Asia’s Pop Sweetheart Isha Ponti is ringing in the season a little differently this year.
While most holiday songs jingle with cheer, glitter, and endless mentions of snow we’ll never see, Isha’s newest single “Wala Ka Sa Pasko” is all about kumot and hugot, tugging gently but firmly at the heartstrings.
The track, now part of her growing catalog of 16 original songs, was born from a year she describes as “emotionally weird.”
“It came naturally,” Isha says of writing the song. “The emotions were just there. I wanted to tell a story that felt real—yung tipong Pasko pero may kulang.”
And that honesty shines in every line. It’s intimate, calming, and just melancholic enough to make you want to replay it at 2 a.m. with hot chocolate in hand.
For Isha, songwriting is deeply personal. “It’s like storytelling. The lyrics, the sounds—they carry emotions. When you mix it all together, you create a whole story that people can feel.”
She loves when listeners tell her they hear their own experiences in her music. “That’s the goal—for people to interpret it in their own way and feel something real.”
If the single is all soft glimmer and longing, Isha is switching to full stage sparkle on December 13.
That’s when she headlines “The Next Ones” concert at the Music Museum, sharing the spotlight with Bossa Nova Princess Andrea Gutierrez.
For the first time, the two former grand champions of Asia’s Best are stepping onstage as stars of their own show. And they’re bringing company: several other rising artists and OPM icon Rey Valera.
Isha says, “We started as front acts. Now we get to showcase who we really are as artists.”
“We choose the title because it’s like a declaration that we are here and we want to be heard,” she adds.
Expect everything: Ariana Grande runs, Lady Gaga drama, Gwen Stefani energy, Disney magic, plus a “Wicked”-inspired number that will show off just how powerful—and playful—the two are together.
Director Calvin Neria promises a story-driven spectacle, while musical director Adonis Tabanda lined up over 17 songs to showcase the duo’s versatility.
Isha relates, “It’s our chance to pave the way—not just for us, but for other artists like us who keep chasing the dream.”
