For 25 years, Filipino singer and songwriter Kyla has carried the crown as the Philippines’ Queen of R&B — a title she earned not just through her hits, but through her unwavering dedication to the genre.
During the media conference for her new album Next Episode, Kyla shared how her “R&B heart” has remained strong throughout her career. “My heart has remained strong from the very beginning since 25 years ago. I held on to that R&B heart in me. ‘Yung R&B na nasa puso ko, I held on to it for so long, I fought for it for 25 years until marindi na sila sa akin,” Kyla shared with PUSH ABS-CBN.
As the music industry and listeners’ preferences evolved, the “Hanggang Ngayon” hitmaker expressed her joy that R&B is now fully embraced by Filipino audiences. “Now finally I can say and I can feel na they have embraced R&B dito sa Pilipinas,” she said.
Looking back at her early years, Kyla recalled how being an R&B artist was not easy. “I’m so grateful kasi when I started in the music scene, year 2000, ‘yung Filipino R&B hindi pa siya ganoon na niyayakap ng mga tao. I remember I would be getting comments na ‘wag masyadong kulutin iyan or masyadong mataas iyan. I would be getting comments like that before,” she recalled, noting how the genre was a little foreign for the local music lovers.
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But things have since changed, and Kyla is proud to see more artists embracing R&B. “Pero ngayon sobrang nakakatuwa kasi feeling ko nahahanap ko na yung mga ka-tribo ko. Kasi sobrang marami na naglalabasan na artists ngayon and they have fully embraced the genre,” she added.
Marking her 25-year journey, Kyla also shared her message for the new generation of R&B artists. “Ang dami na mga R&B artists na naglalabasan ngayon and ang message ko sa kanila is to stay true to yourself. Don’t change yourself. Don’t change the way you sing and the way you interpret and the way you express yourself through music just because someone else is telling you to do something else,” she expressed.
Kyla went on: “Be true to yourself because one day you have the place for it and the right people - the people who are like you, will find you. Stay true to yourself and believe in your talent and it will take you long.”
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Beyond R&B, Kyla also expressed happiness over the vibrant state of OPM today, with local acts consistently making waves both online and on international stages. “Sobrang nakakatuwa rin na alive na alive ang OPM artists ngayon and maraming concerts every month here and there and maraming hit na OPM sa TikTok,” she shared.
“Nakakatuwa na people are embracing different kinds of music. They have fully embraced everything na lahat ng music na ginagawa ng mga Pinoy ay pwede na ring pang-global, like BINI who was invited to perform in Coachella and all the other OPM artists ngayon na nabibigyan ng opportunity and chance to be seen and heard internationally,” she stated.
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Kyla first rose to fame as a runner-up in Metropop Star Search in 1997 before releasing her debut album Way to Your Heart in 2000. Its carrier single “Hanggang Ngayon” went on to win the International Viewer’s Choice Award for Southeast Asia at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards—making Kyla the first and, to this day, the only Filipina to receive such recognition.
Kyla is currently gearing up for The Kyla Soundscape: The Best of 25 Years, her concert that will be held at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Makati on October 18. She just released a full-length all original 11-track album, Next Episode, last October 3 under Star Music.