IT was a night of living and listening to Cebuano music and culture as the five finalists of B-Pop: The Acapella Challenge showcased their talent in singing last Saturday at the J Centre Mall in Mandaue City.
The Sync Singers, Vox Anima Cebu, Technical Department, Premiero and the UP Serenata were the five groups competing in the finals.
The panel of judges was composed of Bisaya musicians Niño Bañares, Jude Gitamondoc, Gani Villarojo, Dennis Sugarol and Roberto del Rosario.
With the entertainment that the songs “I Love You, Langga” by Jerica Teodorico and “Gikumot-kumot” by Kantin brought, Vox Anima Cebu bested all the other groups. The Sync Singers and the Technical Department were adjudged second and the third best, respectively.
Rodolfo Denolan, one of the members of Vox Anima Cebu, was surprised with the result since the group did not expect to bag the title.
“Wala mi ga-expect kay among mga kontra kahibaw mi nga maayo sad gyud sila. Wa mi ga-expect nga ing-ato ang outcome sa amoa (We didn’t expect it because we knew that our competitors were also good. We didn’t expect this outcome),” said Denolan.
The Vox Anima Cebu is composed of 16 members who are part of the choir group in San Roque Church in Mambaling, Cebu City, and San Pedro Calungsod Chapel in the South Road Properties.
With just a month to prepare, the group rehearsed until dawn. That kind of dedication was surely a factor in their win, said Denolan.
He also believed that their bond, as a group, allowed them a successful performance.
“Among edge sa other groups kay among bond sa usa’g usa kay bisan og lain lain mi, naay estudyante, naay nanrabaho, mas gipalabi namo among pagkapamilya (Our edge over the other groups is our bond, because even if we are different—some are students, some are working, but we are family, first and foremost),” Denolan said.
It was also the bond and closeness to each other that made the Sync Singers garner second place.
Being friends since their college days, members of the Sync Singers showed off their chemistry and their performance connected with the audience.
Being part of the UV Chorale before, the way they sang the song “Duyog” by Jewel Villaflores showed off their blending ability. They also sang the BisRock song “Chinita” by Assembly Language.
“It was our first time to hold a mic individually because we usually sing as a choir. It’s a new experience,” said Barret Richards of Sync Singers.
The group highlighted that it only joined the competition because the members missed singing together. Richards said that the group was just having fun and the singers were enjoying the camaraderie.
Just like how the Sync Singers was just having fun with the performance, so did the all-boy group called the Technical Department. The group was named as such because the members were always the ones who were in charge of the technical system since they were in college.
The Technical Department is composed of five members who were college friends.
From the Cebuano song “My Morena Girl” by Hey Joe, the group also explored the oldies but goodies Bisaya songs like “Kinsa Siya” by Luz Loreto and the Bisaya version of “Isang Linggong Pag-ibig” by Imelda Papin, which entertained the oldies in the audience.
Among the other groups, Technical Department was the only group that chose a music piece that was not modern.
“Grabe ang pressure actually kay chorale man ang uban ‘nya contemporary mi (The pressure was great because most did chorale while we did contemporary),” said Christian Cabo of Technical Department.
The group also packaged in its performance the Bisaya culture, from the music style to doing a balak, a Bisaya spoken poetry.
“So amoa gyud gi-incorporate tanan ang Bisaya—not only the song but the culture (We incorporated everything Bisaya—not just the song but also the culture),” Cabo added.
Premiero showcased its acapella entry by singing mixed Bisaya songs such as “Si Felimon,” “Prinsipal,” “Atik Ra” and “HAHAHasula,” and the UP Serenata performed the Bisrock songs “Ang Tigulang” and “Hilot.”
All of the groups found the competition as a great opportunity for them to do more and showcase their talents.
Richards mentioned that the Sync Singers would like to continue what it has started during the competition, and it is planning to do gigs now.
While the Technical Department, said Cabo, would like to join more competitions and is even eyeing the Cebu Pop contest.
Local artists also performed during the competitions: the Maka Girls, Mandaue Nights, Jacky Chang and Swedish national Caloy Juapo.
Paulette Liu, Primary Group of Builders chief operating officer, found the competition really inspiring and she did not expect to see such talents.
“It’s very inspiring. You know, I had goosebumps,” said Liu.
Liu hoped that the competition will be brought in annually since Cebu has a lot of talents that are still undiscovered.
“I would like it to be a tradition. I like heritage... to strengthen the Cebuano culture; so the Cebuano hospitality be known to the world,” Liu added.