passion

The Voice

There is only one common thing that people say whenever they hear Sheila singing (either recorded or live)---she’s got the voice. Not just singing voice but somehow a distinct one. It may not like any ear-piercing, note-overlapping voice like other female singers that we’ve seen on TV. But whenever she sings, she’s a head-turner and that is something that most people noticed about her. Sheila is comfortable in singing any kind of song from pop, dance, RnB, rock and especially ballad. It shows her affinity for karaoke because she’s used in singing at home away from the large crowd. There are some people who told her that she have this “x-factor” appeal with the way she sings—sweet, melodic and alluring. Somehow it’s true that she sheds a new personality whenever she sings and she’s doing it in a very passionate way. Who would even thought Sheila is actually amateur with singing contests even in high school. She refused to join any singing contest but choose to accept the task as an emcee in school programs. Or focus more on her academic task as a responsible student who give importance to her studies. With her interest in public speaking, maybe that’s the reason why she knows how to carry herself in any conversation in front of other people (but not with singing).
But singing and music comes out naturally for her. Coming from a family of singers and music lovers in Iloilo (that includes her cousin Reyn Callao), Sheila considers singing as self-expression. Her recent favorite song that she rediscovered was “Reflection” by Christina Aguilera from Walt Disney film “Mulan.” The song somehow relates to her present artistic pursuit as a local singer launched by rslphoenix music. Like the song, she’s sometimes hesitant to embrace her true capabilities as a singer and a 16-year-old girl who undergo changes. She’s starting to follow a journey and fulfill everything she loves to do with music one step at a time. If there are some people who sometimes discouraged her saying she lacks physical “x-factor” appeal, there are even more optimistic people who supported her proving that music is nothing without a voice and that a real singing voice justifies the meaning of music. A voiceless music is a manufactured sound without a heart and without a center of emotion. Music with a heart can hit the right center spot of human emotions and that’s what music should be--a real voice behind it.
I believe Sheila as a young and budding Ilonggo singer will be singing more for us. She takes pride of Ilonggo music as her identity. In the coming weeks, she’s releasing her first music video for “Ginpalangga” in her official youtube channel, webpage and more. The music video is done artistically by rslphoenix music creative team and set aside the constraints of getting expensive. What matters most are the heart and soul, the time and effort, the music and the voice behind it to make it a real work of art.
This is the simple voice of Sheila Barrios, an Ilongga singing from the heart.