Jericho Rosales

Having been in showbiz for 12 years, actor and recording artist Jericho Rosales has always believed in change especially for the better. This is one of the reasons he has been adventurous with his showbiz career – switching from acting to singing even if he sacrifices one for the other.

His debut album aptly titled “Change” captures the 12 years of the actor in the entertainment business – his transition from teenager roles to serious acting like in his now popular ABS-CBN primetime soap opera “Dahil May Isang Ikaw.” During those times, he also showed people his kind of music from his former Jeans band to becoming a solo recording artist.

“I’m not ashamed of my past. I’m not ashamed of anything about myself. I know that everything I did whether it ended well or not, I always believe that there’s a purpose to everything,” intimated the actor during the launching of his album under Star Records.

He revealed that “Change” is technically several years in the making considering the fact that Star Records’ Annabelle Regalado-Borja has been wooing him to join the label for a long time.

“I really love music and I’m very happy with this album because I worked hard for this. I even recorded songs in between my soap opera tapings,” he said.

So why the title “Change?”

“In terms of my music, there were a lot of changes that happened to me, like in my style. There were many changes that happened in my life and I was thinking of a particular song to revive. I was in the shower when I heard the song ‘Cool Change.’ And I was inspired by that song,” he replied.

The song’s lyric that struck him then went “If there’s one thing in my life that’s missing, it’s the time that I spent alone.”

“Being alone is not easy. I’m telling you this is the time when I’m going to put all my energy to music and all my energies to all these ideas that I have,” remarked Jericho who mentioned in an interview that music has been his sturdy companion in his life’s 12-year journey. This is because through music he can express himself more, singing the songs he likes the way he wants to sing them!

“Change” too is an album that is a mixture of genres like pop, alternative rock, and love songs. It contains 14 songs which are all favorites of Jericho Rosales. These are “Your Smiling Face,” “Tin Man,” “Change the World,” “Guitar Man,” “Cool Change,” “I Love Your Ways,” “Naaalala Ka,” “Lost Without Your Love,” “And I Love Her,” “Love Bug,” “Hanggang Ngayon,” two bonus tracks “Di Bale Na Lang” and “Beautiful In My Eyes.” The carrier single is “Pusong Ligaw.”

Looking back when he left acting for singing, Jericho admitted that he had a hard time with his singing career.

“I lived sort of a normal life compared to my life as an actor. I stopped for a year and earned rubber shoes money from singing every night in different bars. I have no regrets because I learned a lot being on stage whether there were five people or 5,000 watching me I’m able to perform. There were times I wanted to quit and I wanted to cry because I was in front of foreigners and I only brought a few English songs,” he lamented.

One of the things he learned though was learning to work with other arrangers. And he deemed this an important part of his life because he has learned to appreciate other people’s work.

So was dabbling into music worth it?

“Yes, it has been super worth it. It’s like a pillar has been added to my foundation. Before I became an actor, I really wanted to be a singer and I fought hard to be a singer. I also realized through music I can reach out to more people,” he smiled.

He stressed that he has always been passionate about writing songs and would like to contribute to the music industry via his talent and as he discovered through his music life, he is willing to work with other people. He said he is willing to write songs for other people or even his future movie or TV projects.

Though some people questions his decision to get into music, he has also one time questioned why he was passionate about it. He attributed a clear answer from the wisdom of Connie Reyes who told him when they were taping “Munting Paraiso” that there’s always a reason for everything.

“She helped me realized that there’s a reason why I became an actor and now there’s a reason why I became a singer and that is to share the goodness of God in my life and to share whatever I’ve learned in my life. And having that in my head and in my heart I can never go wrong and can never ever feel lost again. That gave me a direction,” he related.

So which songs from his “Change” album is he dedicating to the “girls he had loved before?”
“Love Bug” for Angelika dela Cruz because she has recently given birth and he believes that the Jonas Brothers song would be liked by her child after many years. “Pusong Ligaw” for Kristine Hermosa (the song, according to him can also be sung for God) and “I Love Your Ways” for Heart Evangelista.

“This is a memorable song since it was an impromptu song which I wrote and sang during her birthday party a couple of years ago. The best thing I could give her was words and I love writing so on the spot I wrote her a song and sang it right then and there,” said the actor, reminiscing his broken relationship with Heart.

As to her friend Malaysian actress and model Carmen Soo, he is dedicating “Beautiful In My Eyes” and “Tin Man” to her!