It wasn’t easy, says Nina, but it was something that at that point she felt was “the right thing to do.”
The singer is talking about her breakup with singer/guitarist Nyoy Volante a year ago.
According to Nina, the partnership was “good as it lasted” but unfortunately “it had to end in a sad note.”
The singer doesn’t want to go into details of what brought about the breakup, but she is adamant that the much-ballyhooed sexuality of the acoustic singer had nothing to do with it.
“No! Hindi ah!,” she protests, “Hindi siya ano… kung ano man ‘yon, ha-ha-ha… I should know.”
Nina admits that it was partly about money
“It just came to a point where we can’t talk about ‘us’ anymore,” she say with finality.
She says she has moved on, proudly announcing in fact that she has found a new love.
“Let’s just say that I am very happy right now; but… because he’s not from showbiz… let’s not talk about him na lang.”
What excites Nina these days is the new album she is promoting: Nina Sings the Hits of Diane Warren.
The album, Nina says, is an inspiring collection that made “coping easy” with regards to issues related to her “unsuccessful relationship” with Volante, and allowed her to “dream new dreams”, citing Warren’s lyrics among “the best and most heartfelt” that she had sung.
“I’m a big fan of her music. Diane is a prolific songwriter whose grasp of the craft is just… ano, amazing… ang galing talaga… nakakabilib… I’m really thankful to have been able to do a whole album consisting nothing but her masterworks,” Nina admits.
Complete track listing of the album include “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” (Aerosmith), “Because You Loved Me” (Celine Dion), Saving Forever For You (Shanice), “Have You Ever” (Brandy, Westlife), “Un-Break My Heart” (Toni Braxton), “I Turn To You” (Christina Aguilera), “How Do I Live” (Trisha Yearwood), “I’ll Never Get Over You (Getting Over Me)” (Expose), “There You’ll Be” (Faith Hill), “Blue Eyes Blue” (Eric Clapton), “I Could Not Ask For More” (Edwin McCain), “When I See You Smile” (Bad English), “If I Could Turn Back Time” (Cher), “Love Will Lead You Back” (Taylor Dane), “How Can We Be Lovers” (Michael Bolton), “I Don’t Want To Be Your Friend” (Cyndi Lauper), and “I Love You Goodbye” (Celine Dion).
Nina says the last two songs are “the seeds” from whence the idea for the album came up.
“I did a cover of “I Don’t Want To Be Your Friend” in 2004 for [the compilation album] Diane Warren Presents: Love Songs. When that album came out… people liked it so much that… bigla na lang may mga requests for an album of Diane Warren hits… parang… they wanted me to make one agad,” Nina states.
The song stayed at the top of the local charts for two months. When Nina did another Warren composition (“I Love You Goodbye”) in Nina Live, it became another big hit—it was then that she gave in to the clamor.
“Having two hits twice in a row made me think… maybe the fans really would love for me to do Diane Warren material, so… here it is, from me to them, with love,” Nina says.
Another factor that was crucial in Nina’s decision to wax the album was Warren herself, who, upon hearing her interpretation of “I Don’t Want To Be Your Friend,” was reportedly so impressed that she actually encouraged Nina to record more (of her songs).
In a special dedication she wrote for Nina (as printed on the liner notes on the CD sleeve), Diane wrote: “A few years ago Nina cut ‘I Don’t Want To Be Your Friend,’ one of my favorite songs. I am very happy that she is now coming out with an entire album filled with the songs that I’m proud of. Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a lot of hits together.”
Nina admits that deciding on the final track listing of the album was hard, considering the number of Warren’s hits.
“It took some time. Ang dami kasing magaganda... pero, what we did [sic] is select the songs, based on which [ones] I could relate to, so that when I interpret them parang ramdam talaga—’yong sincere talaga,” Nina enthuses.
Critics say that going back to doing covers is a step back for the artist. Her last hit, “Someday,” was an original, penned by ex-flame Volante. Yet, Nina doesn’t have qualms being branded a “revivalist.”
“I see nothing wrong with that… I enjoy singing songs bago o luma man…[sic] as long as I did them well and these are Diane Warren’s songs; not only are they very popular, they are destined to be future ‘classics’,” Nina emphasizes.
Though Nina and album producer Neil Gregorio re-arranged all the songs in the album to give it, “local flavor,” they weren’t that drastic as to veer away from Warren’s original vision for each number.
“We did our interpretation with utmost respect to Diane’s artistry,” Nina says.
As an added bonus, Warren is also throwing in a minus-one of all the songs.
“This is so that all the fans could also do their own interpretation of the songs,” Nina says.
The album’s promotional track, “I Could Not Ask For More,” is Nina’s favorite. The singer says it reflects where she is now—professionally and romantically.
“I am at peace… happy… of course, a big part of all of this, is… the person I’m in love with now. He makes me feel so content, so blessed, that… well, I really could not ask for more.”