And now, she’s so close to that big dream. Lovi could have easily banked on her family name, Poe (yes, she’s the daughter of the late Fernando Poe Jr.) to open the doors wide for her in showbiz.
But no thanks. She’d rather people call her simply as Lovi, period.
That way, she figures, people – especially those from showbiz, will take her for who and what she is. They won’t let her family name intimidate them.
And so Lovi (short for Lourdes Virginia) it is. It’s the name written in graceful, flowing script on the cover of her debut album, Sony BMG’s The Best of My Heart.
It’s the name listed on RX93.1’s Weekly Charts, where her first single, I Love You, went to No. 1 for two weeks.
If movie producers would have their way, it’s the same name they would place on giant billboards opposite the country’s romantic leading men.
But no thanks again. Lovi turned down an offer to do Dear Heart since she wants to take it one careful step at a time. Movie producers – no matter how eager – will just have to wait.
"I’m not saying anything definite, but for now, I’d rather establish myself as a singer first," Lovi explains.
One listen and you’ll know why. Her voice can glide over a romantic ballad, as it does in her interpretation of Selena’s Dreaming of You, a cut from her 13-track album. Then, without a warning, it can turn upbeat in another track, Everything You Wanted.
Her dad knew where his lovely daughter’s heart lay and didn’t hide his pleasure when he listened to the tapes she sent him when she was in the US.
FPJ, a man of few words, didn’t exactly tell her he was giving her singing career the green light. But Lovi knew in her heart he was all for it.
"Dad told me I should follow my dreams. He knew I was happy singing," relates his 17-year-old daughter.
Ergo: dear dad would have told her to go for it – recording and even starring in a video with foreign group SAME SAME (the duo of Clint and Bob formerly of The Moffatts handpicked Lovi for the project themselves).
The loving daughter even went a step further. She asked songwriter Edwin Marollano to make her a song dedicated to her dad. Result: You’re Still Here, one of the tracks in her debut album.
The cut oozes with longing (I may never hold you again/For a lifetime now).
But it doesn’t wallow in sadness (... everyday God sends you here/And there’s nothing more to fear/You’re an angel taking care of me).
Now, can you fault Lovi when the tears threaten to fall with each note she sings?
Lovi remembers the white roses Dad would send year after year her birthday would come around. She’d recall with a lot of pain how he gave her money to pay for a friend’s video cam when it got lost in the crowd the day Lovi went to an event without her mom knowing about it.
"My Dad scolded me first," Lovi looks back. "Then he made me promise I won’t make the same mistake again. It was only then that he gave me money to buy my own video cam."
The lesson – working for what you want – was not lost on the impressionable Lovi. As a senior high school student at Colegio San Agustin, she has vowed not to stop schooling even if showbiz knocks persistently at her door.
She even has a college course in mind: Business Management.
"School is important to me. That’s why I’m so thankful my weekends are free. I devote these to my studies," says Lovi.
She’s also adopting a wait-and-see stance before she releases any of her compositions in the market.
"I want to see how my first album fares," Lovi points out. "Then perhaps, I can include my composition in the next album."
She can take her own sweet time. After all, Lovi’s journey has just begun.