Power belter Katrina Velarde is a well-known fixture in the country’s singing contest scene in the early part of 2000s. She was one of the amateur singers to beat alongside contemporaries Angeline Quinto and Charice Pempengco (now known as Jake Zyrus).
Her first taste of the mainstream spotlight happened when she became a monthly finalist of ABS-CBN’s singing competition Little Big Star. She then made it to the grand finals of the second season of Talentadong Pinoy in 2010 where she competed as part of the singing group New Born Divas with Alyssa Quijano and Jennifer Maravilla.
Katrina was further catapulted to the mainstream when she competed under the “groups division” of the very first season of The X-Factor Philippines with the all-girl vocal group AKA JAM under the mentorship of Gary Valenciano.
Although she had already been in the limelight for quite a few years, Katrina’s star started to shine when she gained international acclaim as a solo artist when a video of her performing Beyonce’s “Dangerously In Love” while using a purple comb as a makeshift microphone went viral. Beyonce’s bass player shared the video on her Facebook page leading netizens to call her the “Suklay Diva.” And as they say, the rest is history.
Earlier this year, Katrina had a show at the New Frontier Theater. Entitled siKat Ako, the solo concert marked Katrina’s rise as one of the country’s up-and-coming concert performers. True enough, she gears up for her a follow-up concert entitled SiKAT i2, which is happening on Nov. 29 at the New Frontier Theater.
“Having two major concerts is more than a dream come true,” the singer told Manila Standard in an interview.
According to the young diva, fans can expect pure vocal display as the main highlight of the concert.
“Compared to my previous show, the upcoming concert is going to be pure singing, vocal display, if you will,” she said in vernacular.
With the singer showing off her amazing control on those powerful pipes of hers, Katrina has been hailed as the heir apparent to Asia’s Songbird. To which she said simply, “l am honored to be mentioned in the same breath as hers.”
Katrina’s song “Tama Na” was a finalist in the recently held Awit Awards while her latest single, “Magkaibang Mundo,” is one of the theme songs of the blockbuster movie Just A Stranger, which starred Anne Curtis and Marco Gumabao. This ballad track rose to the charts immediately after the movie’s release and peaked at the top five rankings on Spotify’s Philippine Viral 50.
For tickets to her show call 8-911-5555 or visit Ticketnet.com.
