Arnee Hidalgo sings a different tune

After launching her last album to rave reviews – and just when its carrier single, a remake of Francis Magalona’s Cold Summer Nights – became a hit, Arnee Hidalgo disappeared.

Her sudden withdrawal from the scene left a lot of people asking: "What happened?"

Now, Arnee is back, ready to tell the whole story. What’s more, she’s back with a new album, a sexier look and a smoother, more urban-flavored R&B sound.

The 12-track album is entitled You Got It All and features the carrier single of the same title, a revival of the 1986 hit by The Jets. The single is currently enjoying significant airplay and is poised to be a big hit upon its official release in radio stations nationwide.

The album is produced by Arnee and her brother Jeffrey for their own label, Musiclink Productions, Inc. and is distributed by Star Records.

Aside from the carrier single, there are nine other revivals – What Might Have Been, Miss You Like Crazy, Standing Right Next To Me, Not While I’m Around, Mahal Kita, Walang Iba, Does This Mean Goodbye, Love Is (a duet with Piolo Pascual), I Can’t Make You Love Me and Inside That I Cried – and two originals, both by Gino Torres: Life In The City and Kahit Minsan Lang.

As intriguing as her new album is the story of why Arnee went on a self-imposed hiatus after her last album, released a few years ago.

According to Arnee, the reason for her sudden "disappearance" was that she became pregnant with her second child. Yes, Arnee is a wife and mother, and has been since her first album. It’s just that she never talked about it nor could she come out with the information because of fears before that doing so could hurt her career. But the truth is that Arnee got married in 2000 to Filipino-German businessman Yancy Shoaf, 27. They have two children, both boys, five-year-old Andre Gabriel and one-year-old Christian Samuel.

Yancy used to watch Arnee perform when she was still part of the all-girl group The Vibe. He was her first boyfriend, and when she became pregnant, they got married. But when she got signed to her former record label and her album was released, the fact that she was a wife and mother never came out in the media.

At the time, there was an understanding that the information would be withheld only until such time that her music had found a market. Arnee and her husband had their doubts ("At first, masama ang loob niya, but we talked about it naman, so he grew to accept it," says Arnee of her husband’s reaction), but they eventually complied, realizing that it was important to Arnee’s career.

Everything went well for a time, but Arnee realized that not being able to spend time with her family in public was hard. Yet she stuck it out because she really wanted a solo career and was prepared to take whatever steps were necessary to make it happen.

Her debut album was released to glowing reviews. However, in the middle of promoting it, Arnee received some unexpected news: she was pregnant with her second child and had to temporarily take a leave of absence.

After giving birth – and after her contract with her former label expired – Arnee decided to make a comeback and record another album, but this time, revealing the truth about her family.

"I decided to do it because I believe in the old saying that says ‘The truth will set us free,’ " Arnee says of her decision.

Indeed it has. Her latest round of publicity photos for the album shows Arnee as happier, more relaxed and carefree, but also with a new look that screams "all woman." It seems being a wife and mother has made Arnee mature not just physically, but emotionally as well. The new Arnee is even reflected in her sound. It is more edgy and more adult, which fits very well with her new status as a wife and mother.

Aside from Jeffrey, who co-produced the album and directed the music video for the carrier single, Arnee’s husband and in-laws also helped produce the album and are backing her 100 percent, making this a real "family affair."

Star Records is pleased to welcome Arnee to its family. "We are truly excited for Arnee and wish her all the best," says Star Records managing director Annabelle Regalado. "Not only is she an excellent singer, she is also a doting wife and mother, and no one deserves success more than she does."