On their own: Debut albums vs. ‘The Voice of the Philippines’
“The Voice of the Philippines” season one contestants sang their way through various musical genres to reach the final round. Mitoy Yonting backed by coach Lea Salonga finally won the coveted crown but with tough competition from Myk Perez, Klarisse de Guzman and Janice Javier.
But how do they stack up on their own? Have these recording freshmen nailed the style that best suits their pipes? Let’s check out their albums:
MITOY YONTING
The Voice of the Philippines: Complete Season 1 Collection
Winning edge: Bombast comes naturally to Mitoy. His long experience fronting a covers band, where any excess in the name of a blockbuster performance showmanship is key, was mitigated somehow by being mentored by coach Leah Salonga. It’s his distinctive voice in the service of pop that trumped the competition.
His debut EP collects selected performances during his stint at “The Voice” But a kind of uneasy monotony settles after the 1-2-3 slide of Eva Eugenio’s “Bakit Ako Mahihiya?,” Heart’s “Alone” and “Don’t Stop Me Now.” The music drones more or less along the same pitch, such that even The Beatles’ “Help” loses its pop vitality in Mitoy’s heavy-handed treatment, which can be forgiven because the album is really a hodgepodge of live TV performances.
In short: It’s a nice remembrance of past accomplishments, but it does not fully exploit what Yonting can still do with his marvelous voice. An album of fresh material should clear up whether his boom is a tool of mass hysteria, or just a flash in the pan.
Similar artists: Hudas, Aegis, Jovit Baldivino
MYK PEREZ
My Acoustic
Winning edge: Myk made a cameo in acoustic queen Sabrina’s latest album, putting an R&B touch to a cover of Ariana Grande’s “Almost Is Never Enough.”
On his own debut album, Myk goes for the acoustic brass ring by putting out the princely flip to Sabrina’s royal standing. The economics is on Myk’s side since Sabrina is a hot-selling acoustic lounge artist in Southeast Asia.
On his first recording, Myk Perez also attempts to sound eclectic in his choice of covers and re-interpretation of other people’s songs. He sweetly croons the blues (featuring Krissy Villongco) in Taylor Swift’s “Two Is Better than One,” does a respectable job downtuning the EDM screech of Zedd’s “Clarity” and fires up the R&B in a reggaefied rewrite of “Baby, I Love Your Way.”
Myk stumbles, though, in his plain reading of The Commodores’ “Easy” and Adele’s “Chasing Pavement.”
In short: Myk’s got the acoustic thing down, one that’s more virile than Paolo Santos and less shrill than Jimmy Bondoc.
Similar Artists: Jimmy Bondoc, Paolo Santos
PAOLO ONESA
Pop Goes Standard
Winning edge: Paolo Onesa taps into the pop-jazz vein that has become a bonanza since Michael Buble fancied he had an inner Sinatra. Onesa tries to put a spin on his own inner Buble and the overall result is a third-generation hand me down from Ol’ Blue Eyes targeted at young people who hardly knew the Chairman of the Board.
Granted, Paolo has an agreeable voice which fits the pop-jazz mold. The song selection, however, is the stuff of probably a thousand pop-jazzing wannabes. What else is there to squeeze emotionally from Joe Cocker’s “You Are So Beautiful” or Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love”?
On the other hand, there’s something delightfully different on his take on “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” or Rivermaya’s “Elesi."
That said, it’s perhaps cool if his next project finds him finger snapping to a new wave song or even a punk rocker with killer hooks.
In short: It’s cool to take the well-traversed road though a little dalliance with the wild side could lead to happy returns. Take chances.
Similar artists: Christian Bautista, Richard Poon
