Charming chanteuse Monica Sacay bares the heartaches behind her ready smiles

Monica Sacay is yet another proof of how outward appearances can be deceiving. Like a book with a mundane cover, it’s not until you devour its chapters that you discover what a gem it is.

That isn’t to say Monica is the picture of mundane. Performing recently at the Mr. and Miss Press Freedom pageant as a favor to media friends, I initially dismissed the young singer as yet another pampered princess whose 15 minutes in the reality talent show spotlight was up. Getting to know the real Monica one rainy afternoon was then a pleasant surprise.

Best known for her stint in the 2011 ABS-CBN reality talent show “Star Power: Sharon’s Search for the Next Female Superstar” wherein she finished third place to grand champion Angeline Quinto, the Leyte native found a lot of windows opening as a result of her exposure on the said program hosted by Sharon Cuneta.

“After ‘Star Power,’ ABS-CBN gave us many opportunities. I endorsed Belo Medical Group, I became part of the ‘ASAP’ family, ‘Showtime’ and ‘Happy Yipee Yehey!’ I did out-of-town mall shows. I also had consistent communication with Mama Sharon,” related Monica. “I had acting workshops with Star Magic. 2012 was also quite a busy year. I was given opportunities to perform in Cebu, so I would be back and forth between Manila and Cebu.”

For two years and a half, Monica grabbed the chance to fulfill her singing aspirations in Manila. Yet the showbiz jungle, as she would later on find out, takes more than sheer talent to survive in. And so the “Charming Biritera from Leyte” (the moniker “Star Power” gave her) found her way back to Cebu with a renewed vigor to prioritize her studies.

“It was a hard decision, because it’s really my dream to become a singer. But I realized having education is more important, so that when my singing career doesn’t work out, I will have a fallback. Show business has always been the second option; at the same time, my singing has afforded me a lot of opportunities when it comes to finances, especially that I’m self-supporting,” says Monica, who briefly took up Business Administration at Western Lady College in Ormoc City.

No rush for stardom

The 19-year-old is often asked what staying in Cebu could possibly achieve to fast-track a singing career, and Monica always answers them this way: “I’m still kept busy here in Cebu, since I’m offered a lot of projects – TV commercials, singing gigs and TV series. I also released by first solo album last year called ‘Seasons of Love’ produced by Michael Flores. That’s why I love staying in Cebu, because I have many projects, yet life is not that stressful.”

Of course, she’s always open to give Manila another try, but not before she fully equips herself with all the needed artillery to last long in the jungle. “I want to gain more power, so to speak. I’m still building up more confidence and strength.”

Delving deeper into what slightly turned her off about the industry, the smiling chanteuse reveals, “The politics. Even if they know how talented you are, but if they see that you’re hard to build up, they will put you in the ‘later’ list. You just have to be patient. If you don’t have a strong backer, and if you don’t have money, it’s hard to survive. But I’m not discouraged. My mindset is, ‘If they can do it, why can’t I?’”

Still, things may have picked up slowly for her after the “Star Power” competition, but it was one experience Monica wouldn’t trade for anything else. “Aside from placing second runner-up, I greatly cherish the bonding among the contestants and the show’s staff. There’s a reassuring feeling of gaining new friends and family, creating new memories with them, funny moments together…the values I learned such as being humble. I learned a lot from ‘Star Power’ that I did not learn from school.”

Their mentor, the Megastar, also left such an indelible mark on her. She marveled at the star’s humility and her efforts to treat them as family. “Mama Sharon was always consistent about keeping in touch to ask how we were, even when the show as already over. She would text, for instance, ‘Kumusta ka na anak? Miss na miss na kita at yung mga kapatid mo,’” recalls Monica of Sharon, who gifted her with a MacBook during her birthday.

Monica finds sense in not rushing her dream of making it big. Now under the management of Viva Artists Agency, she places her “complete trust in Viva, and just waiting for my right time. As of now, Boss Vic [del Rosario of  Viva] wants me to build my career in Cebu, so that it won’t be too hard for me when I do return to Manila.”

Beginnings

At three years old, Monica was already a singing tyke, tagging along to her mom’s engagements and joining in on her performances. Her mom’s side of the family tree was into music, with most of them adept with playing an instrument or two. The musical inclination would be handed down to Monica.

