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KYLA'S BEAUTIFUL DAYS

With her fifth album on the way and a loving relationship with basketball player Rich Alvarez, Kyla is indeed living la bella vita — the beautiful life. Beautiful Days boasts of nine original songs (two of which Kyla wrote herself) and five covers.

The first single — a collaboration between hitmaker Keith Martin and songwriters Jason Balibay and Diana Dayao — is a melancholy R&B ditty titled Ngayong Wala Ka Na.

According to Kyla, Ngayong Wala Ka Na is Keith Martin's first Filipino-language composition. "He's contributed some songs to me before, but all of them were in English," she says. "However, his Filipino has improved since he's been here, which is why he was able to write this song for me."

This album is special to her for a variety of reasons. Not only did she have a hand in choosing the songs, but in some cases she tinkered with the arrangements as well.

"I really paid attention to the sound of the whole album," says Kyla.

She explains that the song How Am I Gonna Tell You was written in a very unique way. "I was about to go to sleep when the idea for it just popped into my head," she reveals. "I wrote down what I could, went to sleep, then finished it the following morning."

Kyla's other composition, the album's title track, was inspired by her significant other.

"I wrote Beautiful Days because he makes me happy, so much so, in fact, that I've developed a sunnier outlook on life thanks to him. Everything I see is beautiful because he makes my life beautiful," Kyla says.

As a star in his own right, the 6-foot-4 Alvarez is a perfect match for the Philippines' R&B princess.

While they may not have much in common — "I can't play basketball at all,” Kyla says sheepishly — they play beautiful music together.

"He liked what he heard and he's very excited about it. He's planning to buy lots of copies to give to his family and friends in the States," she adds.