Philpop 2018 reveals finalists

As stated in the new rules of the revamped Philpop songwriting competition, the 30 semi-finalists that we recently had the chance to enjoy on the radio or in various social media platforms will be trimmed down further to come up with the 10 song finalists. 

And so this announcement, which was either good news or bad news depending on which side of the fence you ended up in, was finally revealed on Oct. 18 during a special Philpop portion of the Pinoy Playlist Music Festival that was held at the BGC Arts Center of the Bonifacio Global City. 

The road to the grand prize has now gotten a lot shorter for the 10 lucky songs and here now in no particular order are the finalists of Philpop 2018:

Julian Trono

Pilipit (Paano Sasabihing Mahal Kita), a bouncy love song by Sean Gabriel Cedro and John Ray Reodique of Antipolo City, performed by young pop idol Julian Trono; Tama Na, a power ballad by Michael Rodriguez and Jeanne Columbine Rodriguez of Makati City, performed by the hot Suklay Diva Katrina Velarde.  

Yun Tayo by Donnalyn Onilongo performed by Eunice Jorge of the big-selling female band Gracenote; Loco De Amor!, a hilarious pun on Spanish as spoken by Pinoys by Edgardo Miraflor Jr. of Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, performed by the innovative BennyBunnyBand; Kariton, a commentary on life on a push cart by Philip Arvin Jarilla of Antipolo City, Rizal, performed by the internationally-renowned award-winning a cappella quintet Acapellago.

The old maid’s lament Laon Ako by Elmar Jan Bolano and Donel Transporto of Tigbauan, Iloilo performed by fast-rising comedienne Cacai Bautista; the sweet love song Di Ko Man written and performed by Ferdinand Aragon of Cebu City, Cebu; Nanay Tatay, an amusing take on an old Filipino nursery song, written and performed by Teodoro Festejo III of Davao City, Davao del Sur.

Katrina Velarde

The R&B duet Ako Ako by Jeriko Buenafe of Taguig, NCR performed by the band Feel Day featuring indie star Hans Dimayuga; and the ballad Isang Gabing Pag-ibig by Carlo Angelo David performed by Tawag ng Tanghalan discovery Jex de Castro.

These songs where chosen through the following criteria: 50 percent by judges’ screening, 25 percent by tallies on online streaming, the lyric videos on YouTube and the recording on Spotify, and 25 percent by the Smart People Choice Award by voting through SMS and through Twitter’s conversational ad. These songs will now move on to the next step. 

Which one of them will be considered or voted the best among the Top 10 finalists will be revealed in the Philpop grand finals show on Dec. 2. This will feature the appearance of past Philpop winners like Itchyworms for Di Na Muli; Thyro and Yumi for Trianggulo; and Ben & Ben, Natatangi. Log on to www.philpop.com.ph for more details.

Acapellago

As in the past, the first prize winner will get P1M; the second prize winner will get P500,000; and the third prize winner will receive P250,000. That is not all. So keep watch for the announcement of other prizes, which will hopefully including the much-coveted Best Music Video award.

As for the rest of the songs that made it to the Top 30, but not to the Top 10, this announcement does not mean the end of the road. These songs, fresh, new and very vital are now available for everybody to play and listen to. They will be for all time and with constantly changing trends might one day find themselves, big hits. 

There is also the chance that these songs may also be used for commercials, TV shows, movie soundtracks, cover versions by other artists and so many other possibilities. The need for music nowadays is at an all-time high worldwide and Philpop has songs that might meet that need.