I bought mine the day it came out, which was the day of our technical rehearsals at PICC, one day before Finals Night. I couldn't wait to hear what songs I was up against. I'll admit I felt my chances of winning slipping away. LOL! All the songs were well written and well produced. I was so impressed with my competition! 14 good songs and only 3 winners. Having had the experience of screening songs and judging in other contests, I can be really objective and not be influenced by knowing who wrote the songs. And there were at least 6 songs other than mine that I would pick out to fill those 3 winning slots. Not a good feeling to have the day before the competition! But boy did I feel proud to be part of such a collection of new songs.
Let me say a little something about each song in the album. 3am by Keiko Necesario. 1 of only 2 English songs in the album, written by the only other female composer in the competition. Fresh, radio-friendly, current, easy on the ears and very honest. Bawa't Hakbang by Karl Villuga. Beautiful message coming from a sincere place, simple but effective arrangement by Arnold Buena, it soared at the right moment. Early on I told Karl "Afraid ako sa kanta mo." I thought it could win and I was right. Bigtime by me! Mel Villena did a fabulous job arranging this for me and I had the best vocalists (Baihana) and cream of the crop jazz musicians from the AMP Big Band record for me. A dream come true to have this under my belt now. Brown by James Leyte. Loved that it had a story/scenario that was painted clearly. Great vocals by the composer himself and wonderful reggae performance by Brownman Revival. Dulo Ng Dila by Noah Zuñiga. Well-written song that I love singing along to, and vocalists Jay R and Deejay Poblete sang so well without oversinging, I loved the stylizing they did. Clear message, great lines, one of my faves in the album. Himig Ng Panahon by Thyro Alfaro. Thyro's the youngest contestant at age 20. I thought the lyrics were very skillfully written, lots of internal rhyming, which is hard to do. Catchy melody too, great singing and harmonies. This was another song I thought could win. Kesa by Edwin Marollano. Definitely a favorite of mine from the collection. Loved the feel and groove of the song, and this Daniel Gorospe guy can really sing and put in all sorts of emotions. I love the song's positive message (and I find myself singing it to myself when having a bad day), love the production, love it, love it! If I had been one of the judges, this would have been one of my winners. Kontrabida by Soc Villanueva. Listening to the first couple of minutes of the song for the first time, I thought the song was nice at best. Well crafted, as Soc's songs always are, but so-so in appeal because I couldn't see yet where the song was going. And then I heard the bridge. "Ako ang dating bida sa puso mo/ Dahil sa pesteng bagong bida, ako ngayon ang kontrabida." Oh. My. God. "Walanghiya ka, Soc!" I told him shortly before the announcement of winners. Brilliant twist there. He deserved to win. Minsa'y Isang Bansa by Gary Granada. Well, it's Gary Granada so how can you go wrong? The guy is a genius! I must say there are other Gary G works I like better ("Saranggola Sa Ulan" is my favorite), but I love the chord progression of this song and of course the words were well-written - another Gary G masterpiece. Negastar by Mike Villegas. The first time I heard the song in full was at band rehearsals and I just had to applaud. Loved Cathy Go's raspy vocals and told Mike I loved the song's modulation. "Huwag kang Negastar" - definitely a line we'd all find ourselves telling certain people we know. Right? Piso by Krist Melecio. One of the songs with the strongest hooks. I was already singing the chorus after our Press Conference in June! I love the heavy world music drums. Joey Ayala was perfect for the song - you would think he might have written it himself. Slowdancing by Kennard Faraon. Perhaps rather simple sounding to a not-so-trained ear but I actually loved the chord progression used. It's not the usual 4 chords people pick out to loop for a song like this. Takusa by Byron Ricamara. First time I heard just the chorus at the presscon it made me laugh. And then I listened to the song in full for the first time when I bought the CD and found myself laughing again. Tayo-Tayo Lang by Toto Sorioso. I first met Toto about 12 years ago. He was a fellow finalist for Himig Handog Sa Bayaning Pilipino in 2000. Toto was a newbie then, but since that time he's won the Grand Prize in the FILSCAP songwriting contest and now 2nd Prize for PhilPop. Don't let his shy and can't-hurt-a-fly demeanor fool you. He's a force to reckon with! A great performer too! And what a song. Inspired by his experience of lonely gigs where practically everyone has already left. Beautiful song, heartfelt singing by Ebe Dancel, wonderful arrangement and production. Listen to a sampler of the whole album here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=4044938434233 The album is available in Odyssey and Astro stores. You can also purchase online here: http://www.mymusicstore.com.ph/album/baihana/1019833/Philippine_Popular_Music_Festival_2012:_The_Fourteen_Finalists.html Buy a copy now and please help support OPM. This album's worth your money, I promise.
6 Comments
Mike Villegas
8/15/2012 07:55:24 pm
Thank you, Trina! I can't believe it's been a month since the finals!
Reply
Soc Villanueva
8/15/2012 08:05:19 pm
Trina my dear!:) Thanks for the nice write-up, it is so special lalo na coming from you and truly an honor. I am so "grabeciously" elated by your observations, mismong-mismo yun at di ko talaga pwedeng tapusin without resolving the issue sa bridge, bitin ang intriga haha! The song was a gift from God at ang hirap mag move on!:) Sabi nga, you are only as good as your last song so the challenge to create another is a bit daunting.:)
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6/23/2013 11:27:19 am
ang ganda tlga nang mga bagong song nyo ^^
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Katherine Rose
7/6/2014 07:08:57 pm
It's so nice! Himig ng Panahon was our song in our dance number and they all love it! :)
Reply
Kenji de los Reyes
7/6/2014 07:10:03 pm
Ganda ng mga kanta!
Reply
Athena Dizon
7/6/2014 07:11:17 pm
KENJI?!
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My name is Trina Belamide and I'm a songwriter and record producer.
GreatSongsToSing is my online store and I thank you for dropping by! Do comment on my blog posts. I'd love to hear from you! Learn more about me on www.trinabelamide.com. Archives
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