The Philpop 2014 finalists

The Philippine Pop Music Festival or Philpop is now on its third year, but a song of the same impact as previous competition discoveries Anak or Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika still has to emerge from among the winners and finalists of the past two years. Still, it is great to know that enthusiam about the contest remains at an all-time high. During these trying times for the music industry, Philpop is the best chance there is, for a song to be recorded and heard by many.

The organizers show no let-up in their efforts to find tomorrow’s classics while our songwriters are ever ready to compete through their works with one eye on the hit charts and another on the P1M grand prize. And one of them will definitely be richer by a million bucks after the winner of Philpop 2014 is proclaimed at the finals night on July 26 at the Meralco Theater.

If you will take a look at the list of finalists, you will notice several familiar names. These are popular figures in the music industry whose entries also made it to the final 12 of the two previous Philpop competitions. There are also two finalists who placed with two entries each, Ronaldo Sorioso and Isaac Joseph Garcia. This result has drawn criticism from some people. Bakit pwede ang dalawa? Sila-sila na lang ba? Why not give a chance to others?

First off, the disqualification rules I know of at Philpop are, if it can be proved that the entry was plagiarized, that means composed by somebody other than the entrant, or had previously been recorded and performed in public. There is no rule against returning winners. Anybody can join although they are all limited to only two entries.

Take note of that. Composers can send in two entries each. Therefore, it follows that both songs have the chance to be in the finals. Besides, I do not think that the “give a chance to others” belief should be applied to an art contest. It would be so unfair to deprive somebody of the chance to compete just because he has two works judged to be better than the others.

Besides, this can also mean allowing a lesser, mediocre work into the magic circle. I do not think anybody wants that. So, I am really glad that the songs of Sorioso and Garcia are in the finals. Nobody deserves to be punished for being good or better more times than the others. But are they?

It is very easy to judge songs based on the technical aspects. That means musical structure and grammar. But that only leaves you with a well-made song. This is why I like what Maestro Ryan Cayabyab has kept reminding Philpop adjudicators these past three years: Look for the song that touches you. Being able to touch listeners is the quality inherent in every song that became a hit, survived the ages and became a classic. We will soon know if any of these songs will touch anybody.

And the Philpop 2014 contenders are:

NGSB (No Girlfriend Since Break) by singer/songwriter Davey Langit who is the guy behind the big hit, Selfie Song. He has scored several indie films and his songs have been recorded by Yeng Constantino, Princess Velasco and others.

The Only One by Venelyn San Pedro. She is also known as Popsie and is the daughter of hitmaker, Vehnee Saturno. She works as an operations and systems support officer for a TV network. This is her first time at Philpop although she has already written many recorded songs by various artists.

Awit Mo’y Nandito Pa by the multi-talented singer, composer and arranger Sorioso. He was the first runner-up in Philpop 2012 with Tayo Tayo Lang and he has two entries in the finals this year.

Torpe by Daryl Ong, who is the lead singer of the group Voices of 5. This is only his third composition and it is all about himself.

Babalikan Mo Rin Ako by Soc Villanueva, veteran hitmaker and competition winner, Kung Ako Na Lang Sana and Philpop 2012 second runner-up for Kontrabida worked for a year on his entry.

Song On A Broken String by Jude Gitamondoc and Therese Marie Villarante, who are Cebu-based songwriters and first-time Philpop finalists. Jude has written songs for many popular artists while Therese Marie is an award-winning poet.

Salbabida by Jungee Marcelo, a recording industry veteran with numerous hits to his credit. He placed second in Philpop 2013. His entry is about having a Savior and a lifeline.

Dear Heart by Mike Villegas, who is a former member of the legendary band, Rizal Underground. His song Negastar was a finalist in the first Philpop.

Hangout Lang by Allan Feliciano and Isaac Joseph Garcia, who are accomplished writers and arrangers of advertising jingles. They composed their song in just half an hour. Garcia co-wrote two songs that made it to this year’s roster of finalists.

Qrush On You by Qyork’s James Palma a.k.a. Flava Matikz and Cedric Knowa Lazarus, who are Pinoys whose group QYork got formed in New York, moved to L.A. and now make music for Filipinos. Their entry was inspired by their married lives.

Kung Akin Ang Langit by newscaster Cecilia Bocobo and composer-arranger Isaac Joseph Garcia. The inspiration for this song was Cecilia’s four-year-old son, Sancho who was born with a genetic condition called spinal muscle atrophy. She hopes that with Philpop, she would be able to create awareness about his condition.

And Langit Umaawit also by Sorioso.