoons rather than real people and actually I feel myself like a cartoon. I like to have fun. So that’s the story behind the name. Moony comes from Monica, so Monica became Moony and Booby comes from Barbara, my sister. My friends, my family, they call me Moony a lot rather than Monica.

Have you been around Cebu?

Not really. I had a little tour around Cebu because I like the place. And I am staying in a beautiful hotel so I’m enjoying the nature very much. And tomorrow hopefully we’ll have some time to go around. I want go to on, how do you call that, jeepney… I love it! Yey!. Jeepney, jeepney! I want to try one of them probably tomorrow. Because they are so, so typical, you know. I am kind of an old-fashioned person. The culture of people, I like to taste things, to try things, you know. When I go on holiday, I just go out, and talk with people and see how they live, try to understand the culture.. Everyone who comes here in the Philippines they have like a little jeepney when they get home. I really want to have a ride.

What are you busy of right now? Next project?

The new single is coming out. We have already shot the video. I have a new single and it’s coming out and will be published in two weeks. The video’s done already and hopefully after the single’s gonna be a new album. We are still working on it.

What do you think makes your songs big hits?

I think that a hit becomes a hit when a lot of people like the same song, you know because the taste is very different. Something that for me it’s very beautiful and amazing, maybe for you it’s not so nice, you know, so I think that the definition of a hit is when a song is popular. So that means that when a lot of people like that song and I think that’s one of the ingredients. But you know we don’t know all the ingredients, otherwise it will be very easy to do.

But one of the ingredients is that it has to be something that everyone can understand. You have to put some fun inside because it’s part of the music. People also find time in music to relax, not to think about problems. That’s why my music is always happy, you know, like happy dance song, happy jazz, pop music, so another thing that’s important is, they have to make people happy, you know, when they listen to the song.

Have you tried or are you open to trying other music genres aside from dance music?

Yes, actually. I did and wrote a few ballads and I also sang a jazz song. Actually my career started with this kind of music which is like a dance pop-oriented sounds and so am just keeping on this way because it’s like my style, my way to be, but I really like to have collaboration, you know, and also test my self in other kind of music. I did it and I like it very much. Maybe in the future.

Who are your musical influences and who are the artists you love listening to these days?

Well, music influences. It’s difficult to tell you one genre because I listen to a lot of different kinds of music. My brother used to be a DJ when I was little so he used to bring home CDs so I used to listen to a lot of them. I like very much the (soul sound, the records, soul, RB) music in general. I really like that kind; it’s my favorite.