Zia Quizon on performing with mom Zsa Zsa Padilla: ‘I learned everything from her’

As one of the most unique voices in the country today, Zia Quizon admitted she still gets nervous whenever she has to perform with her mom Zsa Zsa Padilla which will happen again next month at the Zsa Zsa Padilla: The Best Day of My Life concert. “I think nerve-wracking is a good word but I think it’s also because in general I get nervous just because you need that to perform. I really care about it so I get nervous. I just think it’s nice. Not a lot of people get the chance to work with their parents. And not a lot of singers get to sing with their parents. So on both fronts I’d like to consider myself lucky. It’s an interesting experience,” she shared during their concert presscon held at Resorts World Manila in Pasay City last April 12.

Zia said she admires the way her mom raised her and her sisters Karylle and Nicole. “I think she’s attentive but at the same time gives me room to be myself which I think is something people overlook sometimes. Like my peers are always saying that they wish they were a little bit more independent. I’m glad I got to be myself. She’s very balancing. She was a working woman but she was very present in our home so I think it’s a tough line to toe and she did it gracefully,” she said.

Even with her mom’s 35 years of experience in the industry, Zia said Zsa Zsa never pressured her to pursue anything but her own dreams. “As kitschy as it sounds, I learned everything from her. So every question I have, I can always talk to her about life, about work. I think I learned how to be me from her. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly who am I. I am constantly learning from her. The thing that I learned is to keep learning and to keep growing. Because in life I learn a lot from her by seeing how she does it by experience and leading by example. So I learn a lot as a singer in the same way too so it’s interesting,” she explained.

The best advice she has ever received from her mom was about how to be an original performer. “I guess it’s just to be myself. It’s cliché pero yun lang eh. Parang there’s only one you and just be that. Be yourself is good because it’s so hard to be what everyone wants you to be. But only you define you eh. You can’t just be what everyone else wants. You decide that. So if you want to write or just compose the music part, or just be in a place where you are always putting effort into your craft and putting time into it and always try new things and keep it alive. You should see it as a live thing and not just static. You have to feed it and take care of it because music grows,” she added.

Catch Zia Quizon at the Zsa Zsa Padilla: The Best Day of My Life concert on May 11, Friday at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. The concert is presented by Resorts World Manila in cooperation with Ultimate Shows, Inc. Tickets are now available at the RWM Box Office, ground floor of the Newport Mall in RWM and all Ticketworld outlets.