THE local pop princess, Sarah Geronimo, is now a certified Disney princess. It all started when she recorded the English-language version of “The Glow,” a Disney Princess anthem song in 2014. This year, Sarah is part of the Disney Princess Calendar, where she is featured as Rapunzel, a character from the animated movie Tangled. Sarah with eight celebrities from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, and three selected models were chosen by The Walt Disney Company Southeast Asia to play a re-imagined interpretation of the Disney Princesses. Acclaimed photographer Michael Chevas was commissioned take the photographs.
“It was a pleasant surprise when I got a call from Disney. I am honored to be a part of the calendar,” shared Sarah. “The photo shoot came first afterward they asked me to record the song, ‘The Glow.” Again, they surprised me, but I was happy to do both.”
A Disney fan since childhood, Sarah said her rags to riches story is very much like Cinderella’s. “That’s just how I started. We had nothing before then I got lucky, worked hard, and pursued my dreams to be a singer until I got where I am now.”
Sarah was 14 years old when she joined the singing contest Star For A Night, and bagged the title with her powerful rendition of Celine Dion’s “To Love You More.”
Her first solo album, Popstar A Dream Come True, in 2004 turnedquintuple platinum with over 150,000 units sold. Since then, Sarah has appeared on 22 albums including other Platinum sellers like Sweet Sixteen, Becoming, Taking Flight and Just Me. Sarah was also the star of several successful concerts.
Sarah revealed that she can easily relate to Rapunzel, the Disney character. “Would you believe I dreamed that I was Rapunzel even before I got into this project? I like Rapunzel; her being passionate, energetic, artistic, and of course, considerate. She is also courageous to escape from the tower and discover her own identity.”
Drawing from her experience of tangled relationships between her family and the men linked to her, Sarah said, “I understand being protective is just natural for parents and mine were no different. A lot of people can relate to my situation. I know I am responsible for my own life, my own happiness, but it’s a gradual process. I am determined to grow, to learn how to balance my responsibilities between my career, family and love life.”
“Just like Rapunzel, we need to be fearless to discover our strengths and weaknesses. In real life, there’s pain, pressure, and people who’s out to hurt you so we need to be reminded of that there’s a princess in us. That we are unique, special, and children of God,” added Sarah.
This year, fans of Sarah can look forward to a movie with John Lloyd Cruz. “We’re coming up with something new,with real emotions, real characters and there’s also a concert before the ends.For now, I cherish the experience of having played Rapunzel. Now I can say, I lived my dream of being a Disney princess!” concluded Sarah smiling.