The female strength is worth celebrating! In this episode of I Feel U, we give honor to the extraordinary talent and contribution of women by taking the spotlight on two of this generation’s most ‘palaban’ young actresses Heaven Peralejo and Barbie Imperial, and the Asia’s Phoenix Morissette Amon.
Before the ‘mapusong kwentuhan’ with the three artists, host Toni Gonzaga interviewed internet sensation Danieca Areglado Goc-Ong, now popularly known as the Queen of Volumatic.
Danieca or Teacher Dan aspired to be an educator since she was a kid, inspired by her own teachers’ dedication She vowed to be as good as them one day and pass on the experiences she had as a student. Teacher Dan handles Filipino, Values Education, and MAPEH subjects.
After the end of her contract in a private school and due to the pandemic, Teacher Dan goes house-to-house to help students learn. She believes it’s worth the risk. She didn’t expect her online music lessons would go viral because of her funny singing style, “Hindi ko alam na ‘yung pagpiyok-piyok ko, benta pala sa iba.”
Teacher Dan served us major good vibes by giving Toni a hilarious vocal session featuring the hit single “Catch Me I’m Falling”
Heaven Peralejo and Barbie Imperial
Both products of Pinoy Big Brother, Heaven Peralejo and Barbie Imperial credit the confidence and thick skin to the challenging yet colorful times inside the house. The experiences as housemates taught them how to deal with the public’s varying opinion and carry on despite controversies.
Heaven isn’t a stranger to negative comments and bashing. She said she has received almost all kinds of insulting words since becoming a housemate. The hate affected her at first, typical for any showbiz rookie. But as she matures as an artist and a woman, she’s learned how to embrace her truths and ignore wrongful accusations. There are times that she still gets frustrated especially seeing how the negativities affect her mom.
Just recently, Heaven has been the target of bashing, rumoured as the third party behind the break-up of Bagong Umaga co-star Kiko Estrada and his girlfriend Devon Seron. Asked about this controversy, Heaven would say, “Nakakatawa talaga.”
Heaven thinks her recent scenes with Kiko on the show have ignited these rumors. “Noong last taping namin, ang dami naming scenes together and I feel like nabigyan nila ng other meaning. We were talking kasi kailangan namin ng chemistry for the show. Lahat ‘yun para sa trabaho lang. Naging good friends kami. Hindi talaga totoo ‘yung issue,” she clarified.
Amid the controversies, and every day of her life, Heaven takes strength from her mom Luanne. She is her strength and weakness, the one who empowers her as a woman. She said her mom teaches her how to handle everything. She feels like she’s a better person because of the woman who raised her.
For Barbie, the PBB house opened doors of many opportunities. It helped her realize her potentials and that even a simple “probinsyana” like her can have a spot in showbiz. Looking at the glow in Barbie’s face, it’s easy to tell that she’s happy and in love.
She talked about her relationship with Diego Loyzaga. She said they were friends since 2018, although they had other relationships that time. When Barbie got single, she knew there was a spark between them but they opted to take it slow because it wasn’t the perfect time to start a new relationship.
The friendship was sustained despite the distance. They would check on each other once in a while. Diego returned to the Philippines and started to hang out again with his friends. That’s where the courtship stage took off. Barbie calls it “God’s perfect timing” and she’s grateful for that.
More than the obstacles she went through in life, Barbie gets much-needed strength from her mom who thought her that having a warrior’s spirit also entails kindness, “Pwede kang maging palaban na walang inaapakan na ibang tao. Pwede kang maging palaban na wala kang sinasaktan na ibang tao.”
Heaven and Barbie invited viewers to continue supporting their series Bagong Umaga, airing Monday to Friday, after It’s Showtime on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, and A2Z.
Morissette Amon
Celebrating her 10th year in the industry, Morisette Amon raises the banner of Filipino talent and girl power. She looks back on her career journey and shares stories of love and inspiration in this episode of I Feel U.
Morissette is admired for her superb vocals that even OPM icons such as Regine Velasquez and Gary Valenciano are in awe of her talent. With humility and gratitude, she said dreams take a lot of patience and hard work. She thanked her supporters and all the OPM veterans who serve as her mentors.
