Tiana Kocher, a rising Filipino-American R&B artist who was born in Manila, showcased her vocal prowess before her fans and members of the entertainment press in her grand press conference and mini-concert at the Delimondo Café in Makati City on April 21.
Accompanied by Sub Projekt Band, Tiana performed a couple of her original songs including Boy Bye, her cover of Britney Spears' Lucky, among others.
Tiana became emotional upon seeing her Pinoy fans, dubbed as "Tianatics," as they flocked to the venue carrying placards and photos of her.
In an interview, she then recalled how difficult it is to be an independent artist, especially that the US music industry is already saturated.
She says she's just so fortunate that Filipinos are supportive of her music.
Tiana grew up with 90s and 2000s music including TLC, Brandy, Monica, etc.
She writes her own songs and gets the inspiration through her experiences.
Tiana is the granddaughter of the late singer-actress Armida Siguion-Reyna and Filipino statesman Juan Ponce Enrile.
Tiana's mom, Katrina Ponce Enrile, says that singing runs in their family, but Tiana has the guts to really perform even at a very young age.
Tiana's career boomed when her mother uploaded a video of her singing on the beach. Eventually, a few producers in LA asked her to record some demos.
The whole family has been supportive of her career since day one.
"My family's very supportive, we've been supportive of each other," Tiana says.
When asked if she might want to follow the footsteps of former Sen. JPE, Tiana says that politics is not her cup of tea.
"I think my mom just knew that I was gonna be performing, so she invested in me at a very young age. My brain isn't really wired for politics."
She is also interested in learning more Tagalog songs and appearing in musical variety shows in the country.
Tiana will be travelling back-and-forth to the US and the Philippines for a series of performances and projects.
Follow Tiana Kocher's official accounts on IG, Facebook, and Spotify.
Tiana's Career in the US
Tiana already has 6 million streams as an independent artist.
Her debut single release, Just My Type, hit the Top 40 Indie Chart followed by Paint the Town and Swing Batter, which appeared in the Ciroc commercial for the motion picture What Men Want!
Her record "U Tried It," released in October 2019, was produced by four-time GRAMMY nominee record producer RoccStar.
Tiana has collaborated with several GRAMMY award-winning recording artists including TLC, Faith Evans, Sage the Gemini, Aj McLean of the Backstreet Boys, Citizen Queen, Bobby V, ASAP Rocky and Latin artist J. Alvarez among others, as well as multiple award-winning songwriters in both mainstream pop and R&B.
Tiana has worked with several major US based brands like McDonalds on their new Golden Arch Cafe series, Ethika, Jaded Ldn, Pretty Little Thing, Nasty Gal, Pixi Beauty, Dossier and also LeBron James's media company Springhill.
Tiana recently graduated with a bachelor's degree in Music Business from the prestigious entertainment school Full Sail University
She also has an associates degree in Musical Theatre from the Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts.
She is a part of Grammy U as well as the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Tiana is a trained actress and has a bronze and silver Shakespeare award from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
In April, 2020 Tiana teamed up with social media giant TikTok during COVID-19, to create a 30-day charity and community driven contest, where people would dance to her single 'Don't Trip!
The #DontTripChallenge, assembled to inspire change, opened in the Philippines and the US.
On completion, it raised over PHP158,500 for both the Philippine and American Red Cross, and generated over 12 million views, marking a staggering 'staying connected awareness and community campaign.