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Nadine Lustre Opens Up About Creating Her Newest Album During Quarantine
Nov 9, 2020
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“I’m at my best when I open up, when I’m showing vulnerability, and when I’m showing all my emotions, and unashamed of just being who I am.”
Nadine Lustre continues to be a revelation. In her newest album Wildest Dreams, she delivers music that stems from her deeper sense of self. Nadine introduces us to what she feels is her best version to date—one that reflects her truth and artistry—proving yet again that she’s a creative force to be reckoned with.
From starring in blockbuster hits Diary ng Panget and Talk Back and You’re Dead to being a prime time star in On the Wings of Love, she has proven her acting prowess, which recently earned her Best Actress honors at the Gawad Urian and FAMAS awards in 2019 for her role in Never Not Love You. An all-around Filipina talent, Nadine continues to evolve as an actress, singer-songwriter, music video director, and beauty entrepreneur, to name a few.
Evolving together with her growth as an artist, Nadine’s aesthetic has also transitioned from following show biz trends to finding her own glamorous yet edgy style that’s unique in many ways.
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The multi-hyphenate reinforces her personal brand with every choice she makes, and nothing can stop Nadine from expressing herself—not even quarantine. In fact, she used this time to put together Wildest Dreams, her new visual album that lets us into her world.
Tuning Into Herself
The album Wildest Dreams takes us into a dimension where abstract meets reality; where everything is bizarre yet familiar—a trip into the mind and heart of Nadine’s artistry.
Nadine shares how this album allowed her to be vulnerable, something she was afraid to do before. “Wildest Dreams is very personal,” she tells Preview. “It’s the side of me that they’ve never seen before.”
Inspired by her deep love for EDM and early 2000’s R&B, Nadine has put together songs drawn from her personal experiences. These are represented by a sequence of dreams composed of abstract, realistic, fashion, and allegorical elements. “I’m really excited kasi it’s very experimental,” she shares.
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“I had a lot of time to write and to just tune in with myself, and get in touch with the things that I haven’t really dealt with.”
Known for her hit tracks “Me and You”, “St4y Up”, and “I Like It”, the 27-year-old artist says that her current music is unlike the ones she made before. Apart from the experimental R&B genre and the visual album, the difference is her involvement in the process. “This is the first time I’m really working on an album. Before, I would just go to the studio, record, and that’s it.”
“I had a lot of time to write and to just tune in with myself, and get in touch with the things that I haven’t really dealt with. That’s why all of the songs in the album are very personal,” she continues.
One track entitled “Save A Place” is a love letter dedicated to her late brother, Isaiah, who passed away in 2017. “There’s a song that’s about my brother.” Her producer, Marcus Davis, helped her work on the track. “I told [Marcus] everything that I wanted to say [to my brother]. Parang he took the words right out of my mouth. Everything that I wanted to tell my brother, he put it in a song.”
Turning A Dream Into Reality
Nadine has always been fascinated by the vividness of her dreams, which she records in her journal. One detail actually inspired the song “Wildest Dreams.”
“It was during a hiking trip back in 2017. I had a dream while I was on a mountain,” says Nadine. She believes that dreams are signs, something that her higher self is trying to tell her.
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White dress with glove, RICA SIENA, Instagram.com/ricasiena. Corset, BLACK CODE MANILA, Instagram.com/blackcodemanila. Accessories, LUISA JEWELRY, Instagram.com/luisajewelry
Another thing that inspired her album is the American singer-songwriter, Jhené Aiko. “Jhené is one of my biggest inspirations in creating this album.” She recalls how Jhené went through the same thing with her brother while making her album.
“She taught me how to be unashamed of vulnerability and unashamed of the issues that I’m dealing with,” says Nadine. She also adds how Björk’s experimental music and avant-garde aesthetics caught her attention online, from which she also drew influence.
Wildest Dreams tells a story of how Nadine stays true to her roots while creating a unique experience for the listener.
With the pandemic at hand, however, the process of creating and releasing the album hasn’t been that easy. “We actually started working on Wildest Dreams last year pa. Fast forward to March, the pandemic happened and we had a lockdown,” says Nadine.
