Former PBB housemates Jem Macatuno, Shawntel Cruz, Kiara Takahashi, and Lie Reposposa, have established their names in the music industry as singers and composers.
They are the quartet behind the newest theme song of this year’s season of ABS-CBN’s reality game show, Pinoy Big Brother: Connect. Through their song, titled, Connected Tayo–showed how well-rounded these housemates from PBB’s previous season.
During an exclusive interview with LionhearTV, the four of them cannot hide their surprise that the Kapamilya network believed in their abilities as singers and composers.
Jem, the producer and one of the song’s singers thanked their manager for believing in them.
“Ito nga binigyan pa kami ng pagkakataon na makagawa ng song para sa
PBB. Syempre magpapasalamat din ako sa manager namin si ma’am April. Kasi siya talaga yung actually nag-push nito eh,” he said. “Sobrang thankful kami na ginawan niya ng paraan. At yun ito na nga yung mga nagpeplay sa PBB na bagong season.”
Lei is still on cloud nine since she was just a contestant on the reality show. Now, she already managed to get her song being played inside Kuya’s house.
“Sobrang thankful po ako kasi nung nasa loob pa po kami ng PBB, napapakinggan lang po namin yung mga kanta nung ibang artist. Tapos nung sinabi ni ma’am April, siya rin po kasi talaga ang nag-suggest na kayo na lang kaya kumanta ng mga song, mag-compose kayo,” she said.
Lei also added that they thought they couldn’t get the work done. But through the push that they were given by their manager and the ABS-CBN family, they were able to come up with a song that they never thought they could do.
“Syempre nung una akala ko talaga di talaga namin magagawa. Tapos nung tinry namin, yun nga po, nakakataba din ng puso. Alam niyo yun, sobrang nakakatuwa like yung saya abot hanggang tenga yung ngiti. Kasi ngayon napapakinggan niyo yung kanta na gawa namin sa loob ng PBB. Like parang kahit lumabas na kami, parang feeling ko andun pa rin ako kasi napapakinggan ko ang boses ko,” Lei added.
But for Shawntel, she knew that it will not be a surprise to have them sing the theme song of PBB. It’s because the management of Star Music knew that they have the potential and that they can do it.
“Yung sakin naman I would say na hindi siya unexpected kundi expected siya. Knowing na yan sila ma’am April, alam nila yung potential namin as writers, as singers. And yung nabigyan kami ng push to do it,” she said.
“…it’s a one factor na talagang mag-push samin na gumawa ng kanta. In which naging worth it siya at the end na ginamit na for PBB. So talagang nakaka-bless siya isipin. Na because of how they believed in us,” she added.
Shawntel also thanked Star Hunt and Star Music for believing in them and giving them the push to complete the perfect song for this year’s PBB season.
“It’s a give-back blessing to them and also sa mga naniwala sa amin, ng Star Hunt. And then the people in Star Music ayan. They’ve been the ones talagang number one kung bakit namin nagawa ito. And because of our passion na rin,” said Shawntel.
For Kiara, it’s still somewhat nostalgic knowing that four contestants of the game show have become the composers and singers for its theme song.
“Sino ba naman yung mag-aakala na kami yung kakanta ng theme song ng Pinoy Big Brother. Tapos ngayon nasama namin siya sa binuo naming kanta,” said Kiara.
The four also shared how they put the song together. According to Lei, it started with Jem creating the beat.
“Si Jem naggitara po siya. Tapos nung nabuo na yung tono, nagbigay po kami mga idea, bawat isa kung anong gusto namin dun sa kanta,” shared Lie.
Jem also admitted that it was a challenge for him having his first time ever producing his song.
“Actually malaking challenge sakin. Kasi as a producer lang talaga ako nun. Kasi nung high school ako gumagawa ako ng mga EDM, Electronic Dance Music, pang DJ. Idol ko kasi sina Avicci nun eh, sina Zedd,” shared the young producer.
And he got the shock of his life upon entering the industry where everything must meet a certain standard.
“Tapos nung pinasok ‘to, mahirap pala siya. Kasi pag dito commercialized na yung song eh. Industry-standard na siya. Kailangan mong tumapat sa kung ano yung standard ng mga nilalabas sa Spotify, sa Youtube, ng Star Music,” Jem added.
Kiara also revealed that they got stuck at some point while writing the lyrics. It’s because of the differences in their schedules.
“Actually, there was a time na na-stuck kami. Like parang asan na tayo? Matatapos ba natin ‘to? Kasi dahil hindi kami nagkakatugma ng schedule, plus may busy, tapos malayo-layo kami sa isa’t-isa,” Kiara said.
Nevertheless, they were able to finish the lyrics without even realizing it. And after they finished the lyrics, everything followed. From producing, to the arrangement, until they were recording the song on the ABS-CBN studio.
“Pero hindi ko rin alam kung paano pero dumating sa point na may isa na tayong nabuong kanta, buo na siya. Na-realize namin na parang buo na pala. And then everything followed. Si Jem with the producing, the arrangement with Kuya Bryan. And then sir Jonathan also helped us and the management. Tapos hindi namin na-realize na andun na kami sa ABS-CBN, nire-record na namin yung kanta. Pero it wasn’t easy,” she narrated.
With their song being played at Kuya’s house every time, Shawntel stressed that what they have done was a series of trials and errors because they wanted to make the song their own.
“Kung naiisip ko siya, parang trial and error. Natapos kami actually nang madaling araw. We were all talking kung ano yung mga inputs namin dito kung may papalitan ba kami. Talagang we want to make it our own story. So talagang yun ang lumabas,” shared Shawntel.
And now that they have created a song that tells their story during their stay in Kuya’s house, Shawntel, Jem, and Kiara had their songs that also made a mark on their careers as singers and songwriters.
Jem wrote “Can’t Get Out” which reached 10 million views on YouTube and Spotify. Meanwhile, Shawntel’s song “You’re Makin Me Kilig” became the official soundtrack of the Kapamilya Koreanovela “Gangnam Beauty”. Kiara’s “Ikaw, Ako, Tayo” is included in the “Ang Soundtrack Ng Bahay Mo, Vol. 2” which is the official playlist of PBB: Connect.
