Alynna: Singing is like praying

Alynna, the sultry voice behind novelty hits Kahit Gaano Kalaki (Ang Iyong Pagmamahal) and Ah… Ano Ba Yan, takes another chance on her rudely-interrupted recording career via the four-track CD Lite Alynna… Someone Like Me.

In the CD Lite of ballads, Alynna veers away from double-entendre songs she is known for. She also proves she can sing some serious ditties that warm the heart. Besides, it’s a welcome change that didn’t take her long to decide on.

Alynna was a member of New Minstrels before the novelty music bug bit her. That means singing pop, standards and covers is no mean feat to her.

“The album speaks of who I am and what I am as a singer,” Alynna says of her Viva Records-produced CD Lite. “It feels good that I will be reintroduced again and that I can sing serious songs. And I never had a hard time shifting to another type of music because I started singing pop and standards. The CD Lite is a preparation for my full-length classic album.”

Yes, you read it right. Alynna can hit high notes the way Charlotte Church and Josh Groban do in their performances. She also dispels rumors that she’s just a one-hit wonder.“

In fact, there was an offer to record another novelty album after Kahit Gaano Kalaki,” she recalls. “I declined  because people have the tendency not to take me seriously because of the songs I sing. I know the public will still associate me with those songs and even ask me to sing them in provincial gigs. I hope they will accept me with my new music.”

Alynna left mainstream showbiz and contented herself performing in corporate shows and concerts abroad. She is thankful to novelty music because it gave her name recall. It’s just that people grow and change for the better, says Alynna. “I can join the bossa nova trend because I can sing it,” says Alynna. “I did bossa and samba with the New Minstrels, complete with dancing. But we have Sitti and Agot Isidro to thank for that kind of music. I want to be known through the music I do in my CD Lite.”

Alynna does not disappoint in Alynna… Someone Like Me. It boasts of songs that reveal the heart of a woman in love.

Reasons of the Heart, an original composition of Ferdinand Dimadura, shows that people have reasons for falling in love, even if these bring pain and suffering.

Take a Chance by Eric Cabahug shows Alynna begging for another lease in love. Its lyrics remind one of an Angela Bofill hit. Here, Alynna promises her man she won’t let him down by treating him right.

I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Want Someone Like Me, theme of the 1976 movie Carrie, pictures Alynna as an infatuated young woman. 

In Jim Paredes’ Yakap sa Dilim, Alynna bares her inner passion. As everybody knows, the song is about the small, little things one does to make that special person feel important. All songs have music videos included in the album.

Asked what the real deal is in her shifting gears from sizzling novelty songs to melancholic, sappy love songs, Alynna replies, “I’m really sad inside because of what I have experienced (like her dad’s passing away four years ago and some heartbreaks). I sing to get by. Singing is like crying. I’m able to release  suppressed emotions. It’s also like a prayer. I feel closer to God and my loved ones.”