Mon Amour (My Love)

CHAPTER 51

ANGELO ROI

It was noon, and I fancied a break from work, so I watched a few videos on YouTube, mostly centered around cooking, interior design and such.

I'm not quite sure what happened to YouTube's algorithm, but one of the suggested (though unrelated) videos immediately captured my attention.

It was about Ricco. The title read:

SOUL-SEARCHING: UP-CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH RICCO ANDRE, THE PHILIPPINES' SOUL BACHELOR

I've known for quite some time that Ricco is a celebrity, but I hadn't actually watched or listened to anything that confirmed it. I clicked on the thumbnail, and the video started playing, featuring an eccentrically dressed young woman almost entirely filling the frame.

"Who says you can't love heartfelt and soulful music and good looks that will make you go kilig at the same time?" she asked. "Well, to all the Soul Bachelor fanatics out there, these two things are such easy things to do. The most promising recording star of our time, Ricco Andre, the country's very own Soul Bachelor, has what it takes to capture every heart not only with his angelic voice, but also with a male beauty that every woman will desire and every man will be jealous of."

The camera shifted, revealing Ricco's face. My heart skipped a beat. He's strikingly handsome. He appeared younger and healthier in the video, presumably taken several years prior.

"Welcome to another episode of Soul-Searching. Today, the Soul Bachelor will take us on the next level of knowing the man behind the misty eyes, red lips and hypnotizing soulful voice. Hello, Ricco Andre. Welcome to Soul-Searching."

"Hi." Ricco greeted with a smile. "Hello, everyone."

"I will be asking you several questions that your fans want to know. Are you ready?" she inquired, to which Ricco responded with a swift nod and a smile.

"Everyone knows you as Ricco Andre. But Andre is not your last name, right?"

Once again, Ricco nodded. "That's right. Andre is my second name. My last name is Ibarra."

"And you are related to the late engineer and businessman Samuel Ibarra, right?

"Yes. He's my grandfather."

"When did you start singing?"

"I discovered my love for singing when I was a little boy. I could easily sing a song right after I heard it for the first time. I could easily remember the tune and melody. And then later on, I discovered that I took after my dad. He's a great pianist and a theater singer. But my singing career began when I was in college, when my professor registered me to a national singing competition, without me knowing it, and 'forced' me to represent our school." Ricco chuckled.

The lady joined in the laughter. "And you won there, right?"

"Yeah, I was the champion, fortunately. Maybe the judges just pitied me for being there when I really didn't want to."

They shared another laugh.

"That's one thing about you, you're so talented, yet you're so shy."

Ricco shook his head. "No, I'm not really the shy type. It's just that I didn't think I was that good, you know, to be joining contests and winning prizes. I just never saw myself singing for everyone. I have this 'exclusivity' in me that as much as possible, I sing a song because I mean it. And there should always be someone I sing it to.

"What made you decide to enter the music industry then?"

"It's not really me. The singing competition I was talking to you about had this grand prize which was a recording contract with one of the biggest recording companies here in the country. At first, I really didn't want to do it even though I won the competition. My college professors and classmates made me do it for them.