Ang singer na may K

“Constant reinvention” in terms of her material and her songs. That, says singer, comedienne and actress K Brosas, is the secret to her longevity in the business.

K, who has been singing and performing for more than 20 years — 22 to be exact — says performing live is her passion. She loves the energy she gets from an audience: whenever she is onstage. She feeds off that energy the crowd gives to her, takes it and gives it right back to them with something more added. As a live performer, she craves the excitement of not knowing how the audience will react to a joke or a skit, or even a song. That, she says, is what makes it so exciting and keeps her on her toes. “Passion ko talaga ang live performance,” says K. “Instant ang reaction ng tao. Walang Take 2. So hit and miss. Di naman laging havey pero buti na lang nababawi sa pagkanta.”

So when she’s not busy co-hosting episodes of Kris TV, or acting in some other movie or teleserye project, K returns to what she does best, which is performing onstage before a live audience. It’s something for which her years in comedy bars prepared her well and why she will never give it up.

K takes her live performances seriously and prepares, even for the small shows, as if they were major concerts. She never just goes there thinking, “Okay, I have a show to do, let’s do it.” K takes each show to be as important as the last one. She constantly tries to update the material and the songs, for the benefit of her audience. Like for the upcoming series of shows she’s doing for PAGCOR (she just finished one last Oct. 17 at Casino Filipino Angeles, and will be having others on Dec. 11 at Casino Filipino Tagaytay with Pooh; Jan. 15, 2016 at Casino Filipino Mimosa; Jan. 30 at Casino Filipino Davao; and March 12 at Casino Filipino Cebu, again with Pooh), she made sure there was new material ready. “Madaming bagong songs. Kelangan siyempre updated ka sa mga bago.”

She is grateful that she continues to have work and has never been — as they call it in the vernacular — “nabakante.” Sure, she may have lost out on a few projects here and there, for various reasons, but K, with her signature humor, has always managed to bounce back. And she considers herself blessed. 

That’s why she tries to give her audience a good show whenever she’s onstage. Even when she’s sad or not feeling so good, she never shortchanges them. “Never kong dinamay ang personal sa trabaho,” notes K. “You owe it to your audience na ibigay ang best kasi nagbayad sila para maging masaya.”

Of course, there are times, too, when audiences don’t live up to her expectations as a performer, like when people don’t take her singing seriously because she is a comedienne and say things like, ‘Ay nakakatawa lang siya, pero di dapat seryosohin (as a singer).’ In that case, she tries even harder to prove that she’s serious about what she does. Says K: “Normal minsan yan. Akala nila lagi kang nagpapatawa. Pero ako pag love song, talagang tinotodo ko, may emotion, para makita nila na singer naman talaga ako.”

Despite being so busy flitting from show to show, and traveling around the country and abroad, K always finds time to be with her daughter Crystal, who turned 18 this year. “I always make time para sa anak ko,” says K. “Kahit gaano ako ka-busy, kelangan bumawi bilang single mom ako.”

She looks forward to having new projects — “Sana magkaroon ng bagong TV show” she says — but K is happy just to be working. “Lagi pa naman ako nasa TV, salamat sa regular na weekly guestings sa Kris TV at masaya ako kasi never akong nawawalan ng work.”

And for as long as there are audiences to watch her, K will keep performing. The reactions of an audience are what drive her, what move her and what will keep her going.