The baby, so they say, has grown into a mature young lady.

Ciara Anna Sotto, the youngest in the four lovely children of former Senator Tito Sotto and the beautiful Helen Gamboa has come of age and there is absolutely nothing that gives her much pleasure at this point than knowing that she is much appreciated for it.

More than a year ago, she left the all too familiar comfort of her home in favor of the pursuit of a dream off foreign shores in faraway Las Vegas. Armed only with her innate talent in music and a passionate drive to prove her worth, Ciara has definitely faced life squarely and braved the odds in that short span of time since she left.

For her homecoming, not a few have noticed that Ciara Sotto’s demeanor has beautifully changed. She’s slimmer and exudes this air of quiet confidence that only comes from those who have found meaning from her experiences. The aura is totally different and the most assuring of it all is that everything seemed to have changed so much for the better.

Exactly one year and three months ago, Ciara left for Las Vegas after signing up to a lead role in a musical production called “Fever.” She leads a cast of six young women (along with two other Filipinos Karlyn Bay and Rizza Navales and three Americans Autumn Belanger, Harmony Moniz, and Emily Istre) after she impressed the producers with her lovely singing voice.

“It was Ate Lani (Misalucha) who introduced me to the producers one time when I watched her show there in Vegas. They were looking for singers and when I met them, Ate Lani told them, ‘this girl sings very well. She’ll be perfect for the musical they have in the mind.’ So, they asked me to send them a sample of my work and I gave them my CD ‘The Way of Love’ which I recorded under Sony-BMG in 2005. After that, they called me for ‘Fever’ and I have not looked back ever since,” the lovely Ciara said.

“Fever” tells the story of six girls “depicting a kaleisdoscope of emotions as they endure love and life. It’s a roller coaster ride of seduction, ecstasy, deception, atonement and retribution, an expression of raw passion through classic ballad, sultry tango, belly dancing, Latin sway or a dramatic aria.”
Rigorous rehearsals began February of 2007 when she was first called to “settle” in Las Vegas. “At first, I lived with two of the girls in the housing provided for by the producers Jose Brothers Productions before I moved in to my own place after a few months. It was tough at first but I have learned so much already. I have been living alone ever since and loving it,” she said.

While awaiting final preparations for the much-delayed opening of Melanja, the theater where “Fever” was supposed to open right at the heart of the Strip, the cast has been busy touring the United States to give a glimpse of the musical to its expectant audience. “We’ve so far been promoting excerpts of the show to Los Angeles, San Diego, Reno and most of Las Vegas. We’re praying that soon enough, ‘Fever’ gets to open as we have prepared so much for it,” she said.

In the course of this newfound career and away from her comfort zone, Ciara has definitely learned to fend for herself. “Although my Dad gave me a credit card which he said I can use for emergency, I never really used it. I lived by my own means and even took a job in my off days selling cellphones. It helped me earn extra and it felt really great.”

Ciara said she also learned to cook for herself, clean the house and the bathroom, fix her bed, prepare everything she needs and go to her commitments without any assistance – the complete opposite of her life in the Philippines where she is treated as a princess everywhere she goes. “I have learned to budget my money also. It was tough in the beginning but I got the hang of it now. I rarely shop now and my Mom is so happy to see this change in me. My Dad is really happy about me being more mature. I now appreciate more the kind of life that my Dad has been giving all of us, all the comfort and the convenience because my perspective has broadened. Now, I also hold great respects to all the Filipino overseas workers all over the world. The work that they do is not easy at all, and I have more appreciation for that,” she said.

Her most recent public appearance in the US was when she sang the national anthem in the last winning fight of Manny Pacquiao (versus Marquez) which unknown to many she had to audition for. “I had to call up Kuya Manny for it and he really asked me to sing the entire song to him when I did. I remember I had to take a restroom break from work, just so I could sing the entire national anthem to him on the phone. After the song, I heard people clapping from the other end of the line,” Ciara said adding that when Manny finally told her the job is hers, he reminded her not to forget the lyrics.

The UST Conservatory of Music graduate promised Pacquiao, “Don’t worry, I wont.” Ciara said, “in school, we have been singing the national anthem every now and then that’s why I have really memorized it by heart. That worked great to my advantage.”

