Almost a decade since she first joined showbiz as part of the The Voice Season 2 along with fellow artists Esang de Torres and Ehla Nympha, Sassa Dagdag says she is ready to make her stage comeback this year. Sassa was also launched as one of the faces of SCD skincare products along with Lovi Poe and vlogger Boss Toyo. 

“I’m just super, super grateful for this and I really can’t wait kasi I’m looking forward kasi ang dami naming projects na darating. And I’m going to record their jingle,” she told  PUSH. 

Turning 22 years old this coming July, Sassa admits that her taste in music has changed a lot since joining The Voice Kids and she was able to really discover herself after taking a short hiatus from performing.

“Siyempre yung growth ko as a person is far different from way back then when I was 13,” she shared. “Now I can say that I know what I want as a singer and right now, I’m continuously preparing for the stuff na goal ko sa sarili ko.”

Sassa explained that her taking a break from the industry was deliberate and purposeful. 

“I took a break talaga in order to know myself as an artist. Considering that I was exposed to music at a very young age, like I wasn’t sure kung ano ba talaga yung gusto ko. So when I took a one year break, I took my time talaga na kilalanin ko yung sarili ko as an artist,” she explained. “Now I’m ready. Lalo na now I’m really prioritizing my social media.”

This year, Sassa counts her SCD ambassadorship as one of her biggest blessings as she returns to music. 

“Grabe sobra akong blessed with this new endorsement. It’s a new opportunity for me and I’m super happy because I am able to work with super kind people. Napakabait nila so I’m really blessed. I’m very thankful that SCD gave me the chance to be their ambassador and I took a break talaga from singing,” she said. 

“Bilang freelancer now, right now I’m more focused on my social media kasi yun talaga yung in ngayon eh. So as much as possible, I work on it para mas ma-share ko pa talaga yung talent ko with everyone and sana mabigyan pa ako ng more opportunities like this as a SCD ambassador,” she added. 

During her exclusive interview with PUSH, Sassa revealed the other reason why she had to take a break not just from showbiz but also from her studies. 

“Actually for now, I stopped muna. I feel like I need to focus talaga on working on myself. Especially kasi I have allergies. I have eczema skin allergies so when I go under the sun, ang daming tumutubo,” she admitted. “I’ve had this since I was little. So when I was younger, natanggalan pa ako ng kuko because of it. Tapos nag-stop siya for a few years and then it flared up again three years ago and it hasn’t stopped since.”

Back from her hiatus, Sassa is busy composing her own songs. 

“For now, I’m really working on composing because I feel like I haven’t met my standards for myself yet, so still trying to work on more songs as much as I can because I’m so new to this composing thing,” she added. “But I’ve composed a few songs already. I feel like if I’ve been gone for so long and I haven’t uploaded any music for so long then it’s only right for me to actually prepare really well. Para paglabas, nice na agad.” 

The talented singer admits she is enjoying composing her own songs for a change this time around. 

“May new songs actually. Nag-iipon pa muna ng maraming original songs around this time. Kasi before with Polyeast mga hindi ko mga composition yun. This is the reason why I also took a break. This time around, ang gusto ko, mapakita kung sino talaga ako as an artist. Especially that I’m in the music industry, gusto ko na ako talaga pag nag-pe-perform ako. So that’s my top priority right now, na makagawa ako ng sarili kong music,” she added. 

When it comes to musical influences, Sassa admits she really wants to be able to collaborate with one of the country’s top artists. 

“Right now, locally, I’m really loving Flow G songs. Super inspiring kasi the way he composes and yung message ng music niya is very inspiring as well. Hopefully in the future I would want to collaborate with him. I’m into soul, RnB, rap, ballads, pop, iba iba,” she shared.