My thoughts on 4th Power
The one major advantage I see that 4th Power have over all the other groups they have been competing against in the “X Factor UK” is that their performances are polished. That means the articulation, coordination and discipline they exhibit onstage at the reality talent search show are at a master level.
To the uninformed, 4th Power do come off as signed recording artists because of the excellent vocal harmonies the four sisters—Almira, Irene, Mylene and Celina Cercado—have and the way they have mastered the balancing of vocal duties among them are truly praiseworthy.
These two important aspects of singing as a pop quartet cannot be learned and accomplished overnight without their having invested many, many hours of practice into it.
On another note, with the continued presence since the early 2000’s of Filipino talents showcasing their musical skills in almost every syndicated and broadcasted international reality talent search show located in different parts of the world, this has definitely planted in the back of the minds of the producers that Filipinos are worth keeping an eye out for during the screening process even before such time they are given that rare chance to appear live on the show.
It is a virtual guarantee that Filipino talents featured do help increase viewership for the show which results in its ratings to climb per episode aired.
While this growing positive opinion of our Filipino talents is surely an advantage for them, this should not make our Filipino hopefuls rest on mere recognition of their musical capabilities, but this should serve as an incentive for them to aspire for more in showcasing what they’ve got!
Which leads me to this: On the other hand, sometimes the tendency is that some of the other hopefuls who join reality talent search shows appear “green,” meaning they are not fully ready and as a result give sub-par or plain awful performances. Naturally, they would get “chewed up” and harshly criticized by the judges or coaches depending on which reality talent search show they are joining.
For the most part, though, this has not been the case for most of our Filipino hopefuls in the last few years. This is especially true for 4th Power. That is why they have been lauded by the judges as well as by fans of the show and people from across the globe because they are that good.
Another point that must be touched upon is this. It is not only because 4th Power are Filipinos that they are being rooted by almost everyone as some cynics would have it without them giving much thought to understand what they are watching without letting envy rear its ugly head once more to cloud their judgement. The praises that 4th Power have been receiving from the judges have nothing to do with the fact that they are Filipinos. It is borderline racist how some of the nasty and baseless comments are that I have been reading online about this group. Somebody has to finally say that, and I am saying it.
Now, what ideally should the career direction that 4th Power take whether they become the overall winners or not of the current season of the X Factor UK? After their run in the X Factor UK will have been over and should they decide to come home or even just take a vacation here in the Philippines, I honestly do not think their appearing in a few popular TV shows and guesting in a handful of FM radio stations and doing select mall shows will do much for them in the long term.
In my opinion, if they could eventually land a record deal sooner than later, this would surely be beneficial for them career-wise and it would somehow give them some security in terms that there will be a guaranteed outlet for their musical talents.
As has happened many times in the past, most of these stand-out Filipino talents who do not land a record deal are forgotten over time even with social media out there.
When the time comes again that another international sensation of Filipino origin makes an impact in any of these reality talent search shows, the tendency is that the previous one is quickly forgotten and full attention and support is now given to the current and trending one who is making a splash internationally. That is how fast the turnover is these years. This is the kind of reality we live in now.
There is a probable chance 4th Power can dodge this if they act quickly to take the appropriate steps in securing the future of their music careers even before this window of opportunity closes on them.
4th Power has to look at the long term side of things, and apply the same dogged determination as they obviously had done when they practiced and trained for years to become singers even before they got that rare and golden opportunity appear in an international and syndicated show such as the “X Factor UK”!
In the course of time, the popularity of 4th Power will eventually dwindle and diminish since that is a natural occurrence as a result, again, of people having a fleeting attention span–and it always goes back to that as the root of the problem—why achieving longevity is a difficult thing to attain. That is why so many young and promising local and foreign artists fall by the wayside.
When that inevitably happens to 4th Power, at least, they were able to put their foot in the door already and they should try to keep it there. That door has been opened for them because of their impressive performances in the “X Factor UK,” which have raised their stock to an all-time high, as also have been a highly credible validation of their musical talents to any record producer, label head, A&R executive, concert promoter, etc.
Now, it is up to 4th Power to use these to their own advantage and make smart choices.
Then, they have a certain future.
