On September 24, Kapuso artist Mikee Quintos admitted her insecurities with her singing during her song release of Just Enough.
Quintos recalled when she felt her insecurities when she recorded her GMA Playlist song.
“Narealize ko po talaga na ang lakas ng insecurity ko sa singing, sa music ko. Parang akala ko din confident ako. Akala ko din kahit papaano, ano ba yan ang tagal ko na kumakanta sa buong buhay ko. Pero hindi pala ‘yung ganon palang attitude, ‘yun yung parang wall ko tinatago ko ‘yung insecurity ko sa music.”
However, she clarified that she’s working through it.
“So ngayon ko pa lang nararamdaman na nagiging matapang ako when it comes to music. I’m still working it, process. So nasa gitna po ako ng, syempre hindi naman po siya switch na on and off. Tratrabahuhin niyo rin po ‘yun.”
Quintos then shared how she would usually compare herself with other music artists.
“Pag marami kang iniidolo na kapwa mong artist, nakikita mo ang galing. So feeling mo sa sarili mo kapag hindi mo kaya ‘yun hindi mo deserve maging singer, hindi mo ma-deserve na ma-label na recording artist.
“Na parang, ‘ano ba ‘yung talent ko sa talent niya.’ Na parang, ‘sa kanila na lang, sa kanila na lang ‘yung industriya.’ Parang ganon ‘yung insecurities ko. Na parang wala pa ko sa level ng singer, bakit ba ako nagpapaka-singer. Ganon ‘yung insecurities ko.”
One of these artists is Julie Anne San Jose, who Quintos revealed to have encouraged her to pursue a career in music.
“Si Julie [Anne San Jose]. Sa Studio 7 taping, oo mayroon po talaga akong ganong feeling. Pero, infairness naman po kasi ‘yung mga ganong feelings ko, nasasabi ko to kay Julie or yung mga ganong tao na naa-idolize ko. Tapos sila mismo ‘yung nagsasabi rin na huwag kang mag-isip, mag-release ka lang.”
She then broke into tears while recalling the struggles she faced to overcome her insecurities.
“It’s really my dream kasi. Mahirap kasi siyang i-start. Kasi sobrang tagal ko po siya pinagtagal. Siguro ‘yun din ‘yung mga na-realize ko sa process and ‘yung mga things na naharap ko sa sarili ko. ‘Yung insecurities, lahat ‘yun na-realize ko because of doing this. Kaya siguro happy din ako.”
Quintos also expressed her interest in developing her talent in songwriting.
“There are plans for that, but if papapiliin po ako, I want to do workshops for songwriting. Doon po ako interested.”
However, she revealed her plans of exploring other genres of music other than bubblegum pop.
“Right now, Just Enough is under the Bubblegum Pop genre. So ‘yung mga pampa-happy, chill na songs ganyan. Which is the best genre to go with sa first song dahil growing up naman ganyan ‘yung mga kantang napupusuan kong kantahin.
“But we really want to explore pa. I’m talking like plans namin with GMA Playlist. Gusto namin mag-explore pa into different genres, and then eventually we’ll find what works for me, Mikee.”
She then shared her fascination with the Netflix series, Nevertheless, and how it helped her music.
“Kung sa acting nararamdaman ko ‘yung pagiging buhay ako kapag nagugulat ako sa eksena, may nararamdaman akong bagong emosyon na hindi ko plinano. Sa music, ganon din ‘yung pakiramdam. For me, it’s very similar.
“Just like the show, pag plinay, sa certain parts ‘yung ganong music, deretso agad ‘yung emosyon mo. It helps you get into the mood right away.”
She also expressed her interest in collaborating with the Korean Boy Band, BTS.
“It’s a long shot, pero sana maka-collab ko ang BTS. Nangangarap lang naman ako.”
Quintos then shared that she wanted to touch people’s lives during the pandemic through her music.
“As Mikee, the stories I want to tell, or put an emphasis on.–syempre ang dami ng emosyon out there. As a singer kung ano ‘yung importante sayo ‘yung mga dahilan na would make you sing, right?
“For me right now, it’s love and comfort to the people, dito sa mga nangyayari po sa atin. Parang ‘yun ‘yung nafi-feel kong kailangan ng mga tao ngayon. Even sa mga taong close to me. Syempre hindi niyo naman po malalahat na ‘yan everyday sa text. So kahit papaano, gusto ko pong ma-touch ‘yung lives ng mga kaya kong ma-touch ‘yung life kahit hindi ko nakikita by eyes.”
Quintos released her song Just Enough under GMA Network’s sub-label GMA Playlist on September 24. The bubblegum pop track is currently available on iTunes, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and other digital streaming platforms worldwide.
