Andrea Badinas: How this Cebuana became a Christian pop artist

Andrea Badinas remembers where she was on the 16th of March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic resulted to enforced lockdowns that covered Mandaue City where she lives. The dreadful uncertainty of when and whether the pandemic would end had people all over the globe feeling down – and the Cebuana artist was no exception. But instead of drowning herself in sadness, she turned to her faith and declared, “Lord, people are hopeless and losing their faith already. But I will still trust in you.”

It was this mindset during the pandemic that inspired her to write the song “Gabay”, her latest single under Viva South Records which was released last month. The track speaks of Andrea’s optimism during difficult times by “putting her faith in the Lord.”

“Gabay” aims to touch listeners with its inspirational lyrics. For Andrea, it’s the bridge part that moves her the most, calling it the climax of the song and a “declaration of surrendering herself to the Lord” (“Naririto ako, ibuhos mo / At ibibigay ko aking buhay sa yo / Simulan mo na’t baguhin aking puso / Naririto ako para sa ‘yo”).

As a Christian pop artist, Andrea wants her music to inspire listeners to strengthen their faith in Jesus Christ. Her faith-based direction allows her to “add [some] color to Pinoy pop”, according to her music label.

She was inspired by Tori Kelly and Moira dela Torre as she shares the same faith with these artists. Andrea said she also pulls motivation from her church family who strengthened her Christian faith, as well as her father who helps her compose songs especially with the chord progression.

Andrea may be familiar to those who watched the 2017 edition of “The Voice Teens Philippines” where she passed the Blind Auditions and was chosen by Bamboo for his team.

Looking back at her musical journey in connection to her faith, Andrea believes that “the Lord orchestrated” her musical evolution. “I was just [used to] singing for the pleasure of others, but this time, it’s different because I know I am singing with a message. I am singing because it was the purpose of the Lord for me to release songs from heaven,” she said.

Andrea’s songs, including “Gabay”, have been included in two of Spotify’s official playlists – EQUAL Philippines and Fresh Finds Philippines. She was surprised to see her songs grouped with her peers in the OPM industry.

“It’s really rare to be part of the popular group of artists, because usually, there’s no high demand for secular and Christian songs,” she said. Spotify’s EQUAL Philippines playlist has 204,000 listeners subscribed through the “Like” function, while the Fresh Finds Philippines playlist has 51,000 – providing Andrea an opportunity to gain new listeners, and thus allowing her to “serve the Lord and spread the message to her listeners to know who God is.” “The Lord will use my songs for others to know Him, for others to have a relationship with the Father himself”, she said. “They will see the goodness of the Lord and the land of the living through their faith in Christ.”