Tintin and her ‘baby’ Bryan

My good friend Tintin Bersola-Babao is happily awaiting the arrival of her and husband Julius’ firstborn (she’s now several weeks pregnant) – the reason why Tintin is happily taking the initial steps towards responsible motherhood by helping set the right values for young children.

These values are illustrated on her latest creation, a children’s book titled Bryan Learns His Lesson, the first of a series of children’s books Tintin will be writing for Goodwill Bookstore.

The 36-page colored book is about a spoiled young boy born to a wealthy family, who later learns to be humble.

The colorful illustrations in the book were done by Tintin’s loving husband Julius Babao, who, unknown to many, is an excellent artist. He has been doing sketches and drawings of all major characters in the Bible since he was 13 and has a collection of his various interpretations of the face of Jesus Christ, which he has been drawing every Good Friday as part of his panata.

The book was launched recently during the 25th Manila International Book Fair held at the World Trade Center at the Goodwill Pavilion.

To Tintin and Julius, congratulations!

Derek McDonald’s Inescapable

Scottish singer Derek McDonald is destined to become a major pop star. Blessed with good looks, a soulful voice and the determination to make it big in his chosen field, his dream seems about to materialize with the release in the Philippines of his debut album under Alpha Music titled Inescapable.

The album contains 14 songs – most of which were penned by McDonald himself – including the carrier single Hurts So Bad, a love song that talks about the pain that comes with falling in love. The second single, Alone Again, is being played on FM stations.

While the release of his debut album, Inescapable may very well be his first crack at stardom as a solo artist, Derek has been in the music industry since he was a teen. At 15, he sent a demo tape (which he recorded in his bedroom) to a management company. Three weeks later, a two-man boyband called Mero was born. His partner was fellow Glaswegian Tommy Clark. Unfortunately, Mero disbanded three years ago so Derek spent most of his time writing songs. He wrote songs for Italian-American singer Barbara Baldieri.

"Music has always been my life. All I’ve ever wanted to do is to write and perform great pop songs," says Derek.

He has spent the past two years in studios all over the world, working with world-famous music teams like Deekay Music (Blue, Samantha Mumba, SCLUB), Sturkens and Rogers (Anastacia, N’SYNC, Madonna, Britney Spears), Murlyn Music (Jennifer Lopez, Celine Dion, Christina Milian, Santana) and many more. Among his musical influence are Stevie Wonder and the Motown classics, as well as contemporary R&B artists like Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige and Usher.

Twenty two-year-old Derek describes his sound as a "complete fusion of styles." He loves old Northern soul tracks but is equally into everything that’s happening musically at the moment. Above all, his sound is very pop and he describes his album as electric and funky.

Other tracks in the album are Just Like Me, On Time, What Can I Do, How Do I, Anybody Seen My Girl, Nobody Knows, She Belongs to Someone Else, Not My Girl, Inescapable, Surrender, Miracle and Don’t Forget Me.

With Inescapable, Derek brings an exciting edginess back into pop, something which can’t be accomplished through a reality TV show. It has been a long road. But each step makes him stronger, professionally and personally.

Born to perform and destined to become a star, it’s only a matter of time before Derek becomes one of the most celebrated artists of our generation.