Asian Music Review | Asian voices matter

Honest, empowering, and full of grace!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Welcome to Asian Music Review! Tell us a little bit about you and your music.

Mia Grace is a singer-songwriter from the Philippines. Her music is meant to make the listener reflect on life and be vulnerable. She advocates for our country and Filipino culture in general.

Mia’s distribution label is Believe Music and plays the following roles: artist and coordinator at Musika Publiko, a member and volunteer at Baybayin Buhayin, admin of Songwriters’ Library Indie Music, member of LAYA Manila, member of Tabak PHL, former social media manager of “Buhay Musikero,” SQOE Guitars PH, and a
former Graveyard Busker at UP TechnoHub.

Mia has a wide range of songwriting influences which includes OPM artists Noel Cabangon, Sugarfree, Rivermaya, Johnoy Danao, Imago, and Moonstar88. While John Mayer, Ingrid Michaelson, Sara Bareilles, Switchfoot, Jason Mraz, and Aurora are her foreign influences.

Congrats on the release! What was your inspiration when you were writing this project?

Released December 12, 2022 I wrote this song for me as a way to express that I believe in myself. The lyrics are more of a conversation with myself – things I’d like to hear from someone. Interestingly, I just recorded it through my GarageBand app, and Lance Abellon of Laya Manila was able to mix and master it.

What lessons would you like to impart with your audience?

Having written it for myself, I thought the song did not have any impact, but surprisingly, this is one of those songs that listeners connected to.

All I wanted to let them know is they are loved, and a person who really believed in them would always show care and freedom through their actions.

It’s also timely and accurately placed in a nice compilation album called, “Mga Kuwento ng Paglaya,” organized by Laya Manila. I think we become limitless and free when someone believes in us.

What is your favorite part of this body of work?

I focused more on the lyrics. I usually write like this—not much chorus, with fingerstyle melody at the intro. I think it’s reflects me really well. So I do appreciate the song.