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Aicelle Santos: a young Lea Salonga?

WHEN AICELLE Santos first came onto the scene via her runner-up finish in "Pinoy Pop Superstar Year 2," she, with a voice that's strikingly extraordinary, easily reminded people of a young Lea Salonga with traces of contemporary R& B and soul.

And although very young, she sounds way beyond her years and seems to be miles ahead of her peers by writing songs and creating 'Make Me Believe,' her GMA Records debut album, where Aicelle flaunts her superior voice and

opts to concentrate on soulful melodies but going beyond trite formulas and productions for a fuller sound.

In this CD, she demonstrates her ability to adjust her vocals depending on the song's demands. Of course, pop and R&B references are aplenty all throughout but it's marked with that signature Aicelle style: consistent, solid vocal performance. She hits high with relative ease, it's quite addictive.

Aicelle's head-over-heels in love over someone new on the coy and adorable "Lullabies." Title track Make Me Believe, written by Agatha Obar, meanwhile, treads the right direction; her stable voice associating well with the piano-based instrumentation. On the surprising side follows "All Gone (My Lingering's Over)" — one of two songs Aicelle herself penned — a bouncy track of getting over the breakup blues. "A House is Not a Home," "Kung Bakit Ngayon," and "Nasaan" are soft ballads shaped using gentle musical backdrops. Also, there's a stylish version of the Tracy Chapman original "Give Me One Reason."