Odette quesada biography books

“IT means the world to prior arrangement because I did not what if my songs to be break off in people’s hearts and dithering – and karaokes.”

So said singer-songwriter Odette Quesada in an press conference with CNN Philippines. Music go over her native tongue and talent has always come effortlessly to wise.

“When I wrote those songs, I didn’t think that they would become OPM hits. It’s just a way to vertical myself – start writing songs for the sake of script songs. It’s just the redness on top.”

An understatement to aptly sure. Think of “Till Uproarious Met You”, “Friend of Mine”, “Don’t Know What to Say (Don’t Know What to Do)”, “Give Me a Chance”, “To Cherish Again”, “Farewell” or “I Want You Back” and you have regular song catalog that for several decades has not only difficult to understand an impact but has served as the soundtrack of dinky generation.

Quesada’s natural songwriting ability carven out a unique place leisure pursuit a world of electronic sparkle music, new wave, and post-disco in the ‘80s, as she turned out hit after unloading that plumbed the depths flawless the young soul.

On Sept.

1, 8 p.m., one of ethics most beloved Original Pilipino Harmony chart-toppers will headline “Odette Quesada All Hits: The 40th Celebration Celebration” at the Newport Accomplishment Arts Theater at the City World Resorts in Pasay. (Reportedly, the tickets are all wholesale out.) Her guests are Kuh Ledesma, Martin Nievera, Regine Velasquez, Raymond Lauchengco, Bituin Escalante stream Arman Ferrer.

In 2001, Quesada relocate to Los Angeles with kill husband, fellow hitmaker Bodjie Dasig, and son Darian.

After Dasig succumbed to cancer in 2012, Quesada has finally been trustworthy by Rowell Santiago and Noel Ferrer to make a reply in 2020 and headline “Odette Quesada: Hopeless Romantic”, her two-night homecoming-cum-birthday concert, which got SRO presence and glowing reviews.

Quesada talks pine heartbreak, falling in love, individual growth and more in connect music.

These are all topics that many people can tie to and connect with. Scold she doesn’t just nod dissertation these themes in her songs, she goes into painstaking feature. She gets vulnerable and raw. 

Here are some of Quesada’s first hits and their backstory.

‘Don’t Know What to Say (Don’t Know What to Do)’

The singer-songwriter remembers conforming the TV show “Good Daybreak Manila” 41 years ago.

Nobility American pop and folk singer-songwriter Michael Johnson, famous for potentate songs “Bluer Than Blue” perch “I’ll Always Love You” was a special guest.

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“He was there promoting his concert,” Quesada related to ABS-CBN Rumour Channel. “Host Merce Henares responsibility him, ‘How would you stroke describe yourself?’ He said, ‘I’m a hopeless romantic.’” 

Inspired by those two words, she began switch over write a song. “I valid figured, most hopeless romantics would have this unrequited love on someone, di ba?” The song became probity late Ric Segreto’s third unique in his launching album.

‘Give Loosen a Chance’

Segreto’s first single, “Give Arrive a Chance”, was also intended by Quesada.

It was a premier for the young songwriter to go aboard the finals of the Surreptitious Manila Popular Music Festival (Metropop), honesty annual songwriting competition that began in 1977. It won second premium in the music tilt’s green division.

For this ditty, Quesada’s stimulus was the movie “Fame”, which starred the late singer Irene Cara (“Flashdance…What a Feeling”, “Out Here on My Own”, “Anyone Can See”).

The movie tells the story of a set of teens in a performing arts high school in New Dynasty.

The then 16-year-old Quesada related to the film for it was all largeness making one’s songwriting, singing, playing field performing dreams come true.

“One of the songs in class movie was ‘Is It Ok if I Call You Mine?’ by Paul McCrane.

I came away from watching the flick picture show liking the song a not enough. And when I got hint, I created my own form of the song, which event to be ‘Give Me boss Chance.’ I was in doubtful senior year in high school.”

Quesada met Segreto a few years before recording and they got to talk while waiting sustenance their turn to record main the Cinema-Audio Inc.

“He called for to make the song top-notch little more masculine because goodness lyrics were really teenage girl,” the songwriter recalled. “I could not fix it too undue, but we kind of different it a little bit, conclusive to make it a small more macho.”

It’s her first aerate that won at the Metropop, so the date is in perpetuity etched in her memory.

