New year, new boyfriend and job for Michelle in America

By Dolly Dy-Zulueta Philstar.com

FORMER celebrity turned vlogger and fitness trainer Michelle Madrigal is now a real estate agent with U.S.-based EXP Realty.

In her vlog and Instagram page, Madrigal shared her first day at work and actively offered her assistance in finding their future homes in Austin, Texas.

“You know that saying, ‘Throw me to the wolves and I’d come back leading

“But I remember, when we were thinking of a title, we knew Danny had a sense of humor. So crazy time, we’re catching up like that… ‘APO Minus One,’ I said, Danny would appreciate this, but not our audience, they’re still mourning, so ‘wag muna.’” the pack,’ that’s me, I’m the lady in the wild. It feels like, you can throw me anywhere, any situation and I’ll come back stronger, leading,” said Madrigal.

Nevertheless, a tribute may happen, not yet in their next show as headliners of the Valentine’s concert All Heart, on Feb. 14, 8:30 p.m., at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), but still this year.

“People are expecting some time that we are going to have something, that we will have a little tribute for a loved one. So, this year, we will probably come up with something like that,” Boboy hinted.

Boboy and Jim began performing together about two years after APO “officially retired” in 2010. It all started with an invitation to sing at Ateneo, followed by requests to perform at weddings.

“It was difficult to start with. Jim and I were even asking, ‘Who’s going to do the lead voice of Danny?’ Danny’s voice is one of a kind. So effort kami ngayon. We’re thankful that we’re still healthy enough that we can still project our voice na lumabas naman na tunog APO pa rin ,” Boboy said.

Back in 2016, Michelle left her showbiz career to pursue culinary in the U.S. She got engaged to a former football player in 2017 and married her first husband in 2019. They had a daughter named Anika Austin and their marriage lasted for two years. PAGE 15

I’m just alone, the moment a song starts, it’s sing-along already because people know our stuff,” he said.

“It’s our song that carries us now. When you have a new recording, you carry the song because people know you. ‘This is an APO song, let’s listen to this.’ When the song gets popular, even if there’s only one APO or two APO singing it, the song has a life of its own.

“We are thankful we have many songs like that. That’s why we’re still around.”

Just like what happened at 19 East. Jim said that while they knew they had fans, the “worst moment I imagined (because) we’re not on the radar, we’re not being played on radio, we’re not on TV.”

“When I went there, I thought, buti nalang small (venue) ito. If we don’t do well, it’s alright. But the reception was so amazing. Every song was a singalong,” he shared.

Expect the same at their All Heart show since they’ve selected their best and “sweetest” love songs for their repertoire.

The STAR had to ask Boboy and Jim to name three of their favorite love songs.

In response, Jim mentioned When I Met You, which took months to finish. “There was a flow the moment I wrote the song, ‘There I was… You gave me a reason for my being… And it all began when I met you…’ Stop. I didn’t continue. Seven months later, when I played it, pumasok yung… ‘You taught me how to love.’ Dun ko lang natapos (because) you can’t dictate inspiration. You just have to catch it.” me and told me his wife had left him,” Jim shared.

Boboy, on the other hand, shared the story behind Paano. When he wrote the song, people asked him why he came up with it when he was already married.

“He said, ‘I can’t fake it anymore. There’s nothing left.’ I wrote that in Tagalog, ‘Kahit anong gawin ‘di mo na mapilit at madaya. Aminin sa sarili mo na wala ka ng mabubuga.’

“So, I thought every group should have a great heartbreak song. That’s why I wrote that.”

APO’s hits, now classics, from over 25 albums continue to weave their OPM magic, even revived and reworked by younger artists.

“We didn’t try to be whatever artists of the Philippines. We wanted to write the theme songs of the love lives of ordinary Filipinos. I think that caught on because that’s real,” Jim reflected.

“For me, in this world, you either set the trend or you chase it. When you chase a trend and the trend is at an end, you’re at an end. In our case, parang we just wrote what we felt. The feeling was organic. When it’s organic, it’s real. Mas kakapit sa tao because you are not trying to get stylized. You are not being pretentious or anything like that. That’s one element, I think.”

“(It’s like) you’re a traveler and others ask you what direction you’re going, you point to the mountain. Sundan mo lang ‘yung bundok. In our case, without us planning it, kami ‘yung naging bundok. We’re lucky.”

Meanwhile, when asked by The STAR about any plans of re-releasing or re-recording old songs, they shared that they hoped to showcase their “non-hits” in a concert.

But since it’s impossible to render their songs as a “duo,” they’ve been getting backup singers to guarantee the signature APO sound. “It’s unfair if ‘di naman lumabas ang tunog na APO, which is really the harmony. We’ve worked on that. The two voices will always be there, but we always need a third,” said Boboy.

Jim is grateful that even if there are only two of them onstage, their songs can carry them throughout a show.

“We’re very grateful to say this that even if it is just the two of us onstage or even if

He explained, “May nakilala kasi ako na babae na nasaktan talaga at naghiwalay sa love niya. She was so angry with men she didn’t want to fall in love again.”

“I was thinking, that must really hurt, kawawa naman. If I were to court someone like that girl, it would be difficult, right? Hurt na hurt, tapos kailangan mong kausap… That’s why there’s a line there, ‘Subukan mong magmahal o giliw ko.’”

Jim is also proud of the group’s heartbreak songs such as Tuyo ng Damdamin.

“A friend of mine called

“To be honest, marami kaming songs na hindi naging hit. We’ve talked about doing a show where we will do our ‘never-heard’ songs. Yung mga songs namin na baka na-mintis niyo lang and this time, when you hear it, ‘Ay o nga. Bakit hindi nag-hit ‘ yan?’,” Boboy said.

“Jim calls those songs our ‘misses.’ Not our misis (wives), but our misses — songs that got away. There’s one song that Danny did, wrote and recorded but we never actually sang it. It’s a very jazzy number and it tells everything about the person that’s Danny. That song is Care.

“In time, I’m sure Jim and I will find a way of bringing up these old songs that you missed and we will give them back to you.” g