LA Music Review | Art, stories and advice
Raw, vulnerable and truly uplifting!
Hi Melissa, welcome to LA Music Review! Tell us a little bit about you and your music.
I’m Melissa Corpus, an independent singer-songwriter from Rodriguez, Rizal, and a proud PWD.
Despite having inborn Bell’s palsy and hearing impairment, discovering my gift of songwriting in 2020 became my new strength and served as an outlet at the time of the pandemic.
Most of my songs are based on my personal experiences, some are inspired by the movies/dramas I watched, and some are fictional with a story in my mind. My songs are usually ballads, and some usually tag me as ‘hugot queen’ but I also have praise, pop, and EDM songs to cater to a wider audience.
Congrats on the release! What was your inspiration when you were writing this project?
Released on October 21, 2022. I wrote Kapit Lang last year (2021) while we were still in the pandemic. I lost my job while I’m taking care of my mom. Music has become my outlet. Live streaming helped me convert negative emotions to positive ones.
I had too much going on in my mind, and everything felt like a routine. That week my mom was always complaining about her back pain. “Hindi na daw nya kaya.” That’s when I told myself that I must be brave.
Then the melody and lyrics came.
Huwag nang umiyak
Ako’y aalalay sa ‘yo.
I cannot break down because my mom needs me.
Then another set of lyrics came.
Huwag na huwag kang susuko
Huwag na huwag kang hihinto
Pagka’t nandito lang ako
Magmamahal sa ‘yo.
It’s like encouragement to myself, to my mom, and it can also come from God.
After listening over and over again after I completed my song, it made me realize that this song can also be a comfort song for those who are depressed, sick, abandoned, unaccepted LGBTQ couples, and those who are really on the verge of ending their life.
Healing is always a process, whatever the reason you are wounded. God will always provide us with angels (people who will be instrumental make us whole and appreciate life again.
Songwriting is a gift. It doesn’t end with just writing a song. The most important part is to send the message. If the message can touch the hearts of our listeners, then we’ve done our part.
Start streaming “Kapit Lang” right here:
What is your vision for this project?
I hope this song Kapit Lang, will evolve as a theme song for support groups, a comfort song for friends, a promise song for lovers, a healing song for those who are wounded, and a song to listen to when we want to hear a special message from God.
What is your favorite part of this body of work?
My favorite part is the message of holding on…
because there is always someone out there to help, to listen, and reach out. God will always send earth angels to rescue us.
The blending of acoustic, voicing, and strings all contributed to the cinematic feels of the song that brings a more relaxing/comforting sound to the listeners.
Big credit to Jonas Jusay for the acoustic arrangement and Oliver Coderes aka VIDEOKEYS for the quartet arrangement. I also want to thank my inaanak, Roshan Cervantes for creating the album cover.
Anything else we should know about it? Future Releases?
I am happy to perform live last October 15 at Cafe Lupe with my indie friends Nadj Zablan, Mary Ozaraga, Bimbo Simbulan, Rochy, and Bhen of Foresomereason. I also guested on the show of Julius and Tintin Para sa Pamilyang Pilipino on One PH.
I will be promote this song to indie online radios and even mainstream media.
Next release will be a song about missing our departed loved ones. Kamusta Ka sa Langit? is due on the third week of November. I wrote this for my late father.
