Karylle duets with Gil for her debut LP

They met and they did match and made a "lovey-dovey" pose but only for publicity purposes for their duet titled Callin’ for her debut album Time to Shine (to be released next month by Universal Re—cords).

Gil, the long-haired singer from Munich, Germany, is 18; while Karylle (Kaye Tatlonghari), daughter of Zsa Zsa Padilla by her estranged husband, is, according to Gil, "just slightly older." But what’s a few months or a few years between two young people bound together by their passion for music?

It was Universal Records lady boss, Bella D. Tan, who thought of the duet when she learned that Gil was here for a vacation on the invitation of German Moreno who gave the lanky teener (six feet plus) an expensive bracelet as souvenir. Gil was escorted by his father who was once a singer-composer in his own right.

It was a feat, considering that Gil is under contract with BMG Pilipinas, Inc. which has just released his Best of Gil album (containing 17 songs, including Round ‘N’ Round, Never Giving Up Now, If You Only Knew, Talk To You and It’s Your Love).

It’s a good thing Gil has a ready song – Callin’, that is – which is about two teenagers who fall in love via long-distance phone chats, with the boy based in Europe and the girl, in Asia.

"I can relate to the song because I used to have a girlfriend with whom I talked a lot on the phone," said Gil whose full name is Gil Doron Reichstedt Oferin. "But I have no girlfriend at the moment," he added, making an innocent side glance at Karylle beside him. "My heart has just been broken."

Karylle once admitted in a STAR interview that she has a boyfriend (non-showbiz).

Although they actually met only on the day of the recording (this brief interview was done that same night during breaktime), the two have been indirectly communicating through Bella. Gil and his father negotiated with Bella for the recording by phone and Bella, in turn, would relay to Karylle and her father, Dr. Modesto Tatlonghari, developments in the deal.

"But I’ve heard some of his songs," said Karylle. "Before nga, I thought Gil was a member of the Moffatts; I thought kapatid siya ng Moffatts."

Filipino music buffs know Gil as the child singer who would come to Manila to promote his albums, his last visit having been in February last year.

Besides not using any professional surnames, Gil and Karylle have a few things in common, foremost of which is having parents also steeped in music.

"Music is in my blood," said Gil. "My father is a musician and he’s my voice teacher. No, I never had any formal music education at all. I learned to play the guitar at age 3. While other kids were playing with Teddy Bears, I was playing the guitar. At 6 or 7, I was already starting to sing. By that time, I was on a German TV show. No, nobody pushed me or pressured me into doing it; singing just comes naturally with me," added Gil who is Jewish and who loves rock music and jazz/old songs (for relaxation), naming Sting as his favorite singer.

At 3, Karylle was studying ballet.

"It was only in grade school when I began singing, not solo but with a choir," said Karylle who’s now a third year Management (major in Communication Technology) student at Ateneo.

Hearing about Karylle’s schooling, Gil said that he’s done with school.

"I’m finished with high school and that’s enough for me," he said. "You see, if I go to college, I’d be taking my studies seriously and I wouldn’t have time for music anymore. I wanted to study Psychology. But I thought, ‘After college, what would I do?’ I don’t know what else to do but sing and write songs. So instead of college, I chose to do music. Music is my life."

For her part, Karylle is deadset on tucking up a college degree and being a successful singer like her mom.

"But I’d rather be known as Karylle, on my own merits, and not as the daughter of Zsa Zsa Padilla."

Well, as the title of her debut album says, it’s time for Karylle to shine.

Move over, Zsa Zsa Padilla?