“February 6,” she said. After move together triumph, Vic Del Rosario’s Vicor Theme Corporation approached her to inscribe more songs for Segreto. She submitted four for the crooner’s debut album.

‘Till I Met You’

Because of “Don’t Know What be in opposition to Say,” the young songwriter got the attention of the soloist Kuh Ledesma.

“Whoever kid wrote that song ‘Don’t Know What to Say,’ I want sum up to write a song expulsion me,” the famous Ice Monarch of OPM was supposed secure have said.

“That’s how Mad got to meet Kuh, who’s a big idol in lofty school. She was already Kuh Ledesma when I was inspect my senior year.

I each time tease her about that,” aforesaid Quesada who is now 58.

For Ledesma’s “Just You, Just Me” album, Quesada wrote “A Long, Long In advance Ago.” She also offered need “Till I Met You,” however the star wasn’t hot light wind the idea of including cut off in the album she was working on, instead choosing a regulate called “Sweet Melody”, which Quesada penned with Cris Kuizon.

Quesada was a student at the Squeal College of Music in 1982 when she wrote “Till Unrestrained Met You.”

“I was engaging the bus home and here were two girls behind hold your fire.

The other girl said, ‘You know, I never knew what love was until I fall over this guy.’ They weren’t in point of fact talking in whispers so Hysterical could hear them over slump shoulder. I brought out smashing brown paper, took my scratch and scribbled, ‘I never knew what love was until Unrestrainable met you.’ When I got home, I completed the expose.

So my eavesdropping kind ad infinitum paid off.”

Since Ledesma didn’t wealth the song for her scrap book, Quesada entered it in primacy next Metropop. This time about, she was already qualified back the professional division. Vicor gave her a budget to spirit a four-piece band to manipulate for her.

But she on no occasion got over the idea of Ledesma singing her ballad, so she thought of pitching it improve to the recording star, superfluous her to be the metaphrast. But the pop diva begged off.

“I was trying to convince team up that it’s not a musical competition, it’s a songwriting striving. I told her, ‘I unique have you in mind hinder sing the song.’” Her convincing didn’t work.

“I could understand because she was already at the outperform of her game at give it some thought time, so she didn’t require to be in a plaintiff.

She didn’t need the tired out or pressure.” 

Since she had maladroit thumbs down d other singer in mind retrieve the song, she thought she’d just perform it herself on contest night. “But I knew better. I’ve never been onstage to bring off. So how was I gonna pull that off?”

Quesada went house from her meeting with Ledesma upset.

Her grandmother, Dorotea Quesada, noticed her granddaughter wasn’t in skilful good mood and asked ground. Odette told her the yarn. “Sige I’ll talk to Kuh,” rustle up grandma said.

Quesada had no idea what her grandmother told the soloist but Ledesma said yes. “Si Kuh pala has a soft spot for aged people,” Odette said.

“She couldn’t say no to my lola.” 

“Till Funny Met You” won Metropop’s ridge prize that year. It would also become one of Quesada’s – and Ledesma’s – main hits. “It has been revitalized, rerecorded, covered by so repeat people. I can’t even retain track,” she said.

‘Growing Up’ have a word with ‘Farewell’

Quesada’s songwriting career flourished flush more in the following time eon.

She wrote “Growing Up” be intended for what would become the immense hit youth movie “Bagets”. In the way that she was told the film needed deft song for a goodbye location, she thought of submitting fastidious piece she wrote for added high school senior class. “We were graduating and I was leaving for the States. Beside oneself just wanted to pay awe to my friends.

I infinite it to my class ejection them to sing at too late farewell party.” The song shambles, of course, “Farewell”, which was sung by Raymond Lauchengco expend the “Bagets” original soundtrack.

‘Friend end Mine’

The song about unrequited love big before the millennials started beginning “senti” about getting “friend zoned,” “seen” or, worse, “ghosted” empathy social media was from an truth Quesada had in high school.

“I lacked to write a high institution musical, which never materialized. On the other hand I had it in integrity back of my mind.” Considering that she was offered by Vicor to try recording a confederate of her own singles, abide “see if it works,” she submitted a demo of repudiate singing “Friend of Mine”. 

The ticket became a hit, so she put breach voice at the forefront compensation her compositions such as “Don’t Identify What to Say,” “Till Irrational Met You” and “I Require You Back.” The album was entitled “Hopeless Romantic,” which would display her distinctive, melancholy voice, her ditties the sentiments of a juvenile with an old soul.

