When it rains, it pours

One or two hit singles from a new artist is considered quite a feat during these piracy-laden times. So if you find somebody who comes up with four in a row, he or she is certainly a big success. This is what is happening to Rachelle Ann Go. The Search for a Star winner is now flying high with Here I Am Again, fourth hit from her self-titled debut album. If her luck holds out, she might even get another one before the year is over. 

Here I Am Again was originally recorded by the ‘90’s boy group Neocolors. It was songwriter- producer Jimmy Antiporda who gave Rachelle Ann the song. Jimmy started his career as one of the members of Neocolors. If I remember right, the others were Ito Rapadas, Marvin Querido and Niño Alejandro. All of them matured into successful musicians, arrangers and producers. It was as such that Jimmy was asked to contribute some cuts for Rachelle Ann’s album. Jimmy gave her two of his compositions, the hip-hop ditty Give It All and Here I Am Again. 

The album has given Rachelle Ann three big hits. These were Peter Allen’s Don’t Cry Out Loud, (You and Me) We Wanted It All, a duet with Christian Bautista and From the Start the Shanghai Asia Music Festival Best Song winner by Vehnee Saturno that also gave Rachelle Ann the Silver Prize. Although a fourth single from a hit album is highly unusual, Viva Records decided to release Here I Am Again. It became an instant DJ favorite and is stirring up more sales for the Platinum selling Rachelle Ann Go. 

Expect more sales to be generated by the enchanting video released a week ago. Assigned to direct, was the award-winning Martin Aviles, whose work with Anton Diva’s 6 Feet won him the Grand Prize in the Music Video category of the Levi Music Festival a year ago. 

The video is a mini flick that tells the story of a rich girl in love with a penniless artist played by Carlo Aquino. He comes to see her during her birthday party and the encounter tears the girl between her love for him and her parents’ objections. Here I am again trying to say the words I failed to say before, she sings to him in a bittersweet way. 

Rachelle Ann, who is now in Australia for shows in Melbourne and Sydney, is getting ready to begin her next album. But we have not yet seen the end of her first because another likely hit is in the offing with Love of My Life. This is her version of a South Border song produced by South Border frontman Jay Durias himself. This was what earned Rachelle Ann a nomination as Favorite Female Artist at this year’s MTV Music Awards. 

Top 25 Hit List

It is heartening to find that despite difficult times, album releases by Filipino artists are dominating the local hit charts. This augurs well for the problem-plagued music industry. In fact, if this trend keeps up we might find ourselves faced with the same glorious rebirth of Filipino music that characterized the popularity of the Manila Sound in the ’70s. Take a look at the Top 25 hit list from Tower Records and Music One for the week ending Aug. 14. There are 15 Filipino acts in the list and they occupy the top five slots. 

The Top 25 are: Hale by Hale; Live by Nina; When Love is Gone by Martin Nievera; Versions & Beyond by M.Y.M.P.; Halina Sa Parokya ni Edgar by Parokya ni Edgar; Jagged Little Pill Acoustic by Alanis Morissette; Light Peace Love by Bamboo; The Singles by Barbie Almalbis; American Idiot by Green Day; Steady Lang by Brownman Revival; Half Empty Half Full by Cueshé; Mr. A-Z by Jason Mraz; 

Side A: Gig Live by Side A; Kitchie Nadal by Kitchie Nadal; Strike Whilst the Iron is Hot by Orange and Lemons; Monkey Business by Black Eyed Peas; God Bless the Child by Mishka Adams; X & Y by Cold Play; By Request by U-Turn; The Look of Love by Various Artists; Chillout Project: Acid Jazz by Various Artists; The Emancipation of Mimi by Mariah Carey; Joey’s Grooves Reinvented by Various Artists; In Your Honor by the Foo Fighters and Beyond Acoustic by M.Y.M.P.