DAHIL TANGING IKAW

By: Jaya


Bakit kailangan puso ay masaktan
Bago maintindihan ang siyang nararamdaman
At kahit iwasa'y naro'n sa damdamin
Yakap at mga halik ay nadarama pa rin

[Chorus:]
Dahil tanging ikaw ang siyang lahat
Nang mawalay ka nang minsa'y
Hindi ko matanggap
Kulang ang sandali pag ika'y wala
Sadyang kapag wala ka'y
Wala rin ang tuwa

Kung ang 'yong puso'y
May mahal nang iba
Di pa rin magbabago ang aking nadarama
Ako ay aasang magbabalik ka pa rin
Ang iyong pagmamahal
At ang dating pagtingin

[Repeat chorus]
[Repeat 1ST stanza]
[Repeat chorus]

María Luisa Ramsey (born March 21, 1969), better known mononymously as Jaya, is a Filipino soul music singer, rapper, dancer, record producer, presenter, and actress of mixed Filipino and Jamaican descent. She is a contract artist of GMA Artist Center. She is the first Filipino recording artist to chart in the United States, as her debut single "If You Leave Me Now" peaked at 44 at the Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[1]

 

Birth name	María Luisa Ramsey
Born	(1969-03-21) March 21, 1969 (age 45)
Origin	Manila, Philippines
Genres	Soul, pop, adult contemporary, R&B, rock, hip hop, OPM, jazz, gospel, scat, funk, freestyle, dance
Occupations	Singer, rapper, actress, dancer, musician, record producer, TV host
Years active	1989–present
Labels	LeFrak-Moelis (1989) VIVA (1996-2005) GMA (2007-2011) Universal Records (2011-present)

 

Early life

María Luisa Ramsey was born on March 21, 1969 in Manila, Philippines. Her mother is Elizabeth Ramsay, a Filipino comedienne and singer of Jamaican descent.^[2] Ramsey's father is Ray Kagahastian, a Filipino. Her parents separated when she was young, while her father migrated in the United States. He now resides in Alberta, Canada.

She started in show business at the age of ten as a backup dancer for her mother. At 13, Ramsey became the undefeated champion in the GMA-7 noontime variety show, Student Canteen, and joined the Opera House. She began performing solo in 1982, using the name Louise Ramsey.

The young Louise did not finish high school in the Philippines because of her busy lifestyle as a child performer. She nonetheless managed to receive high marks and was once elected class president.

In the United States

Her mother Elizabeth decided to leave for the United States in June 1985, and brought Louise with her. There she continued her solo singing stints, performing with other Overseas Filipino artists like Tillie Moreno, Eddie Mercado, Lerma dela Cruz, and the duo Reycards.

Life in America was likewise difficult for both Jaya and her mother. They stayed in different cities in California. She attended John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, California, which at the time already had a large Filipino-American student population. She ran away from home in 1988 after finishing high school, moving to New York with a friend and landing a job as a backup vocalist for Stevie B's group of musicians.^[3]
 

 

Personal life

In 1998, Jaya married musician Andrew Buffington, whom she met in 1995. After three years of marriage, she filed for divorce.^[23] Jaya married her second husband Gary Gotidoc and at the age of 36 she gave birth to her daughter Sabriya.^[24] On July 27, 2009 at 5:28 pm, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center. The baby was named Dylan and weighed 8.2 pounds.^[

 

 

Voice

Jaya's voice is classified as Contralto, a dramatic soprano, widely known for her dark, low registered as low as A2, big voice, and belting as much as Ab5 in her rendition of "Through the Fire" even as high as Bb5 in her version of "High Energy".


 

Career

US debuts

Ramsey was re-christened "Jaya" in 1989 by her American producer after she signing a record deal in the United States. After one year, Jaya moved to Florida, where she was offered an opportunity to finish an album that had already been started by another artist.

Philippine debuts

1995 was a turning point in Jaya's musical career. Pilita Corrales, dubbed "Asia's Queen of Songs", noticed her voice after Jaya did an opening act for Corrales, Carmen Soriano, the late Bert "Tawa" Marcelo, and Elizabeth in the United States. Corrales then asked Jaya if she would like to return to Manila and record an album, to which she agreed. Jaya returned to the Philippines and signed a record deal with Viva Records in March 1995 and completed her first local album. Five songs were recorded in the US while the rest were done in the Philippines.

