"Flip" side of a Fil-Am Singer

Proud of her heritage, Filipino American singer Yvette Ocampo says you don’t have to be Pinoy to appreciate her music

Nobody can claim they know how much hard work it takes to become a pop sensation better than the San Francisco Bay Area's own Yvette (Ocampo). After years of hard work (most of them focused on becoming something other than a singer) Yvette's highly anticipated debut album, titled simply “Yvette” has earned her recognition as one of the most successful Filipino artists in the San Francisco Bay area.

Yvette was never a stranger to music, having sung all her life since she was a small child. Most of her time in the spotlight back then was singing at political functions for family members running for office. From her family's perspective this was certainly foreshadowing, but not in the way Yvette's many fans might think.

Yvette earned a degree in political science and was destined for a career in Philippine politics, not unusual in the Ocampo family where almost everyone has held a political office at one point or another. But Yvette was still rather rebellious and, having already won numerous awards for her singing prowess, began what she considered a "side gig" in theatre. Most people would consider taking second lead to Lea Solanga in a Broadway production of “Grease” a big deal.

Not Yvette.

Holding true to her reputation for thinking big, Yvette then passed (as in no, thank you”) on the role of Kim in “Miss Saigon”.

Her reasoning was simple in her mind, “I wanted to get a degree in Restaurant and Hotel management”, she says.

But Yvette couldn't earn her degree from just anywhere, she had to earn it from the La Roches Hotel and Restaurant Management School in Switzerland, arguably the most well-respected school in the world. During a trip to Disney World her boyfriend dared her to fill out a general application for employment. Disney World called the youngster back within days, offering her over $60,000 / year to help manage one of their resorts.

She said, “No thank you.”

Yvette's degree did come in handy during a short stint running a family owned restaurant in Daly City, California, which finally brought her to the Bay Area. And what about the singing? Yvette didn't stop, and upon relocating to Northern California, she became more determined than ever.

Yvette quickly gained attention and eventually toured Asia and Western Europe. Ultimately, her success landed her a deal with Say Music Incorporated, a new record label based in Union City, California. This was Yvette's big break and for once in her life she decided to stop toying around with career options and settled on her true passion -- singing.

Her first release was the hit single “Rub A Dub Dub”, a catchy up-tempo pop tune for which she recorded two versions. A short rap section of the song has her rapping in English and on the “Flip” side (pun intended) she raps the same section in Tagalog.

“It just seemed obvious to me to do two versions," she says, certainly very proud of her Filipino background. “It doesn't matter if you speak Tagalog or not, it doesn't matter if you are Filipino or not. My wish is for the song to be enjoyed by everyone.”

With the attention gained from the single, Yvette followed up this summer with her self-titled album, a collection of hot pop tracks, classic ballads, and flashy dance tunes. While many upstart record labels find they must cut corners in order to handle the incredible expense of cutting an album, this was not the case with Say Music Inc. and Yvette. Yvette was spoiled with hit record producers who's cumulative experience has yielded more platinum and gold records than Yvette can count on her fingers and toes.

In fact, the song “Rub A Dub Dub” was originally recorded by the Backstreet Boys and slated to be released as a single.

“Apparently the Backstreet Boys' record label never actually got permission from the writers of the song so they had to take it off their album,” says Yvette. “Their loss, my gain!”.

Yvette has been busy this summer performing live to promote her album.

“It's wonderful!” she exclaims. “It's certainly fun to play in the recording studios and everything, but interacting directly with my fans is really the highlight for me”.

Yvette has become well-known for her stage show which currently is based on the Mission Impossible movie theme. “Well, I was an actress, so I thought it would be more fun for the audience if the whole show was more like a musical”.

“Musical” might be the understatement of the year. The show, which Yvette refers to as “MI:3 - Mission Yvette”, begins with a dance number to a freestyle version of the Mission Impossible theme music. During the music, an announcer on tape gives Yvette her secret mission: save the fans from a terrorist who plans to blow up the concert hall. Just as in the movies the tape blows up and out of the smoke comes Yvette singing the hit single “Rub A Dub Dub”. Oh yes, and let's not forget that the audience gets to see Yvette's mission instructions, complete with graphics and effects, on a video projection screen.

“Sometimes the venue doesn't have any way to project the video so the fans miss out on that part" states a sympathetic Yvette.

Through the rest of Yvette's show, in addition to singing a number of dynamite tracks from her album, the terrorist manages to plant the bomb on the stage, Yvette's “Rub Agents” find and dispose of the bomb, and Yvette ultimately saves the day with her Kung-Fu style skills when the foiled terrorist tries to take someone hostage. Who would have known being a singer could be so dangerous!

With a hit album generating waves of excitement and a stage show that makes other singers fearful of having to go on stage after her, Yvette seems to have learned that her first love, singing, is also going to be her last love.

On the schedule for Yvette are more shows in California followed by a short trip to the Northwest, several performances in the Philippines and a major US tour next spring.

Fans interested in the business side of her career can visit the Say Music Inc. web site at http://www.saymusicinc.com. Fans who want to learn more about Yvette, download photos and videos, and get a chance to win free Yvette merchandise can visit her personal fan site at http://www.yvetteweb.com.