If you’ve stepped into a Manila bar lately, you’ve probably noticed the shift. The loud, stadium-thumping rock of a few years ago is giving way to something more intimate: neon signs, martinis, and the soulful pull of a jazz standard. At the center of this "speakeasy" revival is Nicole Laurel Asensio, who just hit a career milestone as the first-ever Philippine Brand Ambassador for Shure music.
For Nicole, it’s a full-circle moment. She’s been in the game for twenty years, cutting her teeth in the all-girl rock band General Luna before carving out a solo path she calls "Schizoprano"—a blend of her classical roots and rock-and-roll grit.
Nicole comes from a line of heavy hitters. She’s the granddaughter of Vice President Salvador Laurel and legendary opera singer and National Artist for Music Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. While most five-year-olds were figuring out basic math, she was singing for Les Misérables creator Claude-Michel Schönberg. He actually offered her the role of Cosette on the spot, but Nicole chose to stay in school instead.
That early exposure to theater and literature (she’s a DLSU Lit grad) is what makes her a storyteller first. Whether she’s performing in a Hong Kong residency or making history as the first Filipino artist at Taipei’s Smith & Wollensky, she’s carrying those roots with her.
In a business where everything can go wrong on stage, Nicole is big on reliability—and she’s picked a partner with a serious track record. Founded in Chicago in 1925, Shure has been the literal voice of history. Their mics were on the front lines of WWII, in front of JFK, and captured Martin Luther King Jr.’s "I Have a Dream" speech.
Nicole is currently performing with the Super 55, a supercardioid descendant of the iconic 1939 Unidyne. It’s a mic with a "legacy" look but modern tech, which fits Nicole’s vibe perfectly. "Reliable gear is a big factor—it makes me breathe and sing easier," she says.
A decade ago, critics questioned Nicole for leaving her rock inclinations behind to pursue jazz and standards. But looking at the current Manila scene—where younger crowds are ditching clubs for "jazz nights"—that choice looks like a smart bet.
"Both the local and global music scene is embracing a resurgence of the classics," Nicole notes. For her, reinvention doesn't mean you’ve stopped loving where you came from; it just means you’ve unlocked a new chapter. In an industry that often feels like it's chasing the next big trend, Nicole is proof that sticking to what you love eventually brings the world around to you.