“With the help of the whole Careless [Music Manila] team, we thought of [ways] to launch it. To be honest, we revised the plan so many times. Before, we wanted to do a live performance.”
The multi-hyphenate also shares why she chose to translate her ideas into a visual album. “We wanted to accompany the music with visuals to explain it further. It also tells a different story, and it makes you understand the music even more.”
Thriving Online
As a social media personality with a massive following on Instagram, Nadine values the importance of staying true to herself even online. “As much as possible, I try to be authentic, I try to just be myself when I’m posting. I guess by being authentic, you naturally and effortlessly stand out from the rest.”
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“I’m very specific when it comes to branding. A lot of people know me as [someone] very particular about aesthetics ever since. I love taking photos. I love dressing up as well. And as much as possible, I try to bring or show everyone the things I’m experiencing or where I am.”
“I guess by being authentic, you naturally and effortlessly stand out from the rest.”
Nadine continues to thrive online by steering her ship and remaining true to her style. She also plans to create content about sustainability to raise awareness among her followers. “With social media, I also wanna start showing everyone tips on how to be sustainable. I’m trying to figure out how I’m gonna incorporate that in my social media. I’m going to start doing that soon,” says Nadine.
Social media also played a great role in her album’s creative direction. “It plays a huge part because I get inspiration, siyempre, from other artists as well. And to try and be up to date with everything. It’s nice to update yourself din when it comes to aesthetic. It keeps changing.”
With a lot of eye-catching visuals online, the internet has prompted Nadine to share how she sees the world in fleeting moments captured and immortalized through her phone’s camera. Whether it’s a dreamy vacation photo, an interesting subject that caught her eye, or a nonchalant selfie, Nadine’s photos give us a glimpse of her own reality.
Clearly Her Best Self
After a year of reviving her creative spirit and getting in touch with herself, Nadine is bringing something new and fresh to the table—one that clearly showcases her best self yet.
“They haven’t really seen this side of me before and I’m at my best when I open up, when I’m showing vulnerability, and when I’m showing all my emotions and unashamed of just being who I am. I would say that this is the best side of me.”
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Blue bodysuit, RICA SIENA, Instagram.com/ricasiena. Layered latex pieces, KRISTINE ORDINARIO, Instagram.com/kristineordinarioph
Wildest Dreams tells a story of how Nadine stays true to her roots while creating a unique experience for the listener. Here, she’s bringing her songwriting skills into play while visualizing her dreams in color.
And she continues to capture creative moments like these using the innovative features of OPPO Reno4. “In terms of visuals, OPPO Reno4 is the perfect phone because it has a lot of other [camera] features. Instead of taking a plain photo, you can use the AI Color [Portrait] so it only highlights the color that you want.”
She describes how the AI Color Portrait keeps her Instagram feed on brand. “I [keep my Instagram feed] color-coordinated. What’s nice about it (AI Color Portrait) is that it highlights a specific color, so when I upload it, at least coordinated siya with everything else on my feed.”
Apart from this, the 960fps AI Slow-Motion feature also came in handy in giving her videos a more dramatic effect. “I like playing with the slow-mo effect when wearing flowy dresses or outfits, and also doing water scenes,” she explains.
Red dress, USHI SATO, Instagram.com/ushisato. Red custom boots, MX STUDIO, Instagram.com/_mxstudio
“My favorite part about the OPPO Reno4 is the Night Flare [Portrait] kasi when I take content, sometimes it’s at night na. [It’s] my favorite one kasi hindi mo na kailangan mag-flash,” adds Nadine.
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With OPPO Reno4’s unique camera features—AI Color and Night Flare Portraits, 960fps AI Slow-Motion, Ultra Steady Video 3.0, among others—Nadine has found ways to clearly capture her best self whether she’s posting aesthetic photos online or accompanying her songs with otherworldly visuals. As she welcomes this new creative chapter, Nadine is opening up and showing her best self through her most defining work. And this is only just the start.
Capture your best self, too, with OPPO Reno4. Learn more about its #ClearlyTheBestYou campaign and features on OPPO Philippines’ official website and Facebook page. OPPO Reno4 is available on Shopee and Lazada.
Photographed by Cru Camara
Fashion Styling by Joanna Garcia
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