Introducing Nikki J.

By Nickie Wang

Manila Standard Today

Exceptional music talents are not the usual voices you hear over the radio. Great music and extraordinary singers must be discovered by music aficionados who posses discriminating ears and distinctive tastes.

Nikki J. is one of the intelligent singers who decide to remain away from the limelight, but that doesn’t mean she conceals her passion for music. Her artistic ability is lauded whenever she performs in corporate shows and intimate events seen by few —music listeners who like standards and whose ears are burnt out with crappy renditions of other singers who don’t even know the real science and art of music.

In October last year, Nikki J., a former member of Ryan Cayabyab’s 14K, staged a first solo concert at Teatrino Theater and Bar at Greenhills. The sold-out performance got good reviews and endeared Nikki to a captive audience, who are mostly members of Manila’s affluent lot and definitely all music lovers.

Catching up with the love month, Nikki J. is set to stage another concert called Standards in Love tomorrow at Teatrino.

Nikki J., or Nikki Junia, will croon her own interpretations of standard classics made popular by Connie Francis, Cliff Richard, Doris Day and other artists of yesteryears.

Among the songs that she is going to perform are “Stuck on You,” “Return to Sender,” and “Lipstick on Your Collar.” Nikki will also do the bossa nova versions of Elvis Presley’s classics “Jailhouse Rock,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” and “Don’t Be Cruel.” All arrangements are done by guitarist and musical genius Kettle Mata.

“It’s basically the same concert I had last year but this time, we added more songs and invited different guests,” Nikki told us during an intimate talk over a lunch on a Saturday afternoon.

Her lineup of special guests includes singer-comedian Dyords Javier, and fresh talents Tina Chong and Jastine Alfonso. The concert will be directed by her father Ray Junia.

Early years

“What really inspired me to sing was after I watched Lea Salonga’s concert at Nikko Garden Hotel. She was still so young then. We just dropped by to watch her sing, and then I told my Dad, ‘I want to train, I want to sing and I want to learn how to sing,’” Nikki recalled. She was just nine years old then.

Being a former member of 4K, the first batch, of course, it is not surprising that windows of opportunities easily opened up for Nikki. In the late ’80s when she was just 12 years old, she climbed the stage of Carnegie Hall in the United States. Then, with the help of Fr. Sonny Ramirez, she did a series of concerts with other young singers who would later become top college students of the University of Santo Tomas Conservatory of Music.

At a tender age of 13, she became the youngest Fe Panlilio OPM scholar in the class of Robert Seña. After her stint with the musical group, she went serious with gospel singing and continued studying music and eventually graduated cum laude at UST.

The road less traveled

Instead of pursuing a career in mainstream music, like what other singers would normally do, Nikki devoted her time teaching young students to learn the proper technique in singing while doing corporate shows on the side.

“The reason why studied music because I wanted to know the technique, it’s like how can you share something if you don’t experience it,” Nikki said and furthered, “When you perform you still learn a lot of things. So that’s what I teach my students, my personal experiences. It’s rewarding when you hear your students improving after a year.”

According to the singer and a music guru, she is very thankful to her past mentors because they were generous in terms of sharing their experiences. That is the same urge that inspires Nikki to share what she knows to the next generation of music artists.

“I want them to have the right attitude and discipline. They really have to work hard. Some people’s impression is that after one year you can already sing. I started training when I was nine years old, and I continue learning until now,” Nikki said and revealed that she has been teaching young music students since she was high school back in her home town in San Pedro, Laguna. Currently, she owns a music school that hones about 30 aspiring talents.

As a classically trained soprano, who can easily go from classical to pop, she doesn’t just listen to music for pleasure but studies and analyzes the material. With careful planning, the petite singer plans to come up with an album.

“We are still finalizing the concept because I don’t want to make a mistake on that. I will still be standards of course. There will be original songs that will sound like oldies and I will do some revivals that will sound like new,” she concluded.

Nikki J.’s Standard in Love concert is the latest installment of her Standards Concert Series. For tickets, call or fax J Events at telefax 869-1531 or e-mail j.events@yahoo.com.