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our readers’ first question would be: Who are you?
I am your normal girl, Yam Concepcion! My real name is Lorraine May Concepcion. I got ‘Yam’ from ‘May’, when you read it backwards—so it makes sense, ha ha! My mom actually thought of it.
You’re Viva’s first of a new batch of sexy stars, and a flag bearer at that with the movie Rigodon—we’ll get to that later. Wasn’t there any decision to change your name? There’s a guy named Sam, same surname. You’re Yam. Yam and Sam sounds like a cartoon.
They had wanted to change it actually. My manager, Claire Dela Fuente, wanted something else, like Lorine, or something like it. She actually said that people might mistake my name for Sam Concepcion because it’s not a very serious name.
How old are you? Looking at you we couldn’t be faulted if we said you just turned 18.
I’m 23.
Twenty-three seems ripe enough for a girl to enter show business. But you’re different because there was no teenybopper route for you. You’re going all skin! How are you taking all this in?
I’m a person who likes to challenge myself, to push it to the limit. That’s how you test yourself, see how you deal with everything that comes your way. I’m just trying to be strong and versatile. I’m risking it all, that’s how life is—you have to risk it and go out of your comfort zone, try different things and learn from it.
We thought you were a very brave girl doing this shoot. Toplessness wasn’t an issue, even during shooting breaks. But we couldn’t help thinking, "Is she brave or is she putting up a front? Deep inside she must be scared shitless." Were you scared?
Of course I was. At first I was so scared to do a shoot like this. Anything naman that’s very
challenging or different [is scary at first]. But I knew I had to be professional about it that’s why I tried to put up a front para madali akong katrabaho. Ayoko nung nandito na ako tapos biglang magiinarte pa. I’d rather work well with the people who are around me, I don’t want to be a pabigat to other people.
What was going through your mind doing the sexier poses?
In my mind I was thinking you should be proud with what you have and flaunt it. Just be confident with yourself. It’s just part of being a person, everybody has "that". And working with Xander [Angeles], and [executing] the concepts that were presented to me, I didn’t see it as something disgusting.
Our readers’ obvious second question would be: Where did you come from?
I come from a band actually. The band is called Ursa Minor. Monty Macalino, Mayonnaise’s vocalist, invited me to play a role in their music video called “Sinungaling.” My would-be manager Claire Dela Fuente saw me in that video and got me an interview with Boss Vincent Del Rosario. I had no acting experience prior to that video.
Viva must have seen something special in you on the strength of just one music video. Did it take a lot of convincing from them for you to become their new sex symbol?
I wouldn’t consider myself a sex symbol. It actually took a year [of talks]. I had to psyche myself for it; I didn’t want to do something I wasn’t a hundred percent sure [I wanted to do]. All I had been doing back then was the band, going to college at Benilde, painting...
What was Viva’s pitch to you?
They told me that they wanted me to be sexy in the mold of Cristine Reyes, doing teleseryes, being the leading woman, things like that. But even before that, they actually wanted me to pose for FHM first!
That is right. We were supposed to have you on the cover last year pa.
But then I didn’t have anything going for me yet, ha ha!
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