Her journey to stardom was full of ups and downs. Yet, dreams and passion kept her going. It was also full of surprises like to be able to perform with international artists. The Cebuana singer also achieved her dream of staging a solo concert at the Araneta Coliseum. It was the sweetest, most glorious moment in her career.
However, her journey wasn’t this victorious in the beginning. There were little to no opportunities when she started as a talent in another network. She was contemplating going back to Cebu for her studies, thinking she wouldn’t soar high. Morissette was in the brink of giving up when The Voice of the Philippines opened its first season. As advised by her mentors like Christian Bautista, she decided to continue trying and audition for the talent show. Looking back, she’s amazed by how things fell into place at the time when she was losing all hope.
On her The Voice of the Philippines journey, Morissette was admittedly hurt when she did not make it to the finals. Of course, it was every contender’s goal to win. The defeat crushed her spirit. She didn’t even want to listen to her own voice.
But, time and again, life had mysterious ways of lifting her up. She eventually got life-changing opportunities such as singing onstage with international star Jessie J. Even when she did not win, Morissette continued fighting for her dreams so to be an example to other aspirants, “Na kahit hindi manalo sa competition, pwede pa rin talagang ituloy and dream mo. It’s not the end.”
The Asia’s Phoenix continues to win in life. Apart from a bright career, she’s also blessed in the love department. She’s thankful that her fiancé, Dave Lamar, is encouraging of her music. She has indeed found her life partner.
In mid-2019, Morissette’s relationship with her family was strained allegedly due to her romance with Dave. In this interview, the singer admitted that they haven’t discussed things yet and she continues to pray for healing within the family.
Despite a few challenges, Morissette continues to soar high with the release of her new single titled “Phoenix,” taken from her moniker “The Asia’s Phoenix.” She was baptized with the title after representing the country in an international music festival in South Korea. “Siguro kasi dito sa Pilipinas may Asia’s Songbird, Asia’s Nightingale, so siguro naghanap sila ng ibang pa-ibon na maibigay sa akin,” she quipped, trying to downplay the magnitude of her stature.
“Phoenix” is written by Morisette herself with the help of Dave. It’s her second co-written and co-produced song.
To end the interview, and for some major good vibes, Morissette got free singing lessons from internet sensation Teacher Dan aka the Volumatic Queen. Check out the hilarious vocal sessions in this video!
MNL48
With their charm and skills, MNL48 does not only represent the new generation of talent but girl power as well. As the group’s name suggests, they originally had 48 members until the recently held third general elections wherein they’re cut down into 36 and the rest are called “reserved members.” Ruth added that they have sister groups from different parts of Asia.
According to Ella, they were formed after rigorous auditions and trainings with other aspirants from all over the country. For Sheki, what makes MNL48 unique is the concept of their music and how the group was formed. “Dahil kami po ay J-Pop concept with a touch of Filipino music, mayroon po kaming concepts na hindi nagaganap sa ibang P-Pop groups like general election, voting, rankings, ‘yung mga pagpili ng frontliners sa isang song, handshake events kung saan ang fans ay pwedeng pumunta para ma-meet kami,” said Sheki, calling the group “idols you can meet.”
Jamie further explained that in every general election, fans are given the power to vote the members who’d represent the group in each single. “Nakakapag-vote po sila dito through buying our merchandise lalo na ng mga CD namin. Paramihan po ng votes at ang magiging rank one po, which is si Ate Abby, ‘yun po ang magiging center ng single na ‘yan. Fans po talaga ang involved sa pagpili kaya mahalagang event ito sa MNL48,” she said.
For Andi, to be part of MNL48 is a dream come true. She has always aspired to be a performer like her parents and she’s happy now that she’s able to do what she loves most. Asked about their working relationship, Jan mentioned that they have become solid as a group, adding that she’s closest to Ruth and Ella. “As much as possible, pinu-push po namin ‘yung sarili namin na maka-close namin bawat isa sa amin kasi po importante ‘yun sa isang team para balanced kayong lahat. Para kung sino man ang makasama mo sa line up, makakasundo mo at wala kayong ilangan. Gano’n po kami sa MNL48,” shared Jan.
The girls thanked their fans for the love and support and asked everyone to watch out for their seventh single.