What was Gretchen Barretto thinking?

...bratty, sensitive, touchy, pouty, moody, fearless, reckless, careless, full of rage, feisty, controlling, demanding, blunt, rough, outrageous, bitchy, daring, obsessive, tactless, vain, extravagant, flirty, a tease, extremely lustful, ridiculous, a mistress and a wondrous woman to myself most of the time. But I am also loving, caring, affectionate, thoughtful, hardworking, organized, neat, hilarious, playful, fabulous, genuine, unforgettable, fascinating, captivating, fashionable, alluring, stunning, a friend, a listener, a model, a goddess, a celebrity, a singer, an actress, an aunt, a sister, a mother, a girlfriend, a role-playing wife. A baby...

These are the adjectives which Gretchen Barretto uses in describing herself in the literature of her album Gretchen Barretto Unexpected which she herself executive-produced (with Malou N. Santos and Annabelle Regalado-Borja as executive producers for distribution, and Chito Ilagan as over-all album producer).

“Yes,” Gretchen said with a wide smile, “I am a mistress. It’s true, it’s a fact, it’s not a lie. But,” she added, keeping her fingers crossed, “I won’t be a mistress for long...”


For a (refreshing) change, even if Gretchen is caught in a web of endless controversies, Funfare refrained from asking her whether or not it’s true that, 1). she was driven away from home by her beloved Tonyboy Cojuangco (Gretchen already denied it an an earlier Funfare story), 2). she was being offered marriage by the dashing businessman being linked to her (Gretchen has also denied it), 3). she has been conferring with her lawyer about the subject of “alimony” (she was mum about the matter), 4). her daughter Dominique is mad at her because of her (Gretchen”s) indiscretions, and 5). she and Nadia Montenegro, whom Gretchen suspected of spreading the ugly gossip about and against her, had a violent confrontation at a Quezon City hotel where they reportedly threw not only harsh words at each other but also bottles of water (Gretchen refused to make any comment).

Instead, Funfare asked Gretchen what made her choose the 12 selections in her album (which turned “gold” only a few days after its release), and she very gladly obliged, agreeing to explain the significance of and singing a few lines from each song.

So what was Gretchen thinking while she was recording the 12 songs?

1. Fly Me To The Moon

...In other words, hold my hand; in other words, darling, kiss me. Fill my heart with song and let me sing forevermore. You are all I long for, all I worship and adore...

“Many years back, I saw a movie (title not mentioned) starring Richard Dreyfus as an old man who fell in love with a much younger woman, 30 years his junior. Then, he passed away. I fell in love with that movie because I could identify with the woman. That song was sung in the movie.”

2. A House is Not a Home

When I climb the stair and turn the key, oh please be there still in love with me...

Asked who she was thinking was on top of the stairs, Gretchen said, “Of course, Tony, Dominique and our little doggy Chuwawa.”

Does she still hold the key to that house?

“Oo naman!”

3. More Than You’ll Ever Know

Take my hand, we’ll walk awhile, we’ll talk awhile, feel my love, always there beside you; I love you more than you’ll ever know...

How often does she tell Tonyboy, “I love you!”?

“I don’t really say ‘I love you’ to Tony. I make him feel my love, I don’t just say it. You know, Tony and I have our way of saying ‘I love you’ to each other. We say, ‘A-Ya-Yo.’ We got it from Dominique. When she was a baby, she couldn’t say ‘I love you;’ she would say, ‘A-Ya-Yo.’ But for me, just saying ‘I love you’ is never enough. Pinaparamdam ko talaga kay Tony.”

4. Moon River (from the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s starring Audrey Hepburn)

Moon river, wider than a mile, I’m crossin’ you in style some day...

“You know what my favorite line is from the song? This: Wherever you’re goin’, I’m goin’ your way. Two drifters off to see the world; there’s such a lot of world to see, We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waitin‘ ‘round the bend...’ Beautiful, isn’t it?”

5. An Affair to Remember

Our love affair is a wondrous thing...our love was born with out first embrace...

So when did she and Tonyboy have their first embrace (they’ve been living together for almost 14 years)?

