AMID the politically charged battle between her debut movie Katips and the controversial film Maid in Malacañang, singer and actress Nicole Laurel Asensio chose to remain unfazed and unaffected by it all.
Asensio remained sober amid the heated debates.
“First, I’d like to start by saying thank you for supporting both films because what’s important here is we support the (Philippine cinema) industry,” she said when asked about her thoughts on the issue.
“The more people who watched either film, the better.” she added.
Politics is not worth the price of losing a relationship
Asensio said she chooses not to speak her mind on controversial matters if she doesn’t have to, which she rarely does anyway in her social media platforms.
Perhaps this is because her exposure to politics came quite early, being the granddaughter of the late Vice President Salvador ‘Doy’ Laurel. She seemed almost diplomatic when discussing such touchy subject matters.
“If there’s anything I learned from my grandfather, it is the fact that he practiced utmost decorum and respect, and statesmanship to all parties. Even the ones who didn’t like him. Even the ones who were disrespectful to him,” she recalled in an interview with republicasia.
Looking back, given how politics can foster animosity, she was surprised to be cast for the movie Katips because Director Vince Tanada’s and her family were not always on the same side.
“Working together is a choice you make that is far beyond politics. It’s about friendship. It’s about the betterment of our industries, It’s about forgiveness,” she said.
The adjustment period
Prior to her foray into acting, Asensio fronted the all-female band General Luna until 2013. When it ended, she pursued a solo career. She recorded her solo album “Schizoprano” in 2015.
Her music journey was not the easiest. As the industry saw a decline in physical sales of artists’ music, her career took a nosedive along with it.
She readily admits that one of the reasons her music career did not take off was that her music lacked the appeal for a changing market.
Another reason is that it was a transition period for the industry as compact disks were replaced by streaming platforms and digital purchases of records online.
Since then, the industry has been negatively affected by social media’s growth and the change of music preferences and habits of young consumers.
How she expanded her wheelhouse
She pursued her singing career, crooning out big band, jazz and standards, and attracted invitations to corporate and private events. This is due to how she discovered different genres of music, all thanks to the talented musicians she met along the way. She has kept her work ethic and remained humble through it all.
She took the opportunities that came her way with no hesitation.
These eventually included movies.
Thoughts of quitting
Asensio admits that she had thought of quitting the industry at times.
“Yes, maraming beses, kase yun yung challenge when you do what you love for a living. A good day is astronomically good while a bad day is the pits. But when you wake up the next day after a really really bad day when it just is not working and you want to do it all over again, maybe you are supposed to be doing it,” she said.
The pandemic put things in perspective for her as she was part of an industry that struggled enormously during the period. According to her, a lot of her colleagues gave up, not only on the industry, but sadly on life.
This brought back memories of her dad who passed away in mysterious circumstances. Up to this day, she still can’t figure out the cause of his death. She said that because of this traumatic experience, she stopped writing songs for almost five years.
Loving love
For all that she has gone through, she refuses to become bitter or cynical.
She lit up when she spoke about her mom being her inspiration.
And when asked about whether she’d become jaded at the end of a relationship, she said no because she “loved love”.
She has a passion for life that seems to have no bounds.
