Coming off a long and successful career in radio and songwriting, the multi-talented Robster Evangelista has now fully come into his own in the music business, releasing Hiwaga, his second single as a vocalist, under RJA Productions on January 30.
Robster’s career as a singer-songwriter began in earnest when a self-sung demo of one of his compositions, Sino Ba Sa Atin, impressed RJA Productions so thoroughly that Robster was asked to take lead vocals on the official release of the song. Robster ponders the cause of his serendipitous foray into being a recording artist: “you know the emotions [of the song] so well that you can do justice to it when you sing it yourself.”
Hiwaga is a tribute, of sorts, to classic OPM from the ’90s: extremely catchy and listenable, but also very emotional. With his effortless, light vocal delivery, Robster has this to say about his burgeoning singing career: “As a child, I was fascinated with performers and the positive feelings they gave their audiences, as well as how they impacted them personally. I wanted to make people feel the same way.”
Robster describes Hiwaga thusly: “Love moves in mysterious ways…it will catch you unawares and leave you baffled, asking yourself why you fell in love with a certain person. But since you want that person to love you in return, you have no regrets.” This keenness for storytelling is part and parcel of who Robster is as a person – he has even created and produced a radio segment named Mga Kuwento ni Lolo Barbers.
Unbelievably, despite all these achievements, as well as a seven-year stint as a station manager at iFM, radio & vocals are not Robster’s only fortes. He was also a guitarist for the band Haranya, as well as an accomplished writer of jingles. Two such jingles, Patawad Sinta and Stuck, were sung by Myko Mañago, and Robster has even written a song for one of the Philippines’ all-time great bands, Parokya Ni Edgar (Amats), as well as composed a song for dancer, singer, and showbiz personality Vhong Navarro (Mr. Papabol), and even the theme song of a movie starring the superstar love team of Jericho Rosales and Kristine Hermosa. Amazingly, Robster even finds time to be a seasoned author, writing motivational books How To Tame the Butterflies in your Stomach and How To Talk to Anyone Easily.
Robster seems to know how to manage his time very effectively: “It takes discipline to nurture talent. Thus, my principle is one thing at a time…when I set out to do one thing, I focus on it entirely.” He adds: “I consider myself very blessed to be in demand as a writer of jingles and theme songs. I just scribble down all the important messages the client wants to convey. Or, if [I am] writing a song for an artist, I ask for their profile, target audience, style, and repertoire…[in the process] I often fill up three pages in my notebook!”
Robster has seen no shortage of recognition for his efforts: he was a winner of the PMPC Star Awards for Music in 2012 for a novelty song, Blind Item. He is very thankful for everything he has been able to accomplish so far: “I’ve always felt that when we believe we can do something, with God’s grace, we can do it.”
Hiwaga by Robster Evangelista is available on Spotify, Apple Music, and other digital platforms. Listen to the song here and watch the lyric video here.
RJA Productions, LLC is a record label in San Francisco that was founded by Rosabela Jao-Arribas. The company’s vision is to bring the talents of up-and-coming OPM musicians to the mainstream.
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