After 25 years, Barbie Almalbis still makes music for ‘the joy of it’

By AllAn PolicArPio Inquirer.net

AS passionate as she is about music, there were moments in Barbie Almalbis’ 25-year career, she said, when inspiration was hard to come by. There were the inevitable bouts of creative slump. Sometimes, the pressure to earn consistent chart success can be stifling.

But whenever she found herself in such a situation, Barbie soldiered on by reminding herself why she makes music in the first place: For the sheer joy of it.

“I started out just playing and writing songs at home. It wasn’t really a means to an end—I simply enjoyed doing music. But once you enter the industry, suddenly there’s pressure. You have to be successful. And then, you have to sustain it. I did feel the pressure through the years. Not every song you put out will be received the same way,” she said at a press conference.

“But what helps me is going back to the original reason I got into music, which is for the joy of it,” she added. “It’s no longer solely about the reception to my work, although I will always be grateful for that. It’s about the true joy of writing songs.”

Support system

Having a good and reliable support system is also a crucial factor. “I couldn’t have done it without people encouraging me like my husband (Martin Honasan). A couple of years ago, I had a season when I couldn’t write songs. Nothing I was writing was coming out right. And so, he helped me by writing songs together,” she said, adding that she also seeks God’s guidance every day.

Barbie, who navigated a male-dominated field to

Barbie Almalbis become one of the country’s most influential rock artists, started out on the scene in 1997 as the lead singer and guitarist of Hungry Young Poets (later renamed to Barbie’s Cradle)—the group behind such hits as “Torpe,” “Firewoman” and “Tabing Ilog.

In 2005, Barbie pursued a solo career and continued churning out memorable anthems, like “Just a Smile.”

“I didn’t have so many plans growing up, but I always just dreamed of playing music.

I’m so thankful I get to do this and share the experience with others, too,” she said. “I’m always touched by the support of my fans and friends, and humbled and encouraged by their words and stories about how these songs have also become part of their journey.”

To mark her 25th anniversary, the singersongwriter released a new album “Barbie Almalbis: Tower Sessions Live,” which features new arrangements of