STRAIGHT HITS ENTERTAINMENT
Clockwise from top left: Marie Ceralvo, Melissa Ruiz, Mae Ceralvo and Monica Castillo.
Singing for love
SINGLE guys, take note -- three out of the four members of San Francisco-based R&B group One Vo1ce are looking for love this Valentine's Day, and they wouldn't mind meeting someone special while in town over the weekend to promote their latest album, "Luvin' You."
"I was hoping that I wouldn't be single by then, but, oh well," admitted 23-year-old Melissa Ruiz over the phone late last week. "Don't be afraid, I don't bite!"
One Vo1ce
9 p.m. today at the Hawaiian HutNoon tomorrow at Ala Moana Centerstage, followed by autograph sessions from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. at Macy's Ala Moana and 3:30 to 5 p.m. at Tower Records Keeaumoku.
Call: 296-1043
Marie Ceralvo, also 23, and her 21-year-old sister Mae are the other two members of the group without significant others this year. "I'm like, whatever happens, happens," said Marie. "I'm so not tripping!"
THE CERALVO sisters, along with Ruiz and 23-year-old Monica Castillo, were just getting done picking out their wardrobes for an upcoming commercial promoting "Luvin' You" when reached at their record label's offices in Oakland, Calif. It's just about dinner time, but the workday is far from over for these four women who have been singing together since they were Catholic school classmates in Vallejo.
"It's really about time management," says Castillo, who is almost finished with her studies as a nursing major at San Jose State. Marie Ceralvo is working toward a degree in philosophy from San Francisco State, while sister Mae is getting ready to transfer into the University of California system from Diablo Valley Community College. Ruiz is the only one not in school, but she keeps busy as an instructor at the San Francisco Institute after completing a hair stylist program there.
Originally formed to take part in an annual talent show at their high school, One Vo1ce spent much of the mid-'90s garnering local recognition, performing wherever they were booked by friends and relatives. It wasn't until they were signed to Kamikaze Records by former manager Kurtis Kato that the group began to focus on mainstream audiences. The group's debut single, "All Day, All Nite," became a regional hit in the Bay Area, and by late 1999, the ladies were signed to a deal with MCA Records and changed their name to Voice V (pronounced "Voice Five").
"Just the fact that it was MCA (got us) really excited and stuff," said Marie Ceralvo. Over the next year, the group would tour throughout the United States in support of the single "When You Think About Me," and even visited Honolulu to perform alongside fellow Filipina artists Forté and Jocelyn Enriquez. By 2001, however, they were released from MCA and changed their name back to One Vo1ce on the advice of fans who voted online at Kamikaze's Web site.
"It was a lot of fun, but we never took it for granted," Castillo said of the experience with MCA. She describes performing in front of 180,000 fans during a July 4th concert in Florida and an earlier show in Texas where the group took the stage after Destiny's Child as two of the highlights of that period.
THE RELEASE of "Luvin' You" last month marks the start of a new era for One Vo1ce. They've signed with a new label, Straight Hits Entertainment, and according to Ruiz, "right now we're self-managed. We decided we wanted to go our own way."
"This album is very personal and dear to me," adds Castillo. She co-wrote seven of the album's sixteen tracks. The first single to be released, "What Does It Take," is currently getting airplay in Northern California, and several Honolulu radio stations have shown interest in spinning the record locally as well.
With three albums under their collective belt and plans to travel across the continental U.S. after their visit to the islands, One Vo1ce is poised to make another run at pop stardom.
"We're just going to keep hitting the road and promoting like crazy," says Castillo. "We're working hard and paying our dues ... I can't see anything bad happening."
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