From being that adorable kid in the iconic real estate advertisement who went on to charm us with her unmistakable cuteness and talent in Goin’ Bulilit, Cha-Cha Cañete has indeed grown to become one of the most promising singers of her generation.
As she marks her comeback in the local entertainment scene by dropping the holiday song “Pasko Pa Rin” under Star Music, Entertainment.ABS-CBN.com recently caught up with her and had her take on the Kapamilya React, in which she reacted to some of her funny skits and memorable moments on the long-running kiddie gag show and even shared brief stories behind each of those.
First off was the parody of Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me”, wherein Bugoy Cariño stood as her charming leading man. She wasn’t able to help herself from laughing and gushing over her younger self as she noted how apparently off-tune she was and recalled how the staff found it hard to teach her the song since she still couldn’t read that time. She only depended on listening and mimicking the recording of the song. She also noticed how small her voice was and compared her tune to a heart-rate monitor.
Being shown a candid photo of her with her Goin’ Bulilit batchmates in one of their out-of-town shoots made Cha-Cha, whose real name is Thrisha Luise Cañete, “Mapapaisip ka na, ‘wow, gano’n na pala kalayo ang narating ko. Gano’n na pala katagal ‘yon. Naiisip mo rin at nagiging grateful ka rin at thankful para sa mga people along the way, sa mga nakatulong. Parang lahat naman ‘yon nakakatulong para sa akin as a performer.”
She also reminisced how her journey in the program started and divulged the joke that made her pass the auditions.
Seeing a solo picture of her taken at a Christmas event, she also imparted the changes happened to her as a performer six years after her departure from the show.
“Nagbago lang siguro ‘yong maturity level and overall as an artist, nag-grow na ako, mas nag-improve na ako sa skills ko ngayon at siyempre focus ako sa aking singing. And ‘yon, nag-improve talaga ako, nag-[voice] lessons ako before. Nag-improve na ngayon ‘yong aking diction and overall tone ng boses ko.
The 16-year-old singer also regarded how her Goin’ Bulilit castmates have helped her be the person she is today and reminisced her most unforgettable and happiest moments with them – which was having the chance to still play and explore despite their work.
She wrapped her stint by expressing her gratitude towards everyone who supported her throughout her career.
“Maraming, maraming salamat po dahil sinubaybayan n’yo ako at sinuportahan mula sa Goin’ Bulilit hanggang ngayon. Sana po ay nag-enjoy kayo kahit kaunting oras n’yo lang akong nakasama. Salamat po sa mga nanood, maraming salamat po sa lahat ng sumuporta sa akin. Thank you very much. Salamat po, Kapamilya!”
As what she has mentioned, Cha-Cha pursued a singing career after Goin’ Bulilit as she joined the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in 2013, wherein she bagged two silver medals, and EUROPOP in 2014 wherein she landed at 2nd Place. And just last year, she was one of the contestants in It’s Showtime’s Tawag ng Tanghalan Celebrity Champions.