PHILPOP 2013 winners Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana ARNOLD ALMACEN
Reflecting on the results of the second Philippine Popular Music Festival (PhilPop) songwriting competition concluded in July, executive director Ryan Cayabyab said he might have discovered a better, and surprisingly simple, formula to find a possible hit.
The criteria of the first PhilPop emphasized sound, lyrics quality and commercial appeal. The tilt’s second edition focused on one thing: connection.
Cayabyab told the Inquirer: “No one can really say what makes a hit song. We [at PhilPop] have realized that we’re better off judging a song by how it connects and affects the listeners. And that’s it!”
True enough, the winning entry of PhilPop 2013, Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana’s “Dati,” has so far gotten more FM radio airplay than its predecessor, “Bawat Hakbang” by Karl Villuga.
Interpreted by young singer-actors Sam Concepcion and Tippy dos Santos, the late 1990s-vibed pop-R&B tune’s music videos uploaded to YouTube have collectively notched about 12 million hits.
Cayabyab said that he was retaining the no-nonsense criteria for PhilPop 2014, which is accepting entries until Feb. 28, 2014.
The contest is open to all amateur and professional songwriters of Filipino descent, including those residing abroad. Entries should be original compositions, in any genre or style, and written in Filipino, a Philippine regional language or dialect or English. They shouldn’t be licensed to any publisher, have not been distributed as hard copy or via the Internet; or performed live in any venue or medium.
Cayabyab said that they were courting record labels such as Star Records, Viva Records and MCA to allow their artists to interpret songs for PhilPop 2014.
“We need recognizable names to interpret the entries—to attract more listeners and televiewers (for the grand finals). That’s how it works,” Cayabyab explained. “PhilPop is not a network or a recording company; it’s an undertaking for the benefit of the local music industry. I hope to get more singers to participate.”
For more information, or to submit entries, log on to www.philpop.com.ph. Allan Policarpio