Philpop challenges newbies to beat veteran songwriters
When veteran tunesmith Jungee Marcelo won the grand prize for last year’s Philpop Music Festival, some critics were disappointed that someone of his stature should take home the plum.
One professional songwriter who asked not to be named suggested that Philpop should have a separate category for veterans like Jungee or, better, discourage them from joining future contests to give “others” a chance.
The “others,” of course, are those who have not won in songwriting contests, or newbies, or those who work in music in anonymity.
Quality matters
Philpop Executive Director Ryan Cayabyab, in a recent chat with Yahoo Philippines, simply found the idea odd.
“I don’t know if that can work. Not allowing or discouraging them to join may affect the competition in a negative way. The veterans win in songwriting contests not because they’re veterans, but because their compositions are great. The challenge is for the others to come up with something greater. This is open for everyone, professionals and amateurs alike,” he shared.
The message is clear for newbies and less-known songwriters: beat the veterans, beat the best.
Experiment
Philpop 2015 is now accepting entries for this year’s challenge, with the deadline of submissions on February 28.
If there is one piece of advice Cayabyab or Mr. C, as he is fondly known, can offer the hopefuls, it’s for them to embrace innovation. “We encourage experimentation in Philpop,” he said. “The goal is to open the door for refreshing, meaningful new music to find a larger audience”.
Marcelo himself beat other 11 finalists with his inspirational piece “Salbabida,” interpreted by Kyla. The previous year, he placed second with his composition “Pansamantagal” performed by Sitti.
Interestingly, Philpop’s top prize of the past two years went to relatively new songwriters, with Karl Villuga winning for “Bawat Hakbang” in 2012 and the duo of Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana bringing home the bacon in 2013 with “Dati.”
Jungee’s gang
Apart from Marcelo, perennial winners and finalists in the competition include Toto Sorioso, who was first runner-up in Philpop twice and had two entries in the Final 12 last year; Soc Villanueva, who was 2nd runner-up in 2012; and Gary Granada and Trina Belamide (both finalists in 2012), among others.
Said Marcelo in a past interview, “You never stop learning and challenging yourself.”
Philipop managing director Patricia Hizon is optimistic this year proves to be “even more exciting… as we continue to elevate Philippine popular music for the world to hear.”
Strictly new stuff
The rules for Philpop 2015 are clear: each songwriter may submit two original compositions, with every entry ensured to have “not been previously submitted to any other songwriting competition or made available to the public in any form.”
The songs are shortlisted via a kind of “blind audition,” where the identities of the composers are withheld from a judging panel until their songs make it as finalist. Thousands submit their entries each year to become a finalist and hopefully, win it all.
Philpop chooses the interpreters for the 12 songs that will be selected for the finals night.
For full mechanics and other information, visit the Philpop 2015 website.
