Aia de Leon: ‘Don’t be afraid to make mistakes’
Former Imago vocalist Aia de Leon is not in the least worried about her future after making perhaps two of her biggest career decisions this year.
If anything, they revitalized her as an artist in a way she never expected.
Last summer, we heard that she had left Imago, the band she fronted for 14 years and gave us the hit “Tara Lets.”
Then, mid-year she joined the singing competition “The Voice of the Philippines,”
where, to the shock of many, none of the judges turned their chairs around to applaud her in.
So what’s next for Aia after what may seem like a dispiriting stretch?
A humbling experience
“I’m still grateful I did that. The experience humbled me and at the same time gave me confidence,” she told Yahoo! Philippines OMG! about her decision to audition for “The Voice.”
The competition was won by Mitoy Yonting, who, like Aia, was an experienced band singer prior to courting judges Lea Salonga, Bamboo, Sarah Geronimo, and apl.de.ap into liking his voice.
Her bid never even got a preliminary nod from the judges.
Solo album in the works
“Wala akong negative na masasabi about sa nangyaring ‘yun. There was so much pressure when they didn’t turn around pero at that moment, nakita ko ang sarili ko. Yun ako,” she revealed.
“Even though I had to fall in line and start it all over again, I chose to do it because hinahanap ko ang sarili ko and nakita ko ako after that experience.”
Thus, her upcoming solo album, which is likely to be released next year as she is still in the process of writing songs, is, for her, “both a challenge and a privilege.”
‘Imago is bigger than me’
She also likened the transition from making music in a group and then going solo as akin to happily eating adobo for many years and then deciding to try out a new recipe.
Of Imago’s future without her, she believes the band should keep their “Institution na ang Imago; and Imago is bigger than me.”
Imago has just a new vocalist Mayumi Gomez, who describes herself on her Facebook page as a “singer-songwriter/events host-model /dancer/cosplayer.”
Healthy living
Aia is now into healthy eating, an advocate of “Brown Rice: The Good Food Planner.” She showed off the brown rice recipe she cooked at a media gathering held at PETA Theater Wednesday afternoon.
The event was organized in line with World Food Day on October 16 and aimed at “popularizing Brown Rice in the same way that brown sugar has gained mainstream support.”
Brown rice is deemed healthier than the usual white because its nutritious bran has not been polished off.
Aia, who switched to brown rice 6 months ago, also revealed her other health habits. “Two years ago, I began picking up malunggay leaves and saying, ‘Gawin nating smoothie ito.’”
She left one piece of advice to people hesitant to taking risks: “Huwag silang matakot magkamali.”
You might also like:
Why Aia de Leon wasn’t chosen in ‘The Voice’
Mitoy Yonting wins ‘The Voice of the Philippines’
Ambush Q&A with apl.de.ap: his past, his plans and the stuff he’s been listening to
VIEW GALLERY: ‘The Voice’ finale: moments you might have missed
VIEW PHOTOS: #tbt Ely, Rico, Ramon Bautista, Karl Roy back in 2005
