Bossa Nova Queen Sitti recently gave fans a glimpse into her life as a mother, sharing a hilarious moment when her young daughters discovered just how famous their mom really is.
“Last month, I brought them to Bukidnon — I have two girls, ages 7 (Issiah Danelle) and 4 (Osseah Lucille). They were completely caught off guard when I was introduced as the Queen of Bossa. Nagulat sila. They kept asking their dad, ‘Is Mom a queen? Is she really a queen?”‘ said Sitti (full name: Sitti Katrina Baiddin Navarro-Ramirez) during a roundtable media conference at the Fire & Ice office in Timog, Quezon City, on April 8.
Bossa Nova Queen Sitti (Images by Robert Requintina)
“It turned into a running joke at home after that,” she added. “‘My mom is a queen, so I’m a princess! And Dad is the king!’ They’ve always known I sing — I’ve brought them to mall shows — but I want to map out the full journey of my career for them someday: how it all started, how I grew to love it, and who helped shape it.”
Sitti said it’s too early to tell whether her daughters will follow in her musical footsteps, though music already plays a natural role in their time together.
“When we spend time together, we sing made-up songs. My husband (Joey Ramirez) is Ilonggo. My daughter is really into Katseye right now — we sometimes nudge her toward Olivia Dean to balance it out — but she genuinely knows every single Katseye song. My husband and I don’t impose, though. The music is just there,” she said.
“Sittiscape: The City of Bossa” marks the 20th anniversary of her debut album, “Cafe Bossa,” and traces her two-decade journey as a recording artist. Her debut album carried the monster hit “Para Sa Akin.”
“For the first time, I’ll be collaborating with Gary V., and Ebi Dencel and I will perform together on stage. It’s a documentary-style show — we want to record it so I can eventually add it to my YouTube channel, as a way of introducing myself to my daughters as an artist. Right now, they just see me as their mom,” she said.
Having firmly established herself in the genre, Sitti considers bossa nova her musical home — but her artistic curiosity extends beyond it. She has expressed a desire to one day visit Brazil, the birthplace of bossa nova.
“Back in 2018, I explored electronic music. There have been moments in my career when I wanted to record something completely different. For now, I channel those other genres into my live performances — doon ko na lang ia-apply ang ibang genre.
“My YouTube channel is episodic — sometimes we do ’70s music, sometimes rock. So doon ko ginagawa yung ibang genre na gusto kong gawin. I love music in general, not just bossa nova. In the future, I really want to explore a different kind of recording. With God’s grace, I’ve reached a point where I can self-produce, so we’ll see,” she said.
“Walang sawa sa bossa nova — it’s fun, it never gets old. It’s my musical home,” she added.
Sitti never anticipated that her music would resonate so widely with Filipino listeners — especially since bossa nova was a far cry from the pop-rock sound dominating the scene at the time.
“Before my first album dropped in 2006, I had already been performing bossa nova at gigs for three years. I didn’t think it would catch on — rock was everywhere at the time, and ‘Narda’ was one of the songs that came out right after ours. Still, we pushed through and recorded the album. I told myself: if it works, great; if not, at least I made something. I never expected bossa nova to be received as warmly as it was. We’re truly grateful for that,” she said.
Sitti also expressed admiration for a new generation of artists who are keeping the bossa nova spirit alive.
“Nakakatuwa dahil we have Laufey and Olivia Dean — young, incredibly talented, and creative artists. Laufey weaves bossa nova chords into her songs; Olivia brings it into her lyrics. That, to me, speaks to the genre’s timelessness. It’s a quiet, understated genre with ties to pop, but I believe it will always have a place. Singing bossa nova has been a joy from the very beginning, and it still is,” she said.
Beyond music, Sitti has also dipped her toes into acting — an experience she looks back on with both humor and respect.
“Sumubok din akong magteleserye twice — pero hindi ko kaya. The work is incredibly demanding. You’re sleep-deprived, and then they ask you to cry on cue. Ang galing nila kasi kaya nilang gawin iyon. I also did theater. I really pushed myself to try different fields.
“I’ve always believed that stepping into unfamiliar territory — even when you’re not the best at it — teaches you something valuable. Pero babalik pa rin ako sa bahay ko,” she said.
A breaking point
Known for her calm and composed presence, Sitti is not one to easily lose her cool. But even she has had her limits tested — recalling a time she was left unpaid at a show and had to make a difficult call.
“There was a time in CDO when I wasn’t paid — this was years ago. We arrived early and went through the sound check. Then my manager told me, “You haven’t been paid, so don’t go on stage. So I followed my manager’s advice and stayed back.
“Then I heard the producer making apologies to the crowd, but the producer was telling lies about what happened. In the end, I went out on stage anyway and performed without being paid. We had already traveled all the way there,” she said.
Sitti said she briefly considered filing a formal complaint but ultimately let it go. “Huwag naman sana silang mang-agrabyado,” she said — a quiet plea that artists be treated fairly.
That chapter is behind her now. Despite her team going unpaid, she handled the situation with remarkable professionalism. The experience serves as a valuable lesson — one that will make her more cautious going forward.
Looking ahead, the OPM icon says she hopes to continue recording bossa nova — but with a renewed commitment to quality and depth.
“Sana binantayan ko yung mga lumalabas na songs — sana may depth yung ibang kantang ni-re-record ko. Sometimes I walk into a restaurant and hear my music playing, and people are happy. But sometimes, I’m not satisfied with what I hear. I can’t fully explain why a recording I wasn’t happy with still got embraced. But that’s on me now — it’s up to me to do better,” she said.