“I won’t tell you. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!” (Then, she proceeded to sing a few lines from Moment to Moment, theme song of the movie of the same title but not in the album: From moment to moment, every moment that I live, I live for every moment with you...)

6. Please Don’t Ask Me

...My first impulse is to run to your side; my heart’s not free and so I must hide. Please don’t ask me why I’m so in love with you...

Who is she running to?

“Guess who. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

Or is the song some kind of an appeal to...who?

“What do you think?”

7. More

More than you’ll ever know my arms long to hold you so, my life...

So whose arms does she long to hold in return?

“His arms!”

And then she sang a few more lines from the song: “But far beyond forever you’ll be mine; I know I’ve never lived before and my heart is very sure. No one else could love you more...”

8. I Will

...You know I love you still. Will I wait a lonely lifetime? If you want me to, I will...

I will, not “I do”?

“You know,” Gretchen said, a sad look crossing her lovely face (enhanced by Oil of Olay), “In the meantime, while I’m waiting to say ‘I do,’ all I can say is ‘I will.’ That’s enough for the meantime.”

9. An Unexpected Song

Now, no matter where I am; no matter what I do, I see your face appearing like an unexpected song, an unexpected song that only we are hearing...

“You know, putting out this album was unexpected, so this song (by Donald Black and Andrew Lloyd Webber) is the fitting title of the album. I first heard it being sung by Joe Mari Chan and Samantha Chavez. Joe Mari is my favorite singer. I find him very sexy because of his voice, and the heart and the emotion and the feelings that he put into his every song. That song really inspired me. Since then, Unexpected has become one of my favorite songs.”

Lately, Gretchen has been guesting in TV shows and promoting the album “live” in a mall tour.

“You know why? Well, I want to show everybody that I am really the one singing on the album. Sabi ng ibang tao kasi, inayos daw ang boses ko, Of course, not! Hindi ko raw boses ‘yon. Of course, not! You know, I’ve been singing since I was 10. You might wonder, why did I record an album only now? Because I’ve been busy doing movies and so many other things. As I’ve said, my decision to come up with an album was unexpected.”

10. All The Things You Are

You are the promised kiss of springtime that makes the lonely winter seem long; you are the breathless hush of evening that trembles on the brink of a lovely song...

Are the beautiful clothes, the expensive jewelry, the huge mansion, the high-class restaurants, the trips abroad, and all the trappings of wealth, power and fame all the things she is?

“No, they are not,” stressed Gretchen. “They are only mere icings; they are just material,” she added, looking down at her beautiful, silver shoes that must have cost quite an amount (good enough for a week’s supply of food for a family living under a bridge in this cruel city?). “I am like Cinderella.”

Told that she looked like a diamond in the sky, worth millions, Gretchen said, “I’m a survivor. You have to be stronger, you have to be a better person after surviving every struggle and every trial in your life. I’ve gone through a lot in my life and I am the sum total of all my experiences, sad and happy, good and bad. I have committed many mistakes...I’m only human, too, you know...and I’m thankful that the public has forgiven me and has accepted me for what I am — a sinner.”

11. Love Me For What I Am

We fell in love on the first night that we met, together we’ve been happy, I have very few regrets. The ordinary problems have not been hard to face. But lately little changes have been slowly taking place...

Asked what is so lovable about her, Gretchen said, “I think my being honest and sincere. What you see is what you get. There’s no pretension whatsoever. Do I have fangs? No, I won’t call them fangs. But I assure you that I fight for my rights especially kapag feeling ko inaapi na ako.”

12. Ikaw Lamang

Langit ay buhay sa tuwing ika’y hahagkan. Anong ligaya kapag ika’y mamasdan. Sa piling mo ang gabi tila araw; ikaw ang pangrap, ikaw lamang...

“It was Chito Ilacad, my album’s over-all producer, who suggested that I include this song as the finale. He said, ‘Kailangan may Tagalog song.’ I listened to the song, which happens to be one of Chito’s favorites, and I loved it, so...”

Asked which of the dozens of adjectives in the album’s literature best describes her, Gretchen broke into a lusty laughter.

“I’m a tease. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

And then, she ended the interview by singing another line from Moon River, as if singing to herself...

Old dream maker, you heart-breaker; wherever you’re goin’ I’m goin’ your way...

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