Cebu’s newest singing sweetheart

CEBU, Philippines - A Swedish national who has adopted the Pinoy name of Caloy Juapo rose to internet fame when he did a cover of the Bisaya ditty, “HAHAHAHAsula” by Kurt Fick. The hit song, which was written by online personality Rowell Ucat, better known as Medyo Maldito, is phenomenal in itself, taking over radio stations and playlists with its trademark “hugot” lines.

Caloy’s Facebook video has had more than 300,000 views and 15, 000 reactions.

For Caloy, the cover was made on a lark, and he didn’t expect it to go viral. “I was really surprised because I was just recording the video for fun. I wasn’t expecting anything, and I didn’t know if it was good or bad,” Caloy, whose real name is Carl-Johan Kihl, says of the cover.

He acknowledged how difficult it had been for him to learn and to perform the song. “I was expecting Kurt Fick to be like ‘No! Take it down!,’ but it turned out to be the complete opposite and I’m really, really happy for that,” he says in an interview with The Freeman.

Caloy came to the Philippines out of curiosity, and because his job at an IT company allows him to travel. The blonde looker says that the Philippines’ scenic milieus are breathtaking, and would want to see more of the country.

Caloy had never heard of Bisaya songs when he came to the Queen City of the South for work.

“It started out as a dare at a Christmas party,” he says, sharing he was egged on to take part in the karaoke, or better known in our parts as videoke. It was his first time singing a foreign song in public, and was determined to sing more Bisaya songs in his journey to learn the dialect.

“I want to learn Bisaya, that’s the thing. I also love to play. So I’m thinking that I can learn Bisaya by singing, and that’s how it started,”  he explains.

Caloy says that his friends speak a lot of Bisaya, and he understands what they are saying. But the young man is still shy about speaking Bisaya himself.

For Caloy, music has always been part of his life. Both his parents are actors, so you can say that everyone in the Kihl family is musically-inclined. His mother now works as a writer, while his father is retired.

Before he came to Cebu, Caloy has travelled the world while working with a show tune group, and even portrayed Slighltly, one of Neverland’s lost boys in a staging of “Peter Pan and the Lost Boys,” abroad.

“Sometimes I get pressure from my parents,”Caloy admits, but don’t we all? “My parents are happy that I’m fine and that I’m doing things I love, though.”

He says that IT work and music are both great careers, since they involve the creation of a lot of different things.

Since his first video, Caloy has had a huge following, often keeping fans happy by posting videos of more Bisaya songs like, “Duyog” by Jewel Villaflores and “Pero Atik Ra”by Jacqueline Chang.

Caloy – who looks up to Swedish band ABBA and international acts like John Mayer, Seal, Stevie Wonder, Elvis Presley, and Michael Buble – is enjoying the opportunities that has come his way since that fateful video.

Recently, Caloy and his friend Jorem Egnario Belasoto joined the latest edition of Vispop—a Bisaya songwriting competition that campaigns for the appreciation and nurturing of Bisaya culture through music. Their song “Gwapo Ko Ugma” [I Am Handsome Tomorrow] is based on a true, and quite funny story about finding your true love. “Gwapo Ko Ugma” is also Caloy’s first attempt at speaking Bisaya, much to the amusement of his friends who had turned the statement into an inside joke way before it became a song.

“The context of the song is that you can’t be on top every day, but there’s always a new day tomorrow,” Caloy explains.

Their song made it to Vispop 5.0’s top 16 short list – a feat that isn’t too bad for a first-timer, let alone a non-Bisaya speaker. The duo also plans to record a music video for “Gwapo Ko Ugma.”

“I’m very happy that I came so far even though it’s my first time to write a song in Bisaya,” Caloy says, unfazed and contented with his current standing.

“I will give Vispop another shot next year, of course,” he says, adding that he thinks the Vispop campaign is a great competition to take part in, even for a foreigner like him.

So far, Caloy has no concrete plans for his budding music career. Recently, he has been performing Thursday nights at Calyx Center in IT Park, and just wants to continue playing and performing for Cebuanos.

The singer also addressed talk about collaborating with Bisaya songwriter, producer, and founder of the Kadasig campaign, Jude Gitamondoc.

“Yes, we talked about it lightly when we met during a Vispop workshop but no progress since then. We’ll see what happens!  Of course it would be an honor to collaborate with such a great songwriter,” he says.

Back home in Sweden, it feels like nothing has happened. Caloy finds his stint in Cebu unprecedented. His knowledge of Filipino culture has significantly increased now, saying that he likes to listen to singer TJ Monterde, and The Ambassadors, among many others.

Cebuanos, notorious for being critical with talent, has been surprisingly easy on Caloy. When asked if he finds Cebuanos a tough crowd to perform for, Caloy says that he’s received so much love from the people since the start of his musical journey in the Philippines.

“So far, the Visayan audience has been very supportive, always pushing me forward with a lot of love, and I’m really happy for all the appreciation,” Caloy reveals, determined to listen to any feedback or request, all the while giving back all of the appreciation he’s received.

“I’ve learned a lot from the people. They’re the most beautiful thing about Cebu.”

Caloy is thankful for the warm welcome, saying that the only grey matter he’s ever encountered is the state of the city’s traffic. But other than that, he’s having a swell time in Cebu.

“I’m over-all very impressed by Filipino artists. It feels like all Filipinos have music in their souls since they were born,” Caloy says, as he gushes about how there are so many amazing singers and songwriters in the country.

He also plans to widen his knowledge and venture into learning other Filipino songs, starting off with those written in Tagalog.

Caloy has a long way to go, but it sure is nice to know that even strangers in the Philippines have so much respect and appreciation for Bisaya culture, something that not all Filipinos, Cebuanos even, can similarly claim.

“I just want to continue playing and recording. If I want to be a Filipino, I might as well learn.”