MTV VJ, actress-dancer and now full-blown recording artist Yassi Pressman finally releases the album she’s been hinting at for months now with her self-titled debut.
Here, “Yassi” proves that her gratifyingly succesful single “Hush” (that also featured Nadine Lustre) was no fluke. Over five more all-original tracks, the pretty-faced music channel presenter-slash-singer drops one great sounding single after another.
“Yassi” picks up where her debut single left off. The electro-pop tinged sounds of “Hush,” (which also featured breakout star Nadine Lustre) continues on the head-bobbingly loud and energetic “Lala.” The title may not look much on paper, but it’s absolute dynamite! Exuberantly singing ‘Sawa na ako sa drama mo, ‘di na ako makikinig sa iyo’ – Yassi announces to the world of pop music that she’s arrived and that she’s not just another clueless pop singer. You can almost see Yassi wagging a finger at you, while breaking out in dance with a smile. Yassi shares that the song is “about getting fed up na rin. (You keep) explaining pero hindi naman nakikinig sa’yo. Parang sinasabi mo na, ‘tama na, hindi mo na kaya.’” The song is also a song of empowerment. “It proves you to be stronger in a way, kasi parang puro drama na lang din, so ‘Lala’ is a spunky kind of song that (says) ‘I can’t deal with this anymore, tama na!” Yassi enthuses.
To launch the single, Viva Records partnered up with Spotify for a special 1-week exclusive streaming of the singer’s new track. Immediately following that was another exclusive run at the popular streaming service, this time the whole 6-track album, before it was released on iTunes for download and the album’s subsequent availability on traditional record stores.
The young British-born Filipina, who has acted in movies and is soon set for her own starring role, impresses with her smooth, sweet-voiced vocals. Singing in Tagalog in the mid-tempoed song entitled “Dahil Sa ‘Yo” – Yassi dispels the notion that she’s just a weekend singer with that confident, R&B inflected singing style. The track also features her co-MTV VJ Andre Paras. The duo, who both starred in the hit rom-com flick “Diary Ng Panget” reprises the music from that movie with their duet on “’Di Ko Alam,” a track originally heard in said movie’s original movie soundtrack.
Local hiphop and electronic music experts Flip Music, with producer Jumbo “Bojam” De Belen at the helm, gave a modern electro pop and dance feel to the record which fits Yassi’s style. The label’s signature style can be heard all over “The Possibility Of You And Me,” a pop-R&B number where Yassi gets to rap. Finally there’s “Walang Unahan,” an uptempo, groove oriented track filled with surging synthesizers, pulsing bass lines and a cracking drum beat. Is it pop? Or is it dance? Well the answer lies somewhere in between. The crucial element in all this is Yassi, who for the whole length of the song, is assured in her singing amidst its melodic twists and turns.
Which makes “Yassi” one of the more believable debut album’s this year (so far!) from an already multi-hyphenate act making a cross over into pop music. To put it simply, Yassi Pressman has this pop listener convinced.
Yassi Pressman’s debut album is already available for listening via streaming services such Spotify, Deezer, Guvera and Rdio. Own the album by downloading it from Itunes or by buying the CD on selected record outlets.
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