Inspirational diva Jamie Rivera feels it is her “mission” to be singing gospel songs.
Rivera recently launched the inspirational song “We Give Our Yes,” the official mission song to mark 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, a year-long celebration that commenced this month.
Watch the music video below:
Rivera recalled several music events in her life that seem to have prepared her for a bigger mission.
“I consider this… hindi naman culminating pero parang hinanda yata ako para sa occasion na ito,” Rivera said in an online conference for the album launch yesterday, Feb. 17.
(I consider this not as a culmination, but it seems that I was prepared for this occasion.)
Rivera recalled singing inspirational songs that started her road into gospel music like “Jubilee,” “Heal Our Land,” “Awit Para Sa Ina ng Sto. Rosario,” “We Are God’s Children” and now, “We Give Our Yes.”
Calling it “divine providence,” Rivera felt that it has become her mission to spread the word of God through her songs.
“As we grow older, hindi natin alam iyong plano ni Lord sa atin because God’s plan is bigger than ours. Kaya hindi ko pa masasabi kung culminating ba ito or ito na ba iyong last,” she explained.
(As we grow older, we do not know the Lord’s plan for us because God’s plan is bigger than ours. That is why I cannot say if this is a culmination or this will be the last.)
“What I can say is that it is a preparation for a bigger mission,” she added.
Rivera recalled the day she was asked to sing an inspirational song. It was the year 2000, and her brother Jun Cruz asked her to sing for Jesus’s 2,000th birthday.
“Akala ko kakanta lang ng ‘happy birthday to you.’ Akala ko ganoon lang, eh. Iyon pala it’s a bigger responsibility,” Rivera recalled.
(I thought I would just sing “happy birthday to you.” I thought it was just that. It turned out to be a bigger responsibility.)
“The song was composed by Fr. Carlo Magno Marcelo. It is titled ‘The Jubilee Song.’ Doon nag-umpisa iyon (that is where it started),” Rivera shared.
She was surprised at the popularity of the song.
“Hindi namin alam iyong magnitude (ng song). Later on, nagulat kami, lahat ng bata, lahat ng Catholic churches, ng parishes, lahat kinakanta na,” she said.
(We did not realize the magnitude of the song. Later on, we were surprised that most kids, all Catholic churches, parishes, were singing the song.)
With that, Rivera felt she had to live up to the song.
“It totally changed my life also. Kailangan kung ano iyong mali kong ginagawa kailangang itatama ko na rin (I needed to right whatever wrongs I had done),” she said.
Rivera first performed “We Give Our Yes” live at the Manila Cathedral during the Archdiocese of Manila’s launch of the 500 Years of Christianity festivities on Feb. 6.
Written by the multi-awarded composer Fr. Carlo Magno Marcelo, Rivera’s version of “We Give Our Yes” was produced by the award-winning hitmaker and ABS-CBN Music creative director Jonathan Manalo.
“We Give Our Yes” is now available on music streaming services worldwide. NVG
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