Sabrina still loves acoustic

Nearly 10 years after she made her recording debut with the album Sabrina, and set the local acoustic trend afire, Sabrina still loves acoustic music and has become bigger than ever. If I am not mistaken, she has already released 10 albums and each new one sells more than the one before creating a pretty chain of hits that promises to go on and on and on.

Hers is an easy formula. Take any song old or new, rock or soul or R&B or dance, etc., and then give it a laidback, simple arrangement. You can then be rest assured that the song will become a big seller after Sabrina makes the recording. She has done nearly all the hits of these past years. Poker Face, Bad Day, Pyramid, Marry Me, Payphone, Out Of Reach, Umbrella, Call Me Maybe, If Love Is Blind, I Don’t Want You To Go, One Last Cry and many others. A lot of other singers can do the same but it is her singing style, young and sweet and full of feeling that makes the difference.

These recordings have proven so appealing that Sabrina has become one of the very few Filipino talents who have also become big stars in other countries. Asians cannot seem to get enough of her sound and she sells a lot of albums in Korea, Singapore and Indonesia. She is now known in these places as Asia’s Acoustic Sweetheart. A Sabrina visit to these places is cause for rejoicing for her many enthusiastic fans to always turn up to watch her performances.

As you may have already heard, Sabrina made headlines in Indonesia a few years ago when her album I Love Acoustic 4 debuted in the charts at No. 2, ahead of the big American star Rihanna. Last I heard, she has added Thailand to her conquests. In fact, her latest release I Love Acoustic 6 features two collaborations with Thai artists from the Universal label.

These are the bonus tracks, Treasure, the Bruno Mars song featuring King Picket from The Voice of Thailand TV show and We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus featuring N’Oil from The Voice Kids of Thailand singing contest. The idea that singing with Sabrina would be helpful to the careers of these singers shows how popular she is nowadays in Thailand. 

There is much to delight Sabrina fans in I Love Acoustic 6. At a time when producers are skimping on the number of included songs, there are no less than 18 cuts and all of them are big hits. That is, save one which is heard for the first time in the album. This is Paradise, which was composed by Sabrina herself. This song marks a milestone in her career. Admit it, one drawback to Sabrina’s attaining total success is that she is often identified as a cover singer.

The trend nowadays is for singers to not only sing new compositions but also to write their own material. Honing her composing skills can surely contribute to Sabrina’s staying power and boost her popularity. And hopefully, having more original songs that will become big sellers will help remove that cover singer tag.

Now while you are making your judgment with her Paradise, as in listening to find out if it is good enough for the hit charts, I am sure that you will also enjoy listening to the other songs in I Love Acoustic 6.

These are Roar by Katy Perry; Royals by Lorde; Applause by Lady Gaga; Wrecking Ball and We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus; Best Song Ever by One Direction; Treasure by Bruno Mars, Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke; If I Loose Myself by One RepubIic; 22 by Taylor Swift; Clarity by Zedd; Just Give Me A Reason by Pink; Titanium by David Guetta; When I Was Your Man by Bruno Mars; and the first single out of the album, the big hit by Arianna Grande, Almost Is Never Enough featuring Myk Perez.

Here now is a look at the big-selling albums of the week based on the sales reports from Odyssey Music and Video Stores nationwide.  Sabrina’s I Love Acoustic 6 came in at No. 7: 

Got To Believe by Various Artists; Acoustic Noel by Noel Cabangon; Dreaming Of You by Juris; Best Of Praise & Worship Music by Various Artists; Bossa Love by Sitti; DJP, the second album by Daniel Padilla; I Love Acoustic 6 by Sabrina; Bente by Parokya ni Edgar; Richard & Maya – The Wedding by Various Artists; and Higher Love by Angeline Quinto.