It has been five years since R&B singer-songwriter Mica Javier left New York City where she was a contract artist of Timbaland Productions to return to Manila to reboot her already promising career.
Since then, the niece of former Apo Hiking Society founding member Danny Javier has found her niche ever since she made a big splash as an opening act for the Manila leg of Jennifer Lopez’s “Dance Again World Tour” in 2012.
The following year, she scored a big hit with “Tonight,” a duet with her boyfriend and frequent collaborator, the country’s King of R&B, Jay R. The following year, Mica won Best New Artist and Best Collaboration at the Urban Music Awards.
In 2015, Mica released her full-length debut album, “Dreamer,” under Jay R’s Homeworkz label which spawned instant favorites like the title track recorded in collaboration with American rapper Shawn Chrystopher, “Other Side,” “Heart Song” and her soulful update of the Apo classic, “Yakap sa Dilim.”
Recently, Mica released a new single from the album, the propulsive “Renegade.” Talking about the song, Mica said that being the type who often defies conventions and marches to the beat of her own drum, she is quite the renegade herself.
“I’ve always been aware of what I want in life, my passions, dreams, and of course what’s right from wrong. I’m definitely my own renegade in a sense where I really do fight for what I want and for what is right whether it’s about career, relationships, family, life,” she pointed out.
“Despite the many challenges and obstacles that incessantly come my way, I still stand up strong and keep moving forward positively. I don’t ever want to be held back by limiting beliefs and limiting systems.”
More than its feet-stomping beat, Mica hopes that the message of “Renegade” will resonate well with female fans whom she specifically targeted for this song.
“Renegade empowers women by reminding them of that natural inner strength and their ability to own their womanhood, which often times can be hindered by society standards and customs. With this song, I want women to unapologetically be who they truly are and go for whatever they want in life,” she declared.
While Mica is very clear with what she wants to communicate with “Renegade,” she won’t go as far as to say that she intended the song to be some sort of a “catalyst for reawakening” for women.
“At the end of the day, it’s a fun song to groove to, with an underlying positive ‘go-getter/break barriers’ [kind of] message,” she quipped.
“Renegade” was launched last May 26 on ABS-CBN’s “It’s Showtime” where it was the opening production number which she performed together the Girltrends and Hashtags. A music video recently premiered at the cable music channel Myx.
“We also have an ongoing Homeworkz Original Music Only Bar Tour where I’ll be performing ‘Renegade’ live along with other original songs. I’m also lining up a few other mall shows, radio tours, and events to promote my music off the Dreamer album,” she added.
With regards to tying the knot with Jay R whom she met at a charity event organized by The Black Eyed Peas’ apl.de.ap, he was quoted in an interview with Kris Aquino that he would love to settle down in two years time.
That was in 2015, it has been two years since Jay R said that, but neither he nor Mica has discussed wedding plans yet.
As for Mica, she is quite open about discussing her relationship, as she did in this video where she also answered other questions from her fans.
