Into the lion’s den & loving it

They told her showbiz is a lion’s den. But Nikki Gil chose to act deaf, dumb and blind and proceeded to enter the den anyway. Now, she doesn’t regret her decision one bit. Never mind if she has to shuttle from her house in Alabang all the way to Ateneo (where she is a freshman English Literature student) in Katipunan, Quezon City, and on to her showbiz commitments every single day.

And, lo and behold! Nikki looks none the worse for all that daily stress. In fact, she looks fresh as the morning dew each time she greets you with that wide, sunshiny smile.

She was looking exactly that way at the presscon that launched Hotsilog, an album that compiles the hits of ‘70s band Hotdog. Nikki sings the track Kasi Naman while fellow ASAP hosts Piolo Pascual performs Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko; Sarah Geronimo renders Pers Lab, Rachelle Ann Go croons Panaginip and so on and so forth.

Nikki is not one to take any song at face value and sing it exactly the way it first sounded.

"I put my style and personality into the song," she says.

It’s the intuitive musician in her speaking. Nikki first sat on the piano bench and tinkered with the ivory keys with only her ouido (ear for music) guiding her. She was only seven years old then, and playing Rainbow Connection for all she was worth.

"I even used to compete in piano competitions when I was in high school," Nikki recalls.

Thus, bliss for Nikki these days is singing with her dad accompanying her on the piano.

But she doesn’t have the luxury of time to do that now. Nikki is steeped in school (14 units – or one unit short of the regular load), Pinoy Dream Academy, ASAP and Myx.

She also hosts Pinoy Dream Academy and ASAP and is a Myx video jock. Hosting is a whole new world for her, and she sees it as a challenge to hurdle.

Singing, on the other hand, is a first love, just like her ex-boyfriend, Gab Valenciano, whose mom, Angeli, was at the Hotsilog launch, too (Nikki and Angeli are in good terms, thank you).

Thanks to singing, Nikki did gigs in various night spots and even guested in a South Border concert. It also served as her passport to that memorable commercial that made showbiz people sit up and notice.

Thanks to singing, too. Nikki is now a member of ABS-CBN’s Star Magic stable of talents.

The girl who used to avoid acting like the plague is now ready to take on varied roles, like the one she’s doing for the upcoming fantasy series Rounin.

Those sharp features can also come in handy in villain roles, which Nikki is raring to do as well. Sure, it will run counter to her goody-goody personality, but that’s where the fun lies. Nikki can’t wait to sink her teeth into such a role.

After all, at this point in her showbiz career, Nikki is already used to making eyebrows soar – for good or for bad.

When she broke up with Gab, malicious tongues started wagging and said Nikki was using the relationship as publicity stunt. It was foul, but Nikki just shrugged it off and comforted herself in the thought that you can’t please everybody.

"No matter how hard you try," she sighs.

Now, people are linking her to ASAP co-host Geoff Eigenmann. Like Gab, they belong to a Christian fellowship group. Nikki and Geoff are with the Bread from Heaven Christian group. They’ve known each other since Nikki was 12 and went to the same high school.

But sorry, Cupid wannabes. Nikki and Geoff insist they are just friends, no more, no less. So let nature take its course. No use hurrying up things. As the song goes, love may just grow, for all we know.