Jaya is noted for being the Philippine music industry's female record holder of a seven-times platinum album.^[4] She was a big hit when Pinoys first heard her belt out soul ditties in 1996. Her winning the 1996 Metropop Song Festival via Danny Tan's "Sometimes You Just Know" made her the biggest star on the rise at the close of the last century. Her first album under Viva Records hit an all-time high of 8 times platinum closely followed by Jessa Zaragoza 2 years after.^[5]

In 1997, she released her third album In the Raw, (second in the Philippines) the follow-up to her massive-selling 1996 Philippine debut album, Jaya, which sold nine times platinum, (360,000 units; platinum is 40,000 units sold).^[6]

She also won as Best Interpreter at the Asia Song Festival held in Hong Kong in February 1997 for her rendition of the song "You Lift Me Up", composed by Danny Tan with lyrics by Dodjie Simon. This composition also received the grand prize, the Best Song award.

She adorns Magpakailan pa Man (Up to the End), with soulful, Toni Braxton-styled flourishes, and renders the upbeat, "Together" with panache and verve. Her assured handling of the delicately nuanced, "Sana'y Maulit Muli" (May it Recur Again), is a tour de force. The album sold quintuple-platinum (200,000 units sold).^[7]

She released a Christmas album, entitled Kung Kailan Pasko which contained traditional carols alongside original compositions, including a jazz version of The Christmas Song.^[8]


 

 

In 1999, PolyMax Records, a label of then-PolyGram Records Philippines (now an affiliate of Universal Records) released Jaya's A Love Album, first released in 1992 in Japan under the same title. The album consists of songs taken from an earlier Jaya album, also called A Love Album, released in the United States in 1989, as well as songs recorded specifically for the 1992 Japanese release. In 1992, while touring Japan as a backup singer and keyboardist for American R&B artist Stevie B., Jaya was approached by the Japanese label Toshiba/EMI to make an album for Japanese release. A Love Album was released in Japan in conjunction with Jaya's American label, LMR Records, which still owns master rights, and from whom PolyMax obtained permission to release the album in the Philippines (according to Kazu Watanabe, managing director of PolyMax Records). A Love Album is exquisitely produced, and Jaya acquits herself well on the album's upbeat R&B/dance-styled tunes and soulful ballads.^[9]

In 1999, Jaya released, her fifth album released in her native country since 1996, entitled Honesty originally done by Billy Joel, was also her carrier single.

Honesty differs greatly from Jaya's two previous major albums released in the Philippines, 1996's Jaya and 1997's In the Raw. Though, as before, Honesty contains mostly passionate, easy-listening love songs, this time out her approach is more intimate. She doesn't add many soulful flourishes as before, nor does she allow herself to soar passionately to the heavens, which she often did on her previous albums.

Another major difference is the inclusion of three modern, rhythm and blues styled songs, including, "We Thang," "Tear to Fall" and "In My Dreams." These songs are far more contemporary and have much more international appeal than the easy-listening love songs which dominate Jaya's music.^[10]

After five years in the recording scene, she released her first greatest hits album, entitled Five featuring a duet of Habang May Buhay (While Still having Life) with Regine Velasquez and Kung Wala Na (If Gone) from the Abandonada soundtrack.

In 1999, Jaya faced a big challenge when she did her first musical, the Ramayana-based Rama at Sita that starred Lani Misalucha. Her performance as the demon king Ravana's sister, Soorphanaka, was memorable for her skillful treatment of risque songs and sultry dancing.^[11]

2000: Unleashed and concert scene
2007: New label
2010: New beginnings

2011–present: All Souled Out and Sunday All Stars judge
 

 

Discography

 

Studio albums: 1989: Jaya (US album) 1996: Jaya (Philippine album) 1997: In the Raw 1998: Kung Kailan Pasko 1999: A Love Album (Japan released) 1999: Honesty 2001: Unleashed 2005: Fall in Love Again 2007: Cool Change 2009: Real.Love.Stories. 2011: All Souled Out

Compilation albums: 2000: Five 2006: Silver Series 2009: 18 Greatest Hits Live album: 2001: Jaya Live at the Araneta