Right now, Ciara is on a rehearsal break for two weeks. She came back to surprise her family last June 30 who were expecting her to arrive on July 2, her birthday. Her “working vacation” has been so hectic that she hardly has time to breathe but she doesn’t mind at all. By the end of this week, Ciara will leave again for the US, initially as part of the “Eat Bulaga” family in its annual US shows before she settles back in Las Vegas. But she said she will be back again for some promo schedules that have been arranged already for her new album.

She said,  “I’ve really come home to release and promote my latest CD which we recorded in the US while I was there, and celebrate my birthday here. My Dad and I worked hard for this album. He produced it meticulously as usual and had Tito Homer (Flores) arrange most of the songs there.”

“If You Love Me” is being distributed under Sony BMG Music Entertainment and is now available in the market. Ciara had several launches for the album on television since her arrival.

The one thing that Ciara relishes about her latest recording, if anything, is the fact that she had been consulted all the way, in its making. “My Dad got my opinion for every detail of the album, the choice of songs, the arrangements, everything. There had been a real careful process of selection since he started working on it. He would send me emails, MP3s and ask what I think of it. This album, indeed, is very special,” she happily tells.

Ciara says every song in the album tells of a story.

“Kung Ako Man Ay Mahal Mo” is the Tagalog adaptation of the Edith Piaf original “If You Love Me” which was originally in French “Hymne  a l’amour.” This song became very close to Ciara’s heart especially when she heard of the heart-wrenching story behind it. She said, “Edith Piaf wrote this for her boxer-boyfriend. Since they had been so busy, she invited him to fly over where she was performing so she can sing to him this song for the very first time in the show. The boyfriend flew but as fate would have it, his plane crashed and he never got to hear the song.” Ciara said they asked her good old Tito Joey (de Leon) to do the Tagalog lyrics of the song for this album and she says it was so beautiful as well. The English-French version of this song is also included in the album as a bonus track.

“Kapalaran” originally sung by Rico J. Puno, was produced by former Senator Tito Sotto for Blackgold way back then. He had always wanted a girl to sing the song and Ciara provided the perfect opportunity for it.

“Charade” (originally by Bee Gees, given Tagalog adaptation by Hajji Alejandro in his time) and “Some Enchanted Evening” have both Vic Sotto and Tito Sotto guesting as back-up vocals.

“Finally” (Cece Peniston) which features Ciara in her belly dancing number in the musical and “For the First Time” are two songs included in the repertoire of “Fever” that made it to the cut in the album.

“Where Do We Go From Now” by David Pomeranz has Francis Magalona guesting with his famous rap act.

“Balatkayo” (originally sung by Anthony Castelo) has its lyrics redone to suit a female singer by its original lyricist Joey De Leon.

“Ang Tanging Tunay Kong Pag-ibig” was a song written by Tito Sotto two years ago for his wife Helen and was given a beautiful arrangement by Homer Flores. Tito Sen says the title exceeds the only (tangi) love idea by adding true (tunay) to the title. Ciara said the song made her Mom cry so hard after hearing it because it brought added sentimentality when it was her daughter singing it.

“Somos Novios” is a popular Spanish song that Ciara sings often and has become one of her favorite signature songs among her Spanish friends.
“Love Letters” is the only cut in the album that was recorded in the Philippines.

“Over The Rainbow” was supposedly a cut for “The Way of Love” but after undergoing three revisions in arrangements, it still fell short of their standards. Now it was given a whole new arrangement, more jazzy up tempo style, and it finally satisfied the discerning tastes of the people involved in the production of the new CD.

“Two For The Road” has always been a song associated with Helen Gamboa and the novelty of her daughter doing the song is just tempting.

“Softly” is a song that Ciara has always wanted to sing since she was small. “I would have wanted this to be included in my last album before ‘If You Love Me’ but for some reason, my Dad failed to include it. So now, it is part of the album and the arrangement rendered by Tito Homer is so dramatic.”
Ciara is very proud of this new album and assures everyone that they too, will have a wonderful time listening to it as much as they had the most wonderful time putting it together.

“If You Love Me” is distributed under Sony BMG Music Entertainment and is now available at all record outlets nationwide.