Rico Blanco: Everything that he can be
When asked on his definition of success, Rico Blanco adjusted his posture and paused. "It's fully utilizing a person's God-given talents. That to me is success. If you've maximized it, then you're successful," he said.
That summed up the driving force behind Blanco's recent career choices. As a songwriter, his music has stood the test of time. As an actor, his performances have been noteworthy. He is also a visual artist, a fashion designer and lately, educational spokesperson.
In a press conference held last week, the musical icon talked about his various endeavors including his latest gig as the ambassador for the "Sesame Street Kid Ako" Philippine campaign.
"Nabuo ito sa pag-uusap ko with them (This was a product of my discussions with them)," Blanco said. "I told them about my desire to share my experience because hindi na ganung ka-accessible ang Sesame Street sa mga kabataan ngayon (Sesame Street isn't that accessible to kids these days)."
This project will focus on creating Sesame Street corners (with TV and DVD sets) at various public schools to encourage creativity, laughter, and learning at an early age. The original English versions of the show will (at this point) be used since the universality of the English language is given. Augmenting English literacy with the show's values is part of the project's aim.
Blanco has also recorded his version of two classic Sesame Street songs: "Lonely N" and "Ladybugs' Picnic."
At the same time Warner Music Philippines has released a two-disc special limited edition of his first album, "Your Universe." The first disc contains the original release, while the second disc features Rico Blanco other singles, namely the Ondoy song "Bangon," the Asian releases "China in Me" and "Neon Lights" (which debuted at the top of the Hong Kong radio charts), and "Kahit Walang Sabihin."
"We could have waited for a new album to release [the new songs] but there's just this demand for those songs, and the fans want to have them already in CD form. So we put it out. As a bonus, we included the first album."
The songs that were previously released as individual singles are now on digital format. What is this release's relevance in the age of singles-only digital releases?
"I've been a singles guy since the Rivermaya days," Blanco said. "I'm a staunch supporter of singles. I think for certain objectives they have a big purpose and they're very effective. 'You'll Be Safe Here.' 'Liwanag sa Dilim.''Posible' was a single. 'Isang Bandila' was a single."
"But I'm also a big album guy. For my first album, I presented it as a journey. It's one whole book, and every song was a chapter. But if you ask me about the future, singles will be predominant considering the environment we have these days. But I'd like to quote -- was it Kraftwerk who said it? 'You don't have any limit nowadays. You can put out 45-minute songs, compress them, have an album's worth or 5 hours of music.'"
"More diversity. People will present singles. People will present three songs, movies with their music, I don't know. Sky's the limit," he added.
The same can be said of his own endeavors. His recently concluded stint in the fantaserye "Imortal" (where "Kahit Walang Sabihin" was a single for the show) expanded his range as an actor. He has also found renewed appreciation for the work that goes into making a teleserye.
"The experience is very humbling. Most of us who have no idea what it's like to work on a TV series. We're quick to judge. But after working on this project, I can say for a fact that we have so much talented actors, directors, writers, and crew. We have more than enough talent," he said.
"What we don't have enough of is time, and time costs a lot of money. We're a third-world country with a small population relatively, and we don't have economies of scale working for us," he added.
"Of course it's far from ideal, and there are areas we can improve on. I saw that. But the fact we're trying to produce one show after another, with Filipino content and workers, and putting bits and pieces of our culture on these shows, I think that's commendable. When I see something on TV now, I think twice [before judging]," he noted.
Is acting going to be in his future?
"I think I'm still pretty much who I am. I'm not 'more of this or more of that.' The kind of person I am is...this person who wants to try different things all the time," he said.
