Is Bella in the right CompanY?

Yes! You read right! On their 13th album entitled Mahal Kong Radyo (released under Pop Art Music/Viva Records), the Philippines’ premiere vocal group, The CompanY, has no less than legendary screen icon – Miss Bella Flores as their special featured artist. The group could have opted to collaborate with any of the Viva Divas like Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez, the Nightingale – Lani Misalucha, Divine Diva Zsa-Zsa Padilla or the Ultimate Diva – Kuh Ledesma. It could have been the Soul Diva – Jaya, concert queen Pops Fernandez or even Pop Star Sarah Geronimo. In the end, it was a unanimous decision to guest the mother of all Divas – Miss Bella Flores.

This surprise collaboration happens on the rearranged hit by the Viva Hotbabes – Bulaklak (written by Lito Camo). In the new album, Moy Ortiz gave the double entendre novelty number a bebop jazz a cappella arrangement. In true peak form, Miss Bella Flores gets sassy and struts her stuff in this humorous chorale calamity. Producer Margot Gallardo proudly said that Miss Flores got her track down in only two takes; the mark of a real trouper.

"Her (Miss Flores) call time at the recording studio was 3 p.m. but we all panicked when Reuben (Laurente – CompanY’s tenor 1) texted us that she arrived at 2:30 p.m.! We all rushed to the studio as fast as we could and ordered late lunch to make up for the fact that our special guest arrived ahead of us," narrates CompanY artistic director Moy Ortiz.

During their brief time together in Amerasian Recording Studios, The CompanY pleasantly discovered that Ms. Flores’ off- camera persona was the complete antithesis of her evil kontrabida archetype on film and television. The group was also pleasantly surprised that Bella looked much, much younger in person.

"Here was this groovy chick who drove herself to work and whose colorful clothes reflected her real- life personality! She’s bubbly and fun to be with… like your favorite wacky aunt! Grabe! She was wearing a real Christian Dior ring! The same one Sarah Jessica Parker wore on the fashionable TV show Sex and the City," Sweet Plantado (CompanY soprano I) recalls with fondness.

"She was very down-to-earth and candid, to the point of being vulnerable by recalling with pride her humble beginnings in show business and how she was able to substantially support her entire family. She is definitely a survivor, an inspiration and an amazing person with a big heart," muses Annie Quintos (CompanY’s soprano 2).

"But she’s no prude either. She definitely got the gist of the joke in that arrangement!" adds Cecille Bautista (CompanY’s alto).

The irony of this anecdote is that arranged this a cappella arrangement of Bulaklak, complete with mischievous innuendo and ribald euphemisms at the height of Holy Week. "It took me almost 12 hours to work on the arrangement last Holy Tuesday. Considering that it was Holy Week, I guess I could attribute this work to divine inspiration and the risqué idea to incorporate Tita Bella into the arrangement. It took a lot of prayers and guts for me to make that call to the lady but in the end, it was worth the risk because Tita Bella was so accommodating and approachable!" volunteers Moy.

The new CompanY album – Mahal Kong Radyo is a mixed bag of brand-new compositions alongside reinterpretations of the biggest radio hits of their colleagues in the music industry. The album’s carrier single is the heartbreaking ballad Hindi Na written by Moy Ortiz and Edith Gallardo. Other new compositions on this album include Kumusta Siya, and the anthemic Mahal Kong Radyo, also by the Ortiz-Gallardo tandem; the jazzy standard – Hopeless Romantic (by Christian Martinez), an entry to the upcoming First Levi Songwriting Festival.

Cover songs on this collection read like a greatest hits compilation from radio’s recent past. The CompanY took on the daunting task to recycle and reinterpret such pop classics as The Eraserheads’ With A Smile (given a bossa nova/Sergio Mendes flavor) and Ang Huling El Bimbo (arranged in the same vein as Queen’s majestic Bohemian Rhapsody). The giant Side A hit Forevermore is set in an acoustic vein with a twist of Wilson Phillips harmonies mixed into the brew. Aiza Seguerra’s record-breaking hit Pagdating ng Panahon, is now seen from the male viewpoint. A hit for Regine Velasquez and Martin Nievera, Louie Ocampo’s You Are My Song goes the opposite end of the musical spectrum with a somber, reflective impressionistic feel. For soap opera buffs, The CompanY gave the Jude Michael hit Mula Sa Puso a very Carpenters feel. Finally, Regine Velasquez’s Dadalhin turns up as an uplifting gospel number.

Pos. Jazz. Brasil. A Cappella. Novelty. Gospel. Rock. Folktronica. House. The CompanY has pulled out all the stops on Mahal Kong Radyo. The album showcases the group’s versatility, personality and peripatetic nature to tackle such a broad spectrum of music genres with authenticity and professionalism. Mahal Kong Radyo delivers an eclectic sonic landscape of varied tempos, textures, flavors, moods and sentiments.

Vic del Rosario Jr. and Vincent del Rosario of Viva Records are the album’s executive producers. Line producers are Margot Gallardo, Moy Ortiz and Eugene Villaluz. Viva Records’ artist and repertoire director is Eugene Villaluz, with Guia-Gil Ferrer as artist and repertoire supervisor. Vocal arrangements are by Moy Ortiz. It is recorded by Eric Apuyan and Rejel Murillo, mixed by Eric Apuyan and mastered by Eric Apuyan and Romel Rosellon.