Katrina Velarde finds healing in music during life’s ‘dark chapter’
Losing her husband three years ago was one of the biggest challenges Katrina Velarde had to face in life. She retreat into herself and in those moments, it was music she held on to.
“It was one of my life’s dark chapters … I had time to myself. I didn’t see my friends. It was just me and my son. That was hard,” she told reporters in a group interview for her upcoming concert, “SiKat V.3” (Viva Live).
To ease her pain and worries, she willed herself to sing. “It really helped me a lot. I tried to sing as much as I could. Creating content for online platforms, collaborating with other artists and producing my own songs—that was my healing,” she said.
Katrina has nothing but gratitude to her late husband, American drummer and jazz musician Mike Shapiro, who left her as a more enriched artist.
“He was also like a mentor to me. He taught me a lot of things I have never done before, like producing. He taught me how to express what I want to an arranger,” she related.
“He lived and breathed music,” the 29-year-old singer added. “I saw how dedicated he was to his craft.”
Explosive belter
Katrina is known as one of the country’s most explosive belters. And her show, which will be held on Oct. 11 at the New Frontier Theater, will have no shortage of vocal pyrotechnics. Visit www.ticketnet.com.ph.
But to shake things up a bit, her repertoire won’t be heavy on the lung-busting Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey ballads that she defaults to in her regular gigs. This time, she will take on pieces originally recorded or arranged for male singers—and then “diva-fy” them.
“This is going to be different from what I usually do. We want to include tunes that aren’t as popular yet among singers here in the country,” she said. “Taking on male songs will be a challenge for me. We will have to come up with new and creative arrangements that will allow me to give it my own take.”
As such, her guests, which she insisted on keeping a surprise, will be mostly, if not all, male singers. There will be some songs, too, she said, that her fans wouldn’t really expect her to sing, like “Bawal na Gamot.”
“Pero hindi po ako gumagamit ah!” she quipped, laughing. “My mom loved listening to Willy Garte.”
How does she keep her voice in top condition? “I still eat chocolate and have cold drinks. I don’t restrict myself. But for me, the most important thing is to rest my voice and get enough sleep,” she said.
