“My friends say that I’m going to be someone famous when I grow up. I’m going to dance my way to the top!“ An excerpt from a video of a young girl who discovered her passion for singing at a very young age. Her captivating charm and confidence are truly commendable.
Ysa Yaneza is a Singaporean-Filipino artist who fell in love with music through her dad’s influence, “My dad introduced 80’s music into my life, and it has ever since been a big inspiration to my music-making process. I wanted to recreate a song both my dad and I loved and give my own spin to it, which he would’ve been proud of.”
By dint of her persistence and an overflowing creativity, she continues to produce her own version of songs evocative of early 2000’s pop and R&B, with influences of 80’s new wave and Filipino pop ballads.
On November 13, Yaneza is set to release another cover, “True,” a love song by Spandau Ballet, giving this classic ballad a fresh hyperpop take. The iconic and nostalgic 80’s track gets a 2020 version with playful electronic synth-pop elements; an upbeat production with sentimental lyrics.
Yaneza’s cover is mainly inspired by her reflection of this year’s spirit. She spent an eventful year of promotions for her single “Softly,” starting with a Manila Press Tour in February, a Music Video Launch Party in March, and an array of online performances throughout the year at various shows worldwide. This series of engagements enabled her to connect and collaborate with many brilliant artists from all over the globe via the internet during the quarantine period.
“The title, ‘True,’ resonated a lot with me, and I am glad that in 2020, embracing who you really are, is being celebrated more than ever,” she asserted. The track is produced by GhostHaus (previous credits: Slayyyter), mixed and mastered by Shubu (previous credits: Dorian Electra) – both from the US. As for the cover art, she worked with Singapore-based photographer Jasmin Liew and 3D artist Pim Janssen from The Netherlands.
Yaneza proudly shares that she incorporated her own heritage and culture in her cover art. “I am also super happy that I got to wear butterfly sleeves in the cover art, an ode to the Filipino traditional costume, and my Filipino heritage.”
As a female Asian artist in the digital age, she hopes to empower people through dance-pop anthems and sentimental melodies; ergo continues to exude that same spirit in her latest singles, “Softly” and “True.”
“I am also super happy that I got to wear butterfly sleeves in the cover art, an ode to the Filipino traditional costume, and my Filipino heritage.”
Due to her undeniable talent, Yaneza was featured on Paper Magazine and It Pop – MTV Brasil. She performed on Wish 107.5, Rappler, and MYX PH as well. Following these successes, her songs transiently became available on Apple Music Glitch Playlist, Spotify Philippines, and Bahaghari Playlist.
Her accomplishments in the music industry brought her to multiple stages, not just in Singapore but also in other parts of the world. In fact, the music video of one of her songs, “Tea,” caught the attention of international singer/performer Troye Sivan.
With all that she has accomplished thus far, there’s no doubt that the excerpt taken from the video when she was young will be transcribed into reality sooner than we know.
‘True’ will be available for digital ordering on Friday, November 13th, 2020, on this link https://ffm.to/truesingle
