Philippine qualifiers put own twist on Eurovision

Star Music Creative Director Jonathan Manalo told composers interested in submitting songs for the Philippine qualifier of the inaugural Eurovision Song Contest Asia to watch the Eurovision shows from the past five years to get an idea of what the competition is all about. But he stressed that they should not simply imitate what they hear or see.

“The important thing is that we shouldn’t copy them. We should put our Filipino twist to it,” Manalo said during an August 17 livestreamed press conference. “We are guided by Eurovision’s distinct flavor, but we have to put our own flavor to it — What is our interpretation [of a Eurovision song] as Filipino musicians?”

Manalo is one of the core members of Team Philippines for Eurovision Asia, with ABS-CBN serving as one of the competition’s official broadcasters. The grand finals will take place on November 14 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Manalo revealed that Vice Ganda will host the Philippine qualifier, which will be broadcast live on Aug. 30 at 9:45 p.m. on ALLTV2, A2Z, Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live, TFC, and iWant. It will also be streamed on Eurovision’s YouTube channel for international viewers.

Ten songs will be performed during the Aug. 30 qualifier, with all the entries now available to stream in full on digital platforms as part of the album “Pili, Pinas - Philippine Selection Night,” released by Star Music.

Manalo shared that the voting criteria will consist of 40 percent from the jury, 40 percent from domestic votes, and 20 percent from votes from the rest of the world. Voting will begin during the show through QR codes flashed on screen and will end before the program concludes, when the Philippines’ representative to the grand final will be announced.

For Angelo Gonzales, who composed and produced one of the entries, “Broken Beyond Repair,” with Arnold Buena, having his song compete in Eurovision Asia is a dream come true, as he is a huge Eurovision fan.

“What I did with my co-producer in this song is to enforce our Filipino identity,” he said. “Our specialties as Filipinos are our ballads, so we want to make it super bombastic, and we wanted to make it feel like this song is representative of our Filipino identity where people know us for our ‘birit’ (high notes), and we brought that with our song.”

Featuring an orchestral production, “Broken Beyond Repair” is a power ballad about someone holding on to feelings for a person who has already moved on. As the song’s interpreter, SAGA wanted to honor the composer’s intended meaning while also putting his own experiences into the performance.

Eurovision fans online noticed that “Broken Beyond Repair” is reminiscent of other power ballads performed in the main contest, such as “Rise Like a Phoenix” by Conchita Wurst, who represented Austria in 2014 and won the contest that year.

Another favorite among Eurovision circles is “Sobra Sobra,” performed by “Tawag ng Tanghalan School Showdown” winner and former “Pinoy Big Brother” housemate Carmelle Collado. The song was composed by Nica Del Rosario and Mat Olavides, who also serves as its producer.

Even before the full song was released, the female empowerment anthem was already generating buzz among Eurovision viewers based on its snippet, which was reminiscent of recent Eurovision winner “Bangaranga” by Hungarian artist DARA.

“In the Philippines, the ideal woman is submissive and obedient. This song is giving women their power back so they can be whatever they want to be,” explained Del Rosario, known for penning Sarah Geronimo’s hit “Tala.”

Another entry that stood out was “Make It Exist,” performed by P-pop boy group AJAA. The song was composed by Angelo Calucin with Gabriel Tagadtad serving as producer.

Laced with budots-inspired production, the group wanted to introduce the genre to Eurovision’s global audience. Calucin said the song’s melodies came to him in a dream, and he saw the entry as an opportunity to encourage others to maximize their creativity whenever possible.

Girl group VVINK is another P-pop group joining the qualifier, alongside WRIVE member Russu, with their entry “Round ‘n Round.” The song was composed by John Michael Conchada and Julius James De Belen, with the latter producing the track under the stage name Bojam.

Conchada drew inspiration from his love of science-fiction films, explaining, “What if love isn't just butterflies, what if it’s just as vast as the universe? Sometimes, it feels like there’s no gravity when you are so infatuated.”

P-pop trio DNA, the nieces of Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, are the interpreters of “Between Bituin,” composed by Jungee Marcelo, who also produced the song with Thryo Alfano. The track is a power anthem that celebrates new beginnings and encourages listeners to keep dreaming.

“Cheri(e),” another entry, was conceived as far back as 2017, when late actress Cherie Gil commissioned Nar Cabico to write a song that she was supposed to perform before her passing. It is about her frustration over being mistakenly called “Cheri” when people asked to take selfies with her.

“She wanted to remind people that her name is Cherie. So I took that and found out that her name also means love in French, which is a term of endearment,” said Cabico, who is also interpreting the song alongside Elha Nympha, Esang De Torres and Lance Reblando.

Cabico said the song remained on his laptop following Gil’s passing. When he joined Star Music last March, he submitted the song to Manalo and made the necessary adjustments, including shortening it to three minutes to comply with Eurovision rules.

“It’s a self-empowerment song of how important it is when people say your name; it has to be done right,” he explained. “It’s also biblical in a sense that our parents give our names, so we have to honor them as well.”

Khimo stands out with his entry “Reason to Live,” composed by Stephen Tan and produced by Raiza Chabeldin, with his Bruno Mars-esque vocal delivery. Tan was inspired to write the song after his wife became pregnant, giving him a renewed sense of purpose and a stronger will to live.

Songwriter Jason Marvin is also participating as a composer with his entry “Di Yan (Red Flag),” performed by Cebuano singer Jason Dy with Sassa Dagdag as his partner.

Marvin was inspired to write the song while he was in El Nido, after a friend shared in their group chat about a guy whom Marvin and their other friends felt was a red flag for their friend. “As friends, we can tell. But for those who are in love, they won’t see them,” he explained.

Since he was in El Nido at the time, Marvin wanted the song to draw from Latin music and Afrobeat, incorporating an island-inspired production.

“Good For You,” sung by “Idol Philippines” season 2 second runner-up Ryssi Avilla, was composed by Hazel Faith and produced by Brian Cua.

Faith drew inspiration from her experience of having to unlearn toxic behaviors she developed from previous toxic relationships.

Lastly, “Mapadama,” performed by the JMielle duo of JM Dela Cerna and Cebuana Marielle Montellano, completes the 10-song lineup. The pop-jazz song was composed by Jungee Marcelo and Jeremy G. and produced by Kiko “KIKX” Salazar.

Both the interpreters and composers said the lineup reflects the diverse palette of Filipino musical tastes and talents that they believe have global appeal for a Eurovision contest.

Cabico believes the songs can have a life beyond Eurovision, saying, “What struck me after hearing these songs is that they can stand on their own. They will find their own audiences because that’s how solid these entries are. It would be a privilege if I were to lose to any of these songs.”