Troy Laureta on working with Ariana, Katy, Bocelli, other A-list international singers

Contrary to the title of Vol. 3 of his OPM album, “Dalamhati” (the Tagalog word for grief or grieving), Filipino-American musical director, songwriter, and performer Troy Laureta is in a celebratory mood for several reasons.The Hawaii-born, full-blooded Pinoy is ecstatic about the goings-on in his life --- both personally and professionally. Troy initially made a name for himself in the international music scene as the Fil-Am musical director of famous artists in the US. He has worked with such A-list international singers as Ariana Grande, David Foster, Katy Perry, and Andrea Bocelli.

Filipino music enthusiasts have known Troy since he began to co-produce songs with ABS-CBN Music and work with local singers like Ogie Alcasid, Jed Madela, Regine Velasquez, to name a few.While his career was booming, Troy was hurting inside for not being able to show to the whole world who he really is. It was two years ago when he made a revelation about his sexual orientation and gender identity through his Instagram.“Dalamhati (full title is Dalamhati: A Troy Laureta OPM Collective, Vol. 3) is my most special album because it’s the first album that I produced as an openly gay man.

Being open about myself is something that I wanted for so long, so, to be able to put all those emotions, all those feelings finally, openly and freely, into a body of work, it’s something I dreamt about,” he offered. It’s a follow-up to Kaibigan: A Troy Laureta Collective Vol.1 and Giliw: A Troy Laureta OPM Collective Vol. 2, released in 2020 and 2021, respectively.I recently met with Troy for a one-on-one for Batalk Channel’s The Interviewer. Below are excerpts.

What have been changed so far in your life now?

“A lot of things have changed. I released my third and final album and I’m just starting to step into a different era of my artistry and my life. I’m just happy to be here.”

This third collective is a celebration of your being gay. How did it impact the choice of songs and the singers?

“Those songs have kind of become a beacon of hope for me during my process of coming out and with the singers, they are the people who have been with me through it all.”

Let’s talk about the songs in Dalamhati. I know Martin Nievera released one --- Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika. Morissette did Huling El Bimbo, and aside from that, you also have Jonathan Manalo’s Gusto Ko ng Bumitaw performed by Pia Toscano and Loren Allred.

“They are good friends of mine. Ogie (Alcasid) was also part of Dalamhati. He did an acoustic version of Pangarap Ko ay Ibigin Ka.”

Your Collectives --- Kaibigan, Giliw and Dalamhati --- are your tribute to OPM. You’ve made a mark abroad. You just made this country proud. Having achieved what you have achieved, why are you doing all this?

“For so long, I wasn’t able to formally give Filipino music and the Filipinos the recognition for molding me into the musician that I am today. It’s something very heavy on my heart and it’s for my family, too. I see how hard they work and what they had to do for me to get here and it was my way of saying thank you. And for the youth especially, it’s something to be proud of, something to be seen and heard because when I was growing up, there wasn’t Filipino music other than what I saw on TFC. But if someone in the States or someone in the province can listen to our music being sung by the world, I’m hoping that it would give them the courage to step into their light because I would have loved that back when I was a little younger.”

Did you come with David Foster when he did his concerts in Manila?

“It was his manager who called me up on a random Tuesday or something and said, ‘Hey, David needs a musical director,’ and I tell you, Tito Boy, I got scared that I almost didn’t do the audition. I wasn’t sure if I was ready but I did it. He’s been following my career with Ariana and all the other artists that I’ve worked with through the years.”

Let’s talk about Ariana.

“I got to work with Ariana through auditions in L.A. I became her musical director on her first world tour, The Honeymoon Tour (2015).”

How’s it working with Ariana?

“Amazing. I’m a fan of singers so when I was able to work with someone who’s not only famous and beautiful but also fulfills my musical heart.”

How about Katy Perry?

“I worked with Katy on a couple of gigs. It was through David and we did this like corporate events and we did a full set of her songs. It was so much fun. It was short but I was able to play Fireworks and you know, all the hits and it was super fun. She was very nice.”

Let’s talk about your experience working with Bocelli.

“It was special because we all know Bocelli from singing songs like The Prayer and I grew up with that song so when I got to work with him, it was a moment that I’ll always remember because it was a full circle moment. My first gig with Bocelli was actually in Italy. We performed at the Colosseum and it was one of my first David Foster gigs.”

Your third collective is your opus as a gay man. Tell me the story.

“I was closeted for a long time because I didn’t want to disappoint my family. I thought within myself that if I was able to do good in music they wouldn’t care about you --- you know, me being gay.

“But then it started to take a toll on me where I was kind of hiding who I was and I didn’t see myself anymore and it wasn’t until my grandfather died in 2016 that kind of made me come up with the decision to just start to come out slowly and it wasn’t until last year that I officially came out to the world and it was so hard.”

How did it happen?

“I was sitting with my mom at breakfast and she was just wondering, ‘Why are you so quiet? Why are you being weird?’ She kept badgering me and finally, I just started crying and I fell to the floor and I told her that I’m gay and I’m tired, I’m very tired. She just hugged me and she said that it’s okay. That part was probably the most hurtful part of coming out because I realized I could have come out sooner and there was a lot of regret like we could have made more memories, we could have done this or that for the longest time but I wasted so much time.”

What was your Dad’s reaction?

“My dad didn’t care. That was the one I was worried about my dad, a Filipino from Quezon City like, you know, ‘bro,’ ‘tol.’ But he was cool with it. It just made my heart jump.”

I know I already asked you this but again, now at a different phase in your life, if there’s one song that defines who you are, what is it?

“The one song that always brings back memories and makes me feel happy or sad, depending on the moment, is this beautiful Bisaya song called Usahay. I’m a very proud Cebuano, (I’m a) very proud Bisaya so, to be able to showcase that to the Philippines and the world, is a great accomplishment for me.”

What do you want to tell the Filipino people?

“The past couple of years have been so beautiful for me. To the Filipino people, to be able to connect with you guys on a musical level is something that I’ve been wanting all my life and I just want to say thank you, guys so much for embracing me and my music these past couple of years and I also want to say on just a personal level when it comes to OPM (Original Pilipino Music), God has taken me to such beautiful places but there’s nothing like coming home.

“We can like Ariana. We can like Journey. We can love Whitney Houston but it’s still amazing and beautiful to celebrate Pilita Corrales, Martin Nievera, to celebrate our music because our music is so beautiful.

“A lot of people ask me, ‘Why are you so passionate about it?’ It’s because OPM literally saved my life. Dalamhati is a story about how I was able to get through the mental stuff that I was going through and I used Filipino music to get me through those times.”