|
|
||||||||||||||
|
HER CHILDHOOD
Born in Quezon City in August of 1980, Tootsie Guevara spent much of her childhood years in various cities throughout the Philippines due to her father’s career. After spending nursery school and kindergarten at Assumption, her family moved to Cebu City, where she attended St. Theresa's College.
Tootsie began her musical career at a very early age. As an infant, her parents quickly discovered that although the shaking of a rattle made her cry, the sound of music made her smile. As a child, she often made a makeshift stage from chairs and stood on them, singing into a hairbrush as if it were a microphone. With the encouragement of her school teachers, Tootsie’s parents decided to enroll her in the Trebel School for Music, where she began taking voice and piano lessons. While there, she even studied ballet and choreographed the class graduation dance.
Singing was her forte however, and at the age of eight, her vocal talent turned in a winning performance at the Yamaha Musicmate singing contest in Cebu City. Singing “Isang Mundo, Isang Awit,” she was crowned the regional champion. It was this performance that led to her discovery. An executive from the Cebu branch of Vicor records recognized her talent and immediately signed her to do a solo album.
Tootsie then moved back to Manila with her family and began her official career as a recording artist, recording the single, “Nais Kong Umawit.” This was followed by her first full album, “Tootsie,” with the carrier single, “Kinabukasan Ko.” This album garnered her a nomination in 1990 for the best child recording artist from Awit Awards.
|
||||||||||||||
|
*~Biography~*
|
||||||||||||||
|
TOOTSIE ON SCREEN
Always on stage, Tootsie practically grew up in front of the camera, appearing on three different television shows in Cebu City by the time she was eight years old. In Manila, Tootsie was a regular performer on several television shows, appearing on That's Entertainment, D.A.T.S., and the show Jammin, all on GMA channel 7.
Even with all her success as a childhood performer, her education remained her first priority. This resulted in an extremely demanding schedule. Despite spending all day at school, she would then go directly to the studio to rehearse dance numbers for the upcoming shows. These rehearsals would often last well into the night, after which she would return home - sometimes after midnight - and diligently do her homework for class the following day.
Tootsie eventually signed on with Star Records as a new artist. Around this time, she also met the multi-award winning producer and songwriter Vehnee Saturno who produced her first album under Star Records, "Really Wanna Tell You." Released in the summer of 1997, the album produced the hit single, "Pasulyap-sulyap." The album went platinum by October, and double-platinum soon afterwards. The single was also featured on the soundtrack of the movie, "Flames." Two other singles were released from this album - "Mr. Kupido," and "Sa Totoo Lang."
Her growing popularity and the success of this album led to numerous other television appearances, including appearances on A.S.A.P., Today with Kris Aquino, Flames, Eazy Dancing, S.O.P., and Master Showman, just to name a few. Tootsie's appeal is not only due to her voice, but also to her remarkable beauty and her charming personality. Her looks have garnered her stints in commercials as well as photoshoots as a model.
Although she aspires to try the big screen, she continues to wait for an appropriate role. In fact, she continually declines offers from producers intent on capitalizing on her natural beauty, sultry voice, and widespread popularity to appear as a "bold" actress in various movies. Despite her strong desire to act, and producers' superficial promises of new cars and luxurious condominiums, she remains commendably unwilling to compromise her image and morals for appearances in demeaning movie roles. Sadly, she finds many barriers even in the recording industry, where young women are expected to find a "godfather" and are exploited as they struggle to achieve some degree of success. She has become increasingly disillusioned by an often seedy industry characterized by greed and exploitation. Yet in the meantime, she continues to sing - her first love - and earnestly hopes that her upcoming album will be a success.
|
||||||||||||||
|
BEHIND THE SCENES
Tootsie remains committed to both her education and her career, studying Hotel and Restaurant Management in college while preparing for the release of her new album, which will debut in January, 1999. In her free time, she enjoys watching TV (music videos, in particular), playing on her computer, listening to music, singing (of course) and spending time with her close friends. An incredibly neat and meticulous person, she has also been known to spend hours cleaning and rearranging her room.
Tootsie listens to a wide range of musical styles. However, she leans towards R&B, and her musical influences include Toni Braxton, Vanessa Williams, Brandy, Boys II Men, and Brian McKnight. However, she also has great respect and admiration for Pilita Corales, Kuh Ledesma, and Lea Salonga. Tootsie's captivating voice is equally at home singing R&B covers or Kundiman songs.
Her upcoming album features numerous award-winning producers and composers, including Vehnee Saturno, Ben Escasa, Keddy Sanchez, Brix Ferraris, and Jimmy Borja. Reflecting a more mature style, the mix of songs on the album showcases an impressive voice that displays even more depth and emotion than before. In the recording studio, even Mr. Saturno remarked that her voice had become even more "sexy." The album is likely to produce more hit singles for Tootsie, and the songs are very well-suited to her style.
Tootsie remains an extremely humble and charming person. She is unimpressed by her own success, and is very committed to her family and her friends. Amazingly sincere and friendly, she has a knack for quickly winning over almost everyone she meets.
|
||||||||||||||
|
Copied from Michael Avila's Tootsie Guevara Homepage
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||