That you would find her name on Spotify surname-less is reflective of how singer-songwriter Marion Aunor is carving a career on her own. Not, as one may expect, heavily banked on the privilege of being the niece of Superstar Nora Aunor.
Credit goes to her firm grasp of “hugot” songs anchored expressively on a female singing voice style that is currently in.
“I make sure to put in my own experiences as inspiration for my songs. It becomes relatable that way,” shared Marion backstage after her much-applauded set at the Music Hall in Metrowalk last April 26.
April is her birthday month and she celebrated it with a Friday night show attended by some of her closest friends and avid fans. She did mention that stories she hears from friends, along with movies and TV series she watches, serve as key source of inspiration when song-writing.
Marion, having signed under Viva Artists Agency, and therefore now affiliated with Viva Records, revealed she is recording “a lot of new songs for an EP” to be put out soon. After some detouring with EDM and jazz, she has returned to her roots which her fans largely admire her for.
The haunting ballad “Akala,” her theme to the movie The Day After Valentine, puts that on display solidly, with its chorus that grips within with the help of a piano hook. Small wonder a lyric video of the song uploaded July last year has now garnered more than nine million views on YouTube.
She shared, “For that song, I started with the piano part. Then I started thinking about a sad past, yung how I was feeling breaking up with someone.”
Asked if she would qualify herself as a sad person, she replied by saying she just loves “emotional things.” But then she quickly recalled having found out that her name’s meaning is “sea of bitterness.”
She couldn’t resist to make a joke: “And so I was born to be a hugot person!”
After scoring her breakthrough in 2013 through the Himig Handog contest, wherein her song “If You Ever Change Your Mind” was among the 12 finalists, Marion has led a steady career of writing and recording songs for movies and even competently covering the popular pop tune “I Love You Always Forever” by Donna Lewis. Some of her songs include “Maling Pag-ibig,” from the film “Hanggang Kailan?,” and “Ikaw Pa Rin Ang Pipiliin Ko,” off “Pambansang Third Wheel.”
One of her goals is to write a song or sing in duet with her beloved singer-actress aunt.
