Vina Morales waxes an album of romantic songs
Actress is the latest celebrity to endorse a school
MANILA - While she has her own distinct personality and singing voice, singer/actress Vina Morales could well be the country’s answer to Janet Jackson or Jennifer Lopez—minus the scandals and tabloid baggage that comes with the two colorful entertainers.

Just watch Morales strut her stuff on stage and display the kind of energy that’s synonymous to Jackson and Lopez and you’ll see why she’s still as hot as ever. She’s a superb dancer and she sings —and doesn’t lipsynch—while she dances. She moves with precision with the rest of dancers and she’s one of the handful of Filipino entertainers who can make it seem so effortless and easy.

When Morales met the press to introduce her new album Mamahalin Ka Niya, she mentioned she works out thrice a week, just maintain the stamina required to do those big production numbers. She looks as fit as Jackie Lou Blanco and not too buff to impart femininity and grace.

“In my concerts, we do five to six dance numbers,” said she. “It’s very exhausting but you should never show the audience you feel tired. You have to pretend you can do it and you can do more. That’s why I have to stay fit. Otherwise, I won’t have the energy to sing. “

For her new album, however, Morales focused on romantic ballads. She even co-wrote the lyrics of one of the tracks, “Paano Kaya Magtatagpo?” Her co-lyricist was Piolo Pascual and they recorded it as a duet (the music was composed by Arnel de Pano).

Morales discussed the unique system she and Pascual adopted in writing the song. “It was through texting!” she exclaimed. “Piolo and I were both too busy to meet and sit down and write the song. We had both agreed on the concept and Piolo wrote the first two verses, I wrote the third and fourth. Arnel then came up with the melody.

“Piolo and I have always been close friends. Close enough for others to think we’re a couple,” she laughed. “I’m comfortable with him and we talk a lot and he’s very open, so it was easy working with him and writing that song.”

Aside from the original songs, Morales does covers of “Yakapin Mo Ako,” “Pangako,” and “Saan Darating ang Umaga.” She had first sung “Yakapin Mo Ako” when she portrayed the song’s original singer Joey Albert in a biopic on Maalaala Mo Kaya.

Born in Cebu, Morales’ album also features a Visayan song, “Usahay.” She said everyone from Cebu’s been asking when she was she finally going to record something from the Visayas. “I haven’t recorded a Visayan song since I was 10. I’ve always wanted to include at least one in my previous albums but it somehow never happened. ‘Usahay’ is a classic and it’s been arranged in a way that makes the song sound something Michael Buble might record.”

Mamahalin Ka Niya is Morales’ first album for Star Records. Her contract with EMI had expired so she took hiatus from recording and acted in films and TV soaps. She said she’s now glad to take a break from acting and do this album and go on a concert tour in the U.S. She’s also set to star in a huge concert at the Araneta Coliseum on Independence Day. “I’d also like to do theater. I was offered to do a musical this year, and I hope it happens because I’ve always wanted to act on stage.”

So focused is Morales on her career, she said she doesn’t even have the time to go dating. “My album is about romance, but I’m unattached right now,” she quipped. “You can’t have everything!”