THE dimly lit posh entertainment venue was almost full to the rafters when I inched my way after a burly, stern doorman stamped my right wrist with an indelible admission insignia. Slithering in rectilinear locomotion like a snake hunting for its prey, my blinded sight prevented me to execute spontaneous steps for fear I might step on someone’s foot along the way. Sans a single usher to assist me find an available table was tantamount to trekking a thickly forested trail.
The crowd’s boisterous laughter and unrestrained tête-à-têtes seemed struggling to subdue the amplified voice of the band’s vocal soloist rendering an old time familiar fast-beat number. Seductively donned in a black knitted mini bustier dress with thick kinky blond-dyed hair freely swaying as she tilted her head, the enticing lady crooner won her audience’s attention when she hit ceiling high notes while gyrating to the song’s infectious beat.
A prolonged thundering applause strappingly coupled with chirrups and shrills was more than enough to gauge the singer and the band’s remarkable performance. The vocal frontliner? No other than fast-rising singer-performer Michelle Pross, more popularly known as Michelle Michelle.
Michelle, who appears to live up to her French-y name with the way she dresses and projects, is remarkably making waves and unhurriedly establishing her distinct mark in various New York watering holes particularly in the Queens area. In just less than 2 years (since her arrival in August 2014), Michelle has incredibly built a huge following with an avid fan base.
From the verdant beachfront town of Nasugbu, Batangas, Michelle was born to Marilou Padilla and German-American David Pross on February 23 but the latter failed to see the formative years of his only daughter due to their short-lived union.
Hiding a passionate and sensitive nature while being an innate dreamer, Michelle is indubitably a true blooded Piscean who expresses her emotions and inner passion through body language (dance), poetry, and music. “Thanks to the invention of the karaoke machine,” Michelle quoted as an ice-breaker. “My entire family, from my Lolo and Lola, uncles and aunts, and even my mom, are all singers.”
It wasn’t until she was in her 3rd year in Nursing at the University of the Philippines (Manila) when she decided to quit school and embrace singing as a career.
“I had to earn not only to sustain my studies but to support my four other siblings. My Mom remarried and had four children…all boys,” Michelle recalled sentimentally. “In 2004, I was lucky to be given an artist’s visa and joined an overseas-bound band to Dubai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Hong-Kong, and other Asian key cities. I travelled extensively for 8 years with just a few months of vacation every year.”
Her Dubai stint was the most gratifying for Michelle since everything was offered free: their uniforms, hotel accommodation, food, and with only 3 hours of work every day. All they did was faultlessly master their setra (a band’s term for memorizing and learning new songs) and perfect their performance routine. “All our earnings were intact with bonuses and tips to bring home,” she disclosed.
“I’m really lucky to be paid while enjoying what I’m doing!”
It was while in the Middle East where she experienced to participate in an international band competition, the International Battle of the Bands, which was won by Sri Lanka. It was a loss that gained for her a full knowledge of a diversity of songs that developed her alternative rock style ala Evanescence. Not limiting her expertise, she could do jazz music, pop songs…and her Dubai stint also made her a ramp mannequin.
Performers, especially women, need to be updated with their costumes but Michelle knows exactly how to please her audience not only audibly but visually, too. “I am neither brand conscious nor would splurge a lot on clothes. What matters most for me is to deliver the best that they wanted to hear and wear outfits that may be provocative but enticingly much my music style,” the 5’4” 135-pounder singer who wears a size 8 justifiably said.
A prepared set of questionnaires ably offered a deeper glimpse of Michelle’s personal life:
Asian Journal (AJ): Do you have a main job?
Michelle: I was armed with a Practical Nursing License before I came over that allowed me to work legally. My first case was a Jewish followed by an Italian. So far, I’m enjoying the best of both worlds…my main job and my singing career.
AJ: What are your personal favorites among the more than 250 songs in your repertoire?
Michelle: I always include Adele’s “Someone Like You” and Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life” and “My Immortal” in my every gig.
AJ: What are your audience’s most requested songs?
Michelle: The crowd has always a variety of song preference… majority consistently requested for songs by Asin, Sampaguita, and Aegis since these have been associated with me.
AJ: If given the chance to relive your life or given to make a choice, what other profession would you pick?
Michelle: Definitely, I won’t change a thing. I always loved to sing while I wanted to be a nurse. Given another year, I will be able to realize my dream to be a full-pledged nurse.
AJ: Don’t you dream of doing a huge concert as the defining moment of your singing career?
Michelle: Honestly, that never occurred in my mind. I could have done it long time ago but I wasn’t that ambitious. What I am and where my career stands now is just fine with me. For as long as I earn enough to maintain my lifestyle and send my family back home the support they needed, I’m happily satisfied.
AJ: How gratifying is the compensation (in singing) here in the US?
Michelle: It’s way down less compared to the Middle East but okay na rin. May mga tips naman… about $20 to $50 per song request… which I share with the band members.
AJ: How long will you be singing?
Michelle: Well, as long as I’m still in demand and there are still bookings, my singing career goes on. But personally, if a performer is still young, say below 40, she could still effectively be a band frontrunner but when one has aged, she should be singing with a piano.
AJ: In the almost 16 years of doing shows, have you encountered malicious attacks or unruly audience?
Michelle: Luckily, nothing of the sort. Although I have already anticipated such instances and I’m ready to defend myself. I could befriend them to divert their (mad) intentions.
AJ: Here in the US, how many bands have you joined?
Michelle: It’s funny that, here, when a single band member leaves, they could immediately take a replacement and rename the group like new. So far, the first band I was with was the Intensity Band with Eric Celerio, then the CADA Band, Talahib Rock Band, Placid Band, and currently the Rockin’ Red Horse Band but I did also gigs with Rock Jeepney, NU7 Band, and other groups that need an alternate vocalist.
AJ: You’re always busy, how do you find time to rest? What’s your favorite past time?
Michelle: I love watching movies either in theaters or television and reading books. You won’t believe it but I have a mini library of my collections since high school. I’m proud that I own a complete edition of the Guinness Book of World Records and almanacs. Oh, and I love to eat… although I cannot cook. (And released a hearty laugh).
AJ: Are you currently dating?
Michelle: I have a very private love life which I don’t merge with neither my job nor my singing career. The set-up gives me a refreshing alternative different from what I publicly do. This serves as a neutralizer and an emotional reliever. We’ve been on for almost 4 years and he doesn’t meddle with my professional affairs.
AJ: If there’s but one place you want to visit, where is it? And why?
Michelle: Oh, that would be Netherlands! Simply because people there enjoy more freedom and they’re like on their own. Walang pakialaman! I like to try living there. It is my type of place.
AJ: What are your other personal favorites?
Michelle: I like Jack & Coke, Light Blue by Dolce & Gabbana, and I am very partial to pink and blue colors.
Michelle has successfully established her name in the entertainment circuit while creating an image peculiarly hers. Admittedly a woman of extreme personalities, she could easily adjust to any given situation, She might have been Paul McCartney’s inspiration when he composed the love ballad “Michelle Ma Belle,” the 1965 featured single in the Beatles’ Rubber Soul album which goes:
“Michelle, ma Belle… sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble…” (Michelle, my sweetheart… these are words that go together well…)
For comments and suggestions, please email to: [email protected].
