The newly renewed Sparkle artist shared how her Kapuso journey started during the pandemic and how things have turned out beautifully for her career in the last three years.
Consistent in showcasing her artistry, Thea Astley since she joined the Kapuso Network’s second season of the top-rating talent reality series, The Clash in 2019. She got declared as the runner-up to grand winner, Jeremiah Tiangco.
During GMA Sparkle’s #SignedForStardom contract signing on Tuesday, November 22, the talented Kapuso artist expressed her awe at how blessed she is–for the past three years, being an exclusive Kapuso artist with practically non-stop projects.
“Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na, grabe, parang ang bilis lang ng panahon simula nang natapos ‘yung season namin ng ‘The Clash’.
“(I still can’t believe that it’s been that long since our season of The Clash ended on air)”, she shared. The Clash season 2 completed its three-month run on December 15, 2019. Astley is notably one of the international ‘clashers’ of the show.
“Tapos bigla akong—I was blessed enough na mapasama sa ‘All Out Sundays’ lalo na sa segment namin na Queendom. ‘Yun, I’m just thankful sa trust na binigay ng network at ng Sparkle, para I-renew pa ako ulit at bigyan pa ko ng chances, opportunity to grow. Kaya sobrang thankful ako.
“(And then I got blessed enough to be part of All Out Sundays, especially of the Queendom segment. I am thankful for the trust that the network and Sparkle have been giving me. To have my contract renewed, and for my network to open more opportunities for me to grow as an artist, I am very thankful),” she added.
Aside from her All Out Sundays stint, Astley got busy last year with her podcast ‘Behind the Song’. She revealed it is currently on pause, but said that she hopes to bring it back next year.
“Hopefully, we can come back kasi maganda naman ‘yung objective ng show, (which is) to promote OPM , ‘di ba?
“(Hopefully we can come back next year, because it has a very good objective, which is to promote OPM, right?),” she said.
Asked about what is in store for her and her fans, now that she just signed up with Sparkle, the Kapuso artist shared some of her plans, that she wishes to be fulfilled next year.
“Sa following year, hopefully magawa ko, to release my own music kasi as of now nakabangko pa silang lahat. Ipag-pray natin na next year mangyari na ‘yun. Also, another podcast, aside from Behind the Song. I wanna produce another podcast na iba naman ang topic.
“(I am hoping to release the songs I wrote because they remain unrecorded at the moment. Let’s pray for it to finally happen next year. Also, I am planning to release a new podcast aside from ‘Behind the Song’),” she shared.
Astley believes that her faith in God is what has been helping her to remain relevant in show business, amidst the relentless arrival of new talented stars. She noted her dedication and determination to reinvent herself, every time she gets thrown into a new environment, as one of the secrets of her success.
“Siguro kasi, ano ako eh…nag-aadapt? Kung saan ako ilagay, kung ano ipagawa sa akin. Tinatry ko ang best ko na mag-train, I-hone ‘yung skills ko at ‘yung craft ko, para ma-make sure ko na may magagawa ko ‘yung best ko para magawa ‘ko kung ano ipagawa sa akin.
“(It must be my adaptability? I adapt to every environment I get thrown in. I do exactly as I am expected to do. I try my best to train and hone my skills and my craft, so that I can offer my best in every task I am demanded to accomplish),” she said passionately. She recalled how she started with just singing productions.
“Like sa ‘All out Sundays’, nag-start ako na kanta kanta lang, tapos ngayon meron na akong song and dance, mga dance prod. Nag-gogrow talaga. Siguro ‘yun? ‘Yun yung masasabi ko na meron ako.
“(Like in my ‘All Out Sundays’ stint. I started there with just singing prods, but now I am also doing sing-and-dance numbers. I have been growing, I can say. I think that’s the reason why?),” she said. After 2019, The Clash aired two more seasons. A new one is set to premiere next year.
The beautiful Kapuso star underscored the need for artists to reinvent themselves to stay relevant.
“Sa tingin ko naman lahat ng artist dapat ganon. Hindi naman kailangan na stagnant lang tayo di ba? Kailangan natin mag-expand. We need to step outside of the box at kahit minsan uncomfortable, we have to learn to grow.
“(I believe every artists needs to be like that. We can’t afford to be stagnant, can we? We need to expand. We need to step outside of the box, even though it gets uncomfortable sometimes. We need to grow),” she noted
Asked about what challenges she intends to beat next year, Astley said she hopes o become more active on social media, as her job demands.
