ALLONA: A DIFFERENT GOODBYE At a time when American Top 40 had much more soul than angry rap lyrics and redundant beats, a young girl from a small province of Misamis Occidental was trying her luck in local singing contests with the desire to one day be seen on television herself. Her name was Allona; and little did she know back then that dreams have a funny way of coming true. The local singing champ eventually found herself in Manila where, after doing her rounds of singing at wedding and small club gigs, she eventually landed a spot on “Oh No, It’s Johnny.” As luck would have it, Ms. Pilita Corrales was also a guest on the show that night. Allona was soon whisked into the world of recording, managed by no less than Ms. Corrales herself, and was later introduced to the collective Pinoy psyche by the well-received single called “Someone’s Always Saying Goodbye.” Smooth R&B was the genre du jour back in 1995 and Allona, with her rich, deep voice became tagged as the local version of Toni Braxton. Needless to say, her self-titled debut album under Viva Records did pretty well and the single raked in a number of awards. The R&B label, however, proved a bane for a young singer who was still struggling to find her own voice. It certainly did not help when her 1997 follow up album, Tomorrow on My Mind, failed to live up to its predecessor. The second album marked a departure from R&B and showcased an edgier Allona, something that she now feels her listeners back then was not ready for. Frustrated by the lack of promotional backing, Allona went on a self-imposed hiatus from recording and went to the States for some soul searching. What she discovered there was something her loyal friends had known all along—music was indeed her passion. Allona, who had kept below the radar but never really stopped performing all those years, felt that things would be different now. With a renewed interest in her music, she called her long-time friend and mentor Gary Keady and proposed a new project. Allona recalls, “I told him I wanted to produce another album and I needed a partner… so that’s how it started.” Keady, an Australian album producer and movie director, first met Allona in her teens when he directed her “Someone’s Always Saying Goodbye” music video. Realizing her talent and potential, he had been a staunch supporter of Allona and, without hesitation, he agreed to help her produce the comeback album. He was still in Australia and Allona was in Manila so at one point they even ended up texting each other lyrics to songs they were working on! So continues Allona’s musical journey. The new album, Girl of the World, is produced by both Allona and Gary Keady and is bound to set a few things straight—this is an angrier, grittier Allona whose talent is still largely unappreciated. The few frayed edges earned from her personal battle with self-image and public acceptance have given the singer a better sense of self. The songs she has written reflect a new woman, not without a few regrets but with lessons learned (“Nothing Without You,” “If My Words Had Wings,” and the title track, which she co-wrote with Keady). The interesting selection of songs she covered in the album was picked because they hold a special meaning for Allona. The album’s carrier single, “Joey,” a cover of a Concrete Blonde original, is a song she has always identified with and, as a tribute to its creators, now given a new life. Allona has signed an international management and production deal with Keady’s company, E-Motion, and is likewise the banner artist for HomeGrown, a local artist management company run by Keady. In the grand scheme of things, both Allona and her management hope that this time around it would be possible for her to break out into the international music scene. “What we need is to raise the standard (of recording) because Filipino artists—and this is what’s very frustrating for me—I think they’re the greatest talents in the world and it’s time they break out,” Keady comments. “That’s why I stuck with this girl for seven years; I think she’s marvelous.” Girl of the World was recorded at Audio Media Studios in Makati, after which the digital masters were brought to Sydney, Australia for drum overdubs on some tracks by Gary’s brother Rod Keady, then Gary mixed the album with Cristo Curtis and David Cafe, two of Australia’s best-known mix down engineers. With the technical side down pat, all the world’s a stage for Allona to shine. “She’s a good writer and now that’s she’s playing guitar, she’s got it all down,” says an impressed Keady. “To me, if I were to put her in a pigeonhole—and mind you, I hate doing that— she’s like a musical gourmet delicacy. Add a taste of Alanis Morrisette, a pinch of Pat Benatar, a smidgen of Chrissy Hynde, a sprinkling of Annie Lennox and Joan Jett and a whole lot of herself and what have you got? A recipe for an exciting new female rock star.” For Allona, however, this is simply who she is now—a woman who has found her voice and has come to claim it. This time around she only says goodbye to her old life and comes out with her red guitar, power chords and the truth, ready for the world.