One Vo1ce:
Girls Who R&B

Between 3 am recording flights and 8 am classes, the girls of One Vo1ce pursue Billboard hits while building professional credentials.

by Genessee Kim

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One Vo1ce:
Girls Who R&B

heir Asian faces and killer tans make the girls of One Vo1ce at least a visual change of pace from Britney & her strutting bleach blonde colleagues. Their sound? Luvin' You, their recently released third album, packs tracks dispensing a polished, energetic combination of R&B and pop. Its slickness belies the fact that after six years, three albums and a Billboard Top 100 single, the members of One Vo1ce still have no definite plans to become full-time pop divas.

     Marie Ceralvo, aka the "crazy one," is a college philosophy major. Sister Mae, the "baby," is hoping to transfer from her junior college to a four-year university this fall. Monica Castillo, the "hottie," just finished her nursing degree at San Jose State University. Melissa Ruiz, the "spunky one," is a hairstylist who also teaches cosmetology in San Francisco.

     "We just take it day by day, with no high expectations, hoping for the best, preparing for the worst, and whatever happens, happens," is their concensus. "We have been juggling several different careers for about six years, and we've tried to focus on just one, but it feels right/better doing more than one thing we're into; maybe it serves as a balance."

     Marie and Mae attended the same Vallejo elementary school as Monica Castillo. The girls all participated in church choirs and grew up listening to the Boyz II Men, En Vogue, Mariah Carey and even some classic groups like the Beatles. Marie and Melissa Ruiz were point guards on rival basketball teams. Melissa claims not to remember who was the better player.

     The four Filipino American girls became One Voice in high school when some of their friends signed them up to perform in the talent show. Their only practice was the night before. After a gig at UCD, they signed with Kamikaze Records and in 1998 the girls released the single "All Day, All Nite," a Top 10 seller in the Bay Area. Their first album, "Just the Beginning" was released in 1999. Its popularity secured the girls a singles deal with MCA and opened a door into the mainstream.



     Bigtime seemed close at hand when MCA released "When U Think About Me" a single that made it onto the Billboard Top 100 and re-released the group's debut album in 2000. They were featured in MTV specials like Cribs and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Special. That was in the days when the group had a fifth member, Aimee Castillo and was known as Voice V, discovering that One Voice was the name of a preexisting gospel group.

     In 2000, just as the group seemed to be knocking on the door of bigtime success, Aimee Castillo resigned to focus on her studies at UC Davis. The group's second album, Sincerely Yours couldnŐt replicate the success of the first. Renamed One Vo1ce, the group left Kamikaze Records and signed with Straight Hits Entertainment in the spring of 2002. PAGE 2

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“We just take it day by day, with no high expectations, hoping for the best, preparing for the worst, and whatever happens, happens.”