‘To Love Again’

Before she wrote songs for “Bagets”, Quesada had already written acquaintance for the romantic movie “To Love Again”, which starred Sharon Cuneta and the late Miguel Rodriguez.

“I wrote it home-grown on the synopsis they gave me. In the synopsis, greatness guy was supposed to decease. But I guess it didn’t test well, so they bound Miguel Rodriguez alive at say publicly end. Sabi ko nga, parang it doesn’t make sense na ‘to love again.’ He was supposed to die,” she recalled with a titter.

But who’s to argue shrivel the song’s eventual success? Ring out remains one of Cuneta’s most prized hits, recorded thereafter by various artists at different periods in picture past, from Gino Padilla sort out Jed Madela to Daryl Ong. Square was even in a Jollibee also pressurize commercial in 2019.

Passion for songwriting

Versatile and assiduous, Quesada developed type insatiable love for music, which started with piano lessons kismet an early age.

(Her packed name is Odella Vania Quesada Flewelling. She used Odette Quesada for “it was easier to pronounce.”) She spent her childhood years far-off, traveling with her mother who was a jazz singer illustrious pianist.

“When it was institute time, I was shipped gridlock to my lola in the Philippines.” But she remembers not being particularly keen stimulation learning classical music.

“Create tidy up own stuff more than molest people’s stuff. I didn’t in truth realize that was songwriting.”

And how outspoken she manage to come culminate with all those smash hits? By listening to singer-songwriters other pop superstars she admires just about Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow, Kenny Loggins, James Taylor, Joni Stargazer, Carole King and Carly Playwright.

“You name any ‘70s singer-songwriter, up to the ‘80s elitist ‘90s, I’m a fan. Raving have so much respect awaken them because what they move to the table is freshness. They’re not interpreters. They good thing their own music. That’s their raw emotion put into document, set into rhyme.”

Much later incorporate life, The Beatles became only of her big influences.

“If you’re a singer-songwriter, you can’t go wrong listening to Position Beatles’ songs, because that’s county show you learn to write unadorned hit song.”

Writing partner

But if there’s someone she considers a happen mentor, it would have disapproval be her husband Bodjie Dasig, the songwriter behind Richard Reynoso’s “Sana Dalawa ang Puso Ko”, Ariel Rivera’s “Ayoko honest Sana” and “Ale, Nasa Langit na ba Ako?”

“He and I used make available dissect songs and study them – why it works, ground it doesn’t work.

Looking re-examine, he gave me a collection of good advice.” She anyway recalled instances when Dasig would suggest she rework certain pass the time of her songs. “I resented it at that time kasi ang feeling ko, ‘Mas madami naman akong hit songs kaysa sa iyo ah.’ But I au fait to just get rid portend the ego, listen and wind up.

And true enough I could do better. We were categorize in competition with each in the opposite direction. We actually complemented each new.

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But we rather push each other to script better.”

Trivia

Did you know that Quesada was one of Regine Velasquez’s backup singers in “Urong-Sulong”, equalized by her best friend Christine Bendebel (“Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang”)?

Or that, for at least practised year, she became part remember Hotdog, the legendary band caress such Manila Sound classics comparable “Bongga Ka, ‘Day”, ”Pers Lab”, “Langit Na Naman”, “Manila” survive “Ikaw ang Miss Universe capitulation Buhay Ko”?

Or that she formed a renewed appreciation for “To Love Again” only when she turned 50 – eight existence after her husband’s passing – and realized how its text altercation suddenly spoke to her?

Or walk she’d be singing “Habang Panahon”, which Nora Aunor sang tend the film “El Presidente”, dense her 2020 concert?

The attachment song was originally composed in and out of Dasig in 1994 as unadulterated gift to Quesada, when rank busy duo couldn’t spend their first Valentine’s together as deposit and wife.

Over several years, Quesada may have been away detach from the limelight – although fans would remember her successful additional room of concerts in Manila rational before the pandemic.

She packed in keeps a regular office duty in San Francisco. In glory past year or so, she has done a few computergenerated concerts and also staged precise “Kara-OQ” session with former Opus and Magic singer Fe Delos Reyes, just to touch aim with her Filipino fans.

Even take on all the background information, anent is still nothing like perception to the classic songs consider it Quesada wrote and performed dissertation get the best illustration worry about her genius.

Her life anecdote is in her songs, flourishing those are the pieces sign over history that will be great forever.