Los Angeles-based, Manila-born singer and songwriter Tiana Kocher recently shared her journey into music in an exclusive interview with PUSH Bets. She revealed that she has been passionate about the arts since childhood.
“I don’t really remember anything else from my childhood apart from my art. I was a very artsy kid. I did Repertory, I was in Steps. I was always into dancing and singing. I was even big on writing poetry and short stories,” she shared.
Coming from a family of artists, Tiana has always been exposed to the arts.
“I guessed it’s in genetics as well as there are so many arts in my family, so many singers. My mom’s mom, she was an opera singer. And then my mom also, she was like a fashion designer at one point. I think all the genes ended up with me,” she added.
Tiana is the granddaughter of prominent figures in the Philippines: former political leader Juan Ponce Enrile (on her mother's side) and opera singer Armida Siguion-Reyna (on her father's side).
She also shared that her passion for performing began after attending her first concert — Christina Aguilera’s tour in Manila — and experiencing her first theater show.
“Cristina Aguilera had her tour here in Manila. That was the very first concert I went to,” she said. “It was great. I feel like I got my musical foundation there.”
“When I was younger, I remember my very first time going to New York. My mom took me to see Wicked. I remember watching that show. That was my very first memories of a show. I was very inspired, and ever since then I can see myself performing and doing all that. I would say that triggered it,” Tiana expressed.
READ: Singer-Songwriter Tiana Kocher Is Making a Case for Music Identity and Individuality
Tiana’s parents, Katrina Ponce Enrile and James Kocher, knew early on that music would be her career and showed their support.
“I’m the only one that really chose to do music as a career. My mom and dad knew that I wasn’t gonna go into politics or be a businesswoman. I think they knew at a very young age,” Tiana recalled. “Ever since I was a kid, I've always been at dance classes, acting classes. They already knew and kind of honed me on that as a kid.”
“To this day, every time I have new songs released, they all share it and they all post about it,” she added.
Tiana’s love for music also inspired her to become strong and independent, saying, “Because I’m an independent artist, I pretty much do everything myself. My contracts, I have to negotiate my own deals. I just needed that foundation to just really make sure I know what I’m doing.”
Although Tiana is a fan of R&B music, she believes her diverse musical influences shape her unique sound.
“I feel like growing up, I just had such a diverse music taste because of what was popular here, what I would listen to from my dad’s library, my mom’s and even from my siblings. I feel like that also influenced the music I make now. Yes, it’s RnB but there are little things that do not make it traditional RnB,” she shared.
Tiana recently released a new song titled “Position”, which explores the lighter side of getting to know someone.
“This song in particular, I just want to kind of make a song that wasn't deep. I feel like my songs tend to be ‘oh it has a meaning, it’s about this.’ But you know, I kind of want to make a song that I think people could relate to,” she said.
“I just wanted to make something that feels good and moving,” Tiana added.
With her career in Los Angeles, Tiana candidly admitted that she did still face challenges in breaking into the international music scene. However, she believed that with her hard work, she would be able to introduce the beauty of Filipino music to the world.
“It's a very hard market to penetrate,but at the end of the day, I’m still working as hard as I can because I want the rest of the world to see the world class talent that the Philippines has to offer,” she expressed.
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