By Manila Santos

For PinoyDreamAcademy host Billy Crawford, being back in the Philippines was a welcome surprise. Despite having almost daily hosting duties on PDA’s Uberture and Gala Nights, the 26-year-old singer/host says he chooses to use up his free time working on music as well. “I do a get a chance to just chill out. When I do get free time, I write a lot of songs. It never stops you know, doing music. While I’m here, I use my time during my days off to talk to different people and see what I can do with them,” Billy says. The RnB sensation also admits to enjoying a social life as well. “I also go out of course. My family is here too so I get to hang out with them and play basketball with my friends. I have a lot of friends in Makati so I hang out there a lot. I like chill out bars, I’m tired of clubs. Tired of going out and going crazy,” he confesses.

Despite being social outings, Billy considers it as a form of working as well. “I like to be inspired. So going out and meeting new people, being with old friends and hearing their different stories gives me inspirations to write a lot of songs. And I utilize that experience in my songwriting. I do like to chill out to. But if I do chill out, ngayon dun na lang ako sa bahay and hang out with my friends, We talk a bunch of nonsense and laugh all day, all night. I have friends from everywhere,” he adds.

Even though he’s living alone, Billy says that knowing his mom and brother are accessible give him the strength to do well. “My family is probably my backbone. They’re the ones that keep me going. They never denied me anything in my entire life. My dad said to me that whatever decisions I make is my consequence. So if it’s a good decision, it’s a good consequence,” he explains.

Happily unattached, Billy shares that it will probably take a while before he decides to go into another commitment. “Right now, I am happy being single. I’m not looking for a serious relationship. But because there’s a lot of beautiful women here in the Philippines, so of course from a guy’s perspective, we’d always want to talk to everybody. That’s just being real. Totoo naman yun eh,” he relates. But what Billy misses the most is being part of a relationship. “People need someone special. It could be a special friend, it could be a lover, it could be anything. You never know what you’re going to get. Of course, I miss the company, don’t get me wrong, I can miss being with someone. I miss the comfort. I live alone. That’s why when I go home, I write songs. It makes me focus a lot on my creative part of my life. It’s an eye-opener this time around for me. Obviously, I’m getting older. Hopefully, I’m getting wiser. But this time is the youngest I’ve ever felt so I’m really happy,” he concludes.