If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Maris Racal, it’s that she’ll overcome any challenge to pursue her dreams! The 23-year-old singer-actress joined Rico and Karla for today’s #FANtasticFriday to talk about new music, projects in the making, and more.
What a week it’s been for Maris! Just in time for her 23rd birthday, she released her new song and music video “Not For Me” under Sony Music and Rico Blanco’s label Balcony Entertainment. “It’s nice to finally release a song that’s really, really close to my heart,” she told the All Out duo.
The track was produced by Rico Blanco, a collaboration that was a dream come true for Maris. “Amazing is an understatement ‘pag nagco-collab ka with Rico!” Working with this legend really brought out the best in Maris’ music! He challenged her to write a bridge for the song, even though she felt like she had nothing more to say. “I’ve learned a lot. So after this song, I think may bridges na yung songs ko!” she joked.
Even before lockdown happened, music and songwriting have always been ways for Maris to express herself. “It’s my escape, it’s how I release my emotions, lalo na yung mga emotions na I can’t share to a lot of people.” She gets songwriting inspiration from humming new melodies, plus from other artists who tell stories with their music (Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” is a favorite of hers). Maris showed us her phone, which was full of voice memos of her humming new melodies. Hopefully we get to hear them soon – she said she’s already recorded 3 new tracks!
Music isn’t the only thing that’s been keeping this girl busy lately! Maris also told Rico and Karla about a new movie she’s shooting for iWant. We don’t know a lot about it yet, but she says, “It’s a very fun movie and it’s a light movie to watch!” She’ll be starring alongside Zaijan Jaranilla, Inigo Pascual, and many more.
Karla, Rico, and the fans tuned in were eager to know about what it’s like to shoot a movie in the ‘new normal.’ “The biggest change would be the lock-in situation. You can’t go home at all,” Maris said. She explained the process she went through to tape the movie in Laguna and Batangas: first she took a swab test, then stayed in a hotel while awaiting the results. Once she was confirmed negative for COVID, she went to the shoot location and stayed there until filming was done, took another test, then headed home.
Unlike before, she couldn’t mingle with her co-stars during downtime or hang around the set if she wasn’t needed. Her solution? Facetime them to catch up on the happenings!
As it turns out, though, being isolated helped with the process of getting into character. “The lock-in situation really helps you with your character, kasi mas nakikilala mo yung character mo. Hindi ka nagbe-break sa character mo kasi you can’t go home to your family, to your friends. So, the whole time, dala-dala mo lang yung character mo which is very helpful.”
That process wasn’t too hard for Maris in this movie, since her character was light. But Rico asked, what if she needs to play a more dramatic, heavy role? Of course Maris is down! “I dunno how I’m gonna be able to do that! Kasi you’re gonna carry the burden everyday. I’m curious but excited at the same time.” Even if she needs to play a zombie, she wouldn’t shy away from the opportunity – in fact, she welcomes it. To all the directors and producers out there with horror movies in the making, you know who to call!
When it comes to career advice, Maris is lucky enough to have worked with Sylvia Sanchez numerous times, and has received great advice from the showbiz veteran. “She would always tell me na hanapin mo yung totoo sa eksena, don’t fake it.” Another piece of advice that we could all use: “Don’t be pressured if you don’t have it all sa teenage years mo or sa early twenties mo. Your time will really come. And the thing that will prolong your career is humility.”
With mentors like Rico Blanco and Sylvia Sanchez in her life, Maris will surely go a long way! But the support for Maris doesn’t only come from peers in the entertainment industry; her family is a huge source of encouragement for her, too. Did you know it was Maris’ mom who initially suggested she should audition for Pinoy Big Brother? “Sa family namin, siya yung mahilig sa showbiz, sa industry na nag-eentertain,” Maris said about her mom. “She was the reason why I auditioned [for] PBB. Kasi siya nag-force sakin na, ‘Bagay yan sa ‘yo! Mag-audition ka anak!’ So parang stage mother talaga siya!” Mothers really do know best!
On the music side, Maris gets advice from her sisters who have the same taste as she does. When Maris writes a new song, her sisters are the first to hear and critique it! But Maris doesn’t mind their criticism when it comes to melodies and chord progressions, because of course, it helps her improve even more.
Her family may be used to witnessing her talent, but performing in front of people wasn’t always in Maris’ comfort zone. “I was kind of shy when I was a teenager, hindi ako mahilig mag perform.” When Rico asked where she now draws courage to perform her own songs, Maris admitted that it comes from her fans, who have encouraged her and cheered her on from the start. “Sila yung reason why I get to be confident on stage, singing my own songs.”
We’ve got a lot to look forward to from this talented lady, both in acting and music. Maris has proved that she’s super talented in both these passions, and doesn’t plan on giving up any time soon. “I think I’ll keep a healthy balance [between acting and music].” She explained the high that she gets from the two professions. “Sa acting, it’s not only your scene eh. It’s with you, your scene partners, lahat ng mga artista na involved sa scene. You celebrate it together, like ‘Wow, ang ganda non!’ Sa song naman, I get a high din every time I finish a song. Kahit hindi ko pa siya pine-perform, it’s the same satisfaction na, ‘Wow, I did that!”
Safe to say we can expect great things from Maris Racal – plus we love her super cute and funny TikTok posts, too! Watch the full interview with Rico and Karla on the RX93.1 Facebook page: