FOR a month since its launch at The Embassy, that infamous Gucci-Gang hideout in Taguig City, we’ve been listening religiously to Nancy Jane, the first and hopefully not the last album of model-actress-turned-singer Nancy Jane Jimenez Castiglione. Yes, we are biased already for using the phrase “hopefully not the last,” because the 12-track dance electronica album has original compositions by Castiglione’s friends and friends’ friends that easily stick to the mind.

Take, for example, track No. 3, “Control.”

It is composed by former Rivermaya-frontman Rico Blanco, whose past works can easily grip the hearts of Filipino listeners. No matter what his detractors say about him being “mayabang, difficult to work with and all,” Blanco will remain the musical genius behind many of our favorite videoke OPM fare, like “214,” “Ulan,” “Awit ng Kabataan” and practically all the hits that Rivermaya had.

“Control” is good news to us. It is flavored with that signature Blanco Brit-pop-inspired guitar solos that easily stick to the subconscious. Blanco didn’t attempt for anything poetic when he wrote the lyrics, like the simple “It’s just a little obsession, am only losing control.”

Blanco also functions as producer and arranger of “Control,” which has a second version, the DJ Leon Chaplain mix. The song is that good, it needed to have a twin.

We can’t help but mention that after Blanco left the murky Rivermaya last year, he immediately hogged the news as he did some well-publicized T-shirt designs for a famous clothing company. Definitely not for Gucci, but this brilliant rock singer-composer has successfully morphed into a credible fashion designer.

In the same vein, Nancy Jane has the compositions of Ricci Chan, another “character” in the industry that readily welcomed Blanco.

Chan composed the music of track No. 6, titled, “Let’s Rock It,” in which he is arranger and backup vocals. Same with track No. 10, “Attraction/Connection” and No. 11, titled “Without You.”

All of them are danceable potential hits.

The promoters would like to use track No. 1, “Deep Inside You,” composed and arranged by DJ Brian Cua, as the first carrier single. We agree how radio-friendly this tune is but “Control” remains our favorite. Cua did the remixes of Hale’s “The Day You Said Goodnight” and Regine Velasquez’s “Shine”.

In the vein of Madonna and Kylie Minogue, our Nancy Castiglione hopes to make it big, at least in the Philippines. At The Embassy during the said launch, she did three songs, including “Control” and we were surprised by her performance. Well, the two scantily dressed backup women dancers added spice to the pretty face with the microphone.

“I enjoy rave music or dance electronica or house music—whatever you call it—a lot. This album was conceptualized a year-and-a-half ago. That long, so this is not something rushed or just because it’s the fad or anything like that. I have inputs from the very start,” Castiglione told the BusinessMirror.

Aside from Madonna and Kylie, she mentioned of early influences like internationally acclaimed DJs Tiesto and Paul Van Dyke. Obviously, she hangs out at The Embassy and other rave-themed bars. We didn’t notice any member of the GG during the said launch. Only Castiglione’s close friends like Bianca King and Cheska Garcia.

There will be bar tours to promote the album, reaching Cebu and Davao.

Castiglione is not new to performing before a live audience. We learned that she had training in musical theater and as a teenager acted in musicals like The Wizard of Oz.

We recall how Castiglione got noticed by millions of Filipinos by appearing in that beer commercial a couple of years ago, wherein she intentionally poured a bottle of beer on a gorgeous guy’s shirt so that he will be forced to remove it. The scene takes place in the middle of a dance floor and he showed his well-chiseled abs. We can’t remember the male model but we clearly remember Castiglione’s pretty and naughty face, saying the most seductive “Sorry.”

So if you don’t like her album, just imagine her saying “Sorry.”

There’s also the defunct GMA sitcom Lagot Ka, Isusumbong Kita, wherein she played a neighbor-tease to the rowdy group of Richard Gomez, Joey Marquez, Benjie Paras and Raymart Santiago. “It’s been a long while since I did television. I kind of miss it actually but with this album, I’m taking baby steps to achieve my goal in another field. My music is my performance.”

As early as now, she’s been touted the queen of the club scene and the album as something worthy of a Hed Kandi spin.

Nancy Jane is released under Warner Music Philippines, the same company behind the new Rivermaya. And we mean that not as a joke.

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FOR a month since its launch at The Embassy, that infamous Gucci-Gang hideout in Taguig City, we’ve been listening religiously to Nancy Jane, the first and hopefully not the last album of model-actress-turned-singer Nancy Jane Jimenez Castiglione.

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