More than just another sexy body

For a while there, Daisy Reyes thought she was in a beauty pageant all over again, a discriminating set of judges studying her every move

Only this time, the stage was not some five-star hotel where beauty pageants are usually held, but the cozy, homey Ratsky along Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

The judges were not beauty contest experts, but members of the entertainment press. The event was not a beauty contest but the launch of her album under Dyna Records, of which she is a contract artist.

True to form, Daisy mustered all her courage – showing off that to-die for body in sexy outfits, and singing for all she’s worth. She shook the tassles dangling from her Arielle Agasang top, and swayed to the rhythm of an upbeat Shakira song.

Before that, Daisy was in an equally-breathtaking white see-through attire that showed off the curves on all the right places. J. Lo, Philippine version?

Maybe so, but the former Mutya ng Pilipinas runner-up and Bb. Pilipinas World 1996 would like to think she is more than just another sexy body. She’s all curves yes, but this does not mean she’s just about to hop into the bathtub and do a shower scene ala good friend Patricia Javier.

The voice, she insists, will still carry the day. Hers is entertainment, not seduction, thank you.

Daisy would have lapped up every minute of a singing career, hadn’t the movies beckoned shortly after she emerged Mutya ng Pilipinas second runner-up. Another victory followed when Daisy placed fourth runner-up in the Miss Expo International in Ecuador.

Now, just when people are wondering what happened to Daisy (has she married cager Robert Duat?), here she comes, a totally repackaged person.

Yes, she and Robert, her boyfriend of four years, have broken up, although Daisy is not dismissing the possibility of reconciliation.

"Robert has said, ‘never say never’ and I agree," she says.

Do we sense strong chances of romance the second time around?

Why not? Daisy and Robert’s joint venture, a (San Miguel) dealership in Pateros, is one of the top 10 in their area, giving them lots of reason to talk regularly.

"We’re civil to each other," Daisy reveals. "We still communicate, especially when there are problems with the business."

There are no regrets, no bad blood after the loving. Nobody has replaced Robert in her heart, even as she quashed rumors that they have gotten married.

Besides, Daisy is too busy with her new-found singing and recording career for love. Even the movies have taken a backseat.

"There are offers, but my priority is singing," she reveals.

It has always been there, since she was a little girl. At 12, she was singing in fiestas and at the Ric Radam show over DZRH. Daisy was then paid P400 a night, already a fortune for her then struggling family.

After she won one beauty contest after another, showbiz followed closely, and snatched Daisy’s dreams of turning singer away. She did movie after movie, and no one knew she could as much as carry a tune. Until Daisy approached her friend and discoverer, Ovette Ricalde, to ask help in launching a singing career.

Ovette found it easy to get Daisy a recording contract. Dyna Records signed her up together with such sexy stars as Ynez Veneracion and Priscilla Almeda.

The result is a J.Lo kind of packaging: low-waist, navel-baring outfits that tickle the senses but do not stretch the imagination to salacious levels. Sexy, yes, but not scandalously so.

Asked how her look and music fare vis-a-vis friend and fellow sexy singer Patricia Javier, who sent shock waves in her recent Folk Arts Theater show, Daisy merely shrugged.

"Patricia is different," Daisy says. "But I want to do a show with her, even a back-to-back music video, if possible."

Can she do a sizzling shower scene the way Patricia did?

Daisy cringes at the mere thought of drenching her body with soap and water in full view of her audience.

"No," she replies with finality. In other words, Daisy is there to sing, not to seduce.

For now, she has put the doubting Thomases to rest with her maiden effort as a singer.

"Many people have said that I don’t have the right to sing," she says. To her detractors, Daisy can only say, look, I’m a certified recording artist now! She even has nationwide mall tours and a dance contest to go with them.

And oh yes, she’s trying her hand at songwriting. Daisy is working on the lyrics of a song whose nature she refuses to divulge for now.

At last, Daisy Reyes has found her one true love, the one that will fulfill and make her feel whole. And this time, nothing in the world – not even the lure of the movies – will ever make her let go of it again.