Alex Gonzaga wants to be Pinay Taylor Swift

CEBU, Philippines – Just like her elder sister Toni, Alex Gonzaga burst into public consciousness for her natural comic timing and knack for witty repartee. Her bubbly ball of energy has landed her a résumé of acting and hosting stints, but the 27-year-old TV host-actress revealed that –again, just like Ate – singing happens to be her first love.

“Singing is really my passion – me and my sister because we always had voice lessons with our dad before. I really love singing and I think everyone does. I believe we all have that same experience when we were young, which is when you happen to be in front of a mirror, you just sing and pretend like you’re good singer,” Alex said in a backstage interview Saturday at The Terraces of Ayala Center Cebu.

While the PBB host is a huge fan of American pop star Ariana Grande whom she often imitates (donning Grande’s signature cat ears headband, Alex was photographed watching the singer’s Sunday concert at the MOA Arena with her sister and brother-in-law Paul Soriano), Alex said she is mainly inspired by another pop princess: Taylor Swift.

As Swift is known to pen her own hits, Alex also took great pains in writing some material for her debut album “I Am Alex G.” The result is an album of six tracks: “Di ko Akalain,” “Alam Mo Na Yan,” “Boyfriend,”  “Break na Tayo,”(co-written with Toni) “Goodbye Kiss” and “Panaginip Lang” (written by Alex).

Alex said that beyond the fans watching her perform on stage or merely listening to her song, she wants to establish a connection with them by churning out lyrics that hit home.

“Mataas masyado ang boses ni Ariana, parang hindi ko kaya. Si Taylor kasi, when you hear her songs, feeling mo it’s you, and the lyrics tagos na tagos sa iyo. So that’s what I want people to feel when they listen to my songs. Gusto ko kapag nakikinig sila, sabihin nila ‘Ako yan, na-experience ko yan,” explained Alex.

Is she prepared for the inevitable comparisons to her sibling’s vocal prowess? “I’m used to it because since birth, people have always compared us. I don’t actually overthink stuff like that because it’s always there. I’ve been in show business for six years, so it doesn’t matter anymore,” she said.

One thing Alex has ventured into that her more famous sister has yet to dip her hands on is releasing a book. After the positive reception for her first dating advice book “Dear Alex, Break na Kami Paano? Love, Catherine,” Alex is now working on a second page-turner.

“Supposedly, it was going to be out by September, but I don’t want to write about something that I have yet to experience. With the person I’m dating now, with the experiment I’m doing, I was surprised to realize how much I still have to learn. So let’s see what happens with my experiment with this person I’m currently going out with.”

Alex is currently filming a Star Cinema movie with Edgar Allan Guzman, and will soon star in the next “Wansapanataym” season titled “Kuryente Kid” with Ejay Falcon.