Kyla as the ultimate R&B princess in the Philippines

Melanie Hernandez Calumpad is known to many as Kyla. Philippine's own version of the R&B princess is Kyla who was born January 5, 1981. Kyla entered the mainstream music industry thru a door known to many singers and aspiring ones- and that is thru singing contests. It is with the 'Tanghalan ng Kampeon' where Kyla was first introduced to the public. But it was with 'Hamon sa Kampeon' on DZRH where Kyla made her biggest success prior to her entry to the show business and the music industry. She won the said event in 1991. Eventually she became champion on the then popular 'Tanghalan ng Kampeon' on 1993 and she was the champion for seven weeks. And on November of the same year, Kyla won the grand prize with the song 'I am Changing'. She is also a college graduate, with a degree of BS Mass Communication.

She officially started her career in 2001 and this was the time when she released her 10-track album under EMI Philippines. In the same year, she won the MTV Video Music Awards as 2001 Southeast Asian Viewer's Choice Award. Almost all of her albums are released by EMI Philippines. Kyla is one of the major stars under EMI Philippines.

Kyla is considered by her mother studio and the general public as the ultimate R&B princess. She was the face and the voice of R&B in the country, when R&B is beginning to pick up and beginning to get a loyal following. The singer is known for her wide range of voice and known as well for her use of melisma, her belting and the use of head tone technique and she is also known for her husky voice. This use of the husky voice helped her establish her R&B roots and made her the princess of R&B. Kyla is not only busy producing albums and busy promoting her shows and concerts. The singer is an active entertainer too on television. She is a mainstay in 'SOP Rules' which is a variety show aired every Sunday on GMA Channel 7 network. She is also working with other products of singing contests like Jonalyn Viray, Maricris Garcia and Aicelle Santos. The singer is also working on 'Popstar Kids' a talent show for kids and this is aired on QTV, which is a sister station of GMA 7 network.

Kyla also dabbled in acting for some time. For example she acted as the young 'Sarah Geronimo' in her life story over at 'Magpakailanman' which is another show on GMA 7 network. She was also seen during the second match-up between Manny Pacquiao, the country's premier boxing sports hero and Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico. Kyla also collaborated with many local and international artists.

Some of the foreign artists that have worked with Kyla include;

. Fra Lippo Lippi
. Ronan Keating
. Too Phat
. Keith Martin
. Malaysian R&B singer Ferhan
. British boy-band Blue

Kyla has made seven albums since her start in the industry. Her list of studio albums includes;

. Way to your Heart, released 2001
. Kyla, released 2002
. I will be There, released 2003
. Not your Ordinary Girl, released 2004
. Beautiful Days, released 2006
. Heartfelt, released 2007
. Heart 2 Heart, released 2008

Kyla is a multi-awarded artist as well and almost every year since 2001, the singer has received a number of awards. Just for 2008, the singer captured a number of awards. Some of the awards taken home by Kyla include;

. ASAP 24k Gold Record Award 2008
. Awit Awards for Best Ballad for 'It's Over Now'
. Gold Record Award for 'Heartfelt'

She was also nominated for two other awards for 2008 and these awards include Best Recording by the Female Artist for 'Love Will Lead You Back' and Best Ballad for 'It's Over Now'. The year 2007 is another good year for Kyla. Philippines' music award-giving bodies gave the singer another round of citation. She was awarded the 3rd MYX Music Award for Favorite Remake for her song 'Love Will Lead You Back. This song was from her 'Heartfelt album. She was also cited by Yes! Magazine as its Reader's Choice Awards for Hit-maker of the year for her song 'Beautiful Days'.

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