“I can also play the guitar. Me and my mom would sing at wakes, birthday parties, and other events. I guess my mom saw how confident I was at such a young age. The first song I mastered was ‘Rosalinda,’ because it was my mom’s favorite,” she wistfully recalls.

Like many aspiring singers, Monica did the contest rounds. Most memorable were Bulilit Leyte Idol 2007 where she emerged champion, and Little Big Star Cebu 2008 where she as a Star of the Month winner.

She also as gutsy enough to audition for numerous TV reality talent shows. It was one rejection after another.

“I wasn’t given a chance, and there came a point that I felt really discouraged after being rejected in many auditions. When ‘Star Power’ came, I wasn’t eager to audition, thinking it would be another waste of time. I was on the last days of third year high school that time. It was a last minute decision to audition, because we didn’t have enough money to travel from Ormoc to Manila. But I guess, it was God’s will.”

“Star Power” also made her check off a wish from her bucket list: to meet Lea Salonga. “When I met Lea, I was crying. I was really star-struck. It had been a dream to see her and person and sing with her. It didn’t have to be a duet with her, but I shared the same stage with her. While I was singing with her during a Richard Poon concert, I was crying the whole time!”

Like what Lea has achieved, it is Monica’s ultimate dream to appear in Miss Saigon or act out a Disney princess someday. Apart from her world-class singing voice, it is Lea’s self-imposed discipline that Monica admires the most.

“She is very disciplined, very nice and responsible. I don’t know her personally, but when I saw her, I became firm in my belief that she is a good person to admire and take inspiration from. Sarah Geronimo is also one of my inspirations. She is very down-to-earth, and she doesn’t even know how famous she is. She just acts normally behind the cameras.”

Rough childhood

Indeed, inspirations are ropes of strength one can hang on to when life throws you one curve-ball after another.

Monica’s father passed away when she was four; her mom would follow suit when she was nine. Both parents succumbed to cancer, and Monica was left to the care of relatives. She says relatives jumped at the chance to take her in – but her young mind then understood it wasn’t for the good reasons. “They argued on who should take care of me, and I felt it was because of what they can gain for doing so,” she divulges.

An aunt from her mom’s side, whom she calls Mama, took care and raised Monica – something she’ll be forever grateful for. Nevertheless, living in a home that wasn’t your own and growing up with a mom who had biological children was a daily struggle of constantly walking on eggshells.

“Growing up, my mindset was, I should not make a mistake, because one mistake could quickly be pointed out and my other good deeds simply forgotten. I use to think stuff like these just happen in soap operas! But it does occur in real life.”

An only child by her biological parents, but with many half-siblings on both sides, she describes her childhood as generally tough. “I experienced challenges at an early age. That’s why I’ve grown mature enough now to face all the challenges that come my way.”

Monica shares that she decided to leave her aunt’s wing last year, and support herself independently while in Cebu. Strong words were exchanged when she left, but Monica is determined to prove predictions of her – losing her way or getting pregnant early – wrong.

A look at this constantly grinning and bubbly girl makes none the wiser of the trials she had to face and will still have to hurdle. Currently, she’s saving up earnings from her gigs to finance college. She dreams of putting up a café or boutique with her half-sister someday.

“That’s what people usually comment on. They are amazed at how I’m a smiling, positive person despite what I’ve been through. When people look at me, I don’t want them to see a problematic person,” she explains. “ I want them to be happy. Unless it’s already too much to bear, I am not the type of person to share my problems with others.”

Trials are blessings

The song “Pangarap na Bituin,” she says, sums up the story of her life. But when asked what she hopes to have achieved after five years, it’s not the answer we expected (to be a popular singer) that she gives.

“I want to be a famous worshipper of God,” Monica reveals.

“In everything I do and in all the decisions I make, I always ask for His guidance. In Ormoc, I was a worship leader in our church. I feel Star Power was given to me, because I prayed for it. I think one of my purposes in life is to spread the message that we should let God steer our lives. I hope people will see God in me. Like Ate Yeng [Constantino],” she adds.

What doesn’t kill her, she has come to realize, will only make her stronger. “I’ve learned all the trials are blessings. I won’t be as courageous as I am now. Financial problems are always there, but I tell myself that God will always provide, as long as we seek Him out. I always bring with me the Bible verse in Jeremiah 29:11 – ‘For I know the plans I have for you. Not to forsake you, nor to leave you. But to prosper you.’”