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Manila Bulletin devider Entertainment devider Celebrities devider GOSSIP GIRL: Nicole Asencio on jazz, glamour and emotional damage

GOSSIP GIRL: Nicole Asencio on jazz, glamour and emotional damage

Published May 27, 2026 10:53 am
Nicole Laurel Asensio
Nicole Laurel Asensio
After doing a corporate show together recently, I finally understood why people deem Nicole Laurel Asensio as someone who is more than just the usual performer. She is a unique experience.
Like a beautiful traffic accident in slow motion, you cannot look away.
Nicole is singer, actress, poet, jazz goddess, and full-time atmospheric condition. Some artists walk into a room. Nicole materializes. Suddenly the lights become softer, the wine tastes more expensive, and at least three men in the audience begin questioning their life choices.
"My mom (Iwi Laurel) always jokes that I was born inside a dimly lit hotel bar during a thunderstorm while somebody played vinyl records and cried quietly in the corner," Nicole shares.
Her voice?Combine the talent of her mother and her grandmother Fides Cuyugan Asencio and mix it with heartbreak and excellent acoustics.
It's like your ex apologizing too late while Manila floods outside.
In person she’s funny, smart, mysterious, sosyal without trying, the type of woman who can destroy you intellectually while casually holding a glass of red wine.
I asked about her hobbies and she answered, "I love turning emotional damage into songs, spiritually haunting Poblacion with my performances and disappearing for months by travelling then returning wiser like a jazz phoenix."
These kind of answers are the reason why men leave her shows wanting therapy and women wanting to rip her clothes off out of sheer envy.
Nicole’s music has this old soul vibe mixed with modern Manila chaos. One minute jazz lounge, next minute an existential crisis. And yes, nobody has ever successfully photographed Nicole under fluorescent lighting. I tried once during our gig via a selfie. She secretly took my phone and deleted it. Arrrgh!
Aside from hypnotizing audiences nightly, Nicole recently became the first Filipino brand ambassador of Shure microphones. She’s also working on new original recordings while international shows are currently being finalized. So yes, our local jazz queen is booked, busy, and emotionally dangerous. Catch her upcoming public shows :June 1 – The Iron Fairies BGC, June 3 – Fable Cafe BGC , June 8 – The Iron Fairies BGC, June 13 – UG Lounge Makati, June 17 – Fable Cafe BGC, June 19 – 78 Salcedo Makati, June 20 – No Entry BGC, June 21 – Seventeen Steakhouse June 24 – Got Soul BGC and on July 24-25 for her Birthday Special Weekend Takeover at 78 Salcedo Makati.

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Giselle Sanchez Gossip Girl Nicole asencio
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