THE list of nominees for the Cebu Siloy Music Awards III wasn’t published two weeks ago because of the lack of space. So this time around, I’ll be brief. We will break these into two parts (today and next week), mentioning all the nominees and expounding only on the winners for each of the categories.
Best Song (for composer): “Aurora Sunrise” performed by Franco-Franco Reyes; “Be Mine” performed by Intertwined-Amanda Gabucan and Henrick James Pestano; “Bisaya” performed by Gerlyn Abano and Johnel Bucog–Bryan Balucan; “Buwan” performed by juan karlos–Juan Karlos Labajo; “First Kiss” performed by Mandaue Nights–Karl Lucente and Gino Rosales; “O” performed by Raphiel Shannon–Jerika Teodorico; “Way ‘Blema” performed by Wonggoys–Gabriel Keith Wong, William Wong, Jr. and Kyle Miguel Wong.
Winner: “Buwan” by Juan Karlos Labajo. Labajo who hails from Consolacion has written a tune that has become the new sing-along anthem among Filipinos. What is most amazing is that the song has garnered more than 110 million views in Youtube and still growing.
Not only does “Buwan” have the perfect pop music hook, it has established a genre of its own, that of “kundiman rock.” At 18 years old, Labajo may just be the face of Original Pilipino Music in years to come, and I hope one day he writes Bisaya songs as well.
Best Vocal Performance, Male: Ferdinand Aragon, “Nagabarog”; Franco Reyes, “Aurora Sunrise”; Geed Manfred Suaybaguio, “Gugmay’ng Way Libog”; Jeff Escarda, “Naghuwat”; Juan Karlos Labajo, “Buwan”; Myles Ng, “If It’s Love”; Vincent Eco, “Kiss and Disappear”
Winner: Juan Karlos Labajo takes this category hands down. His rendition of “Buwan” is cool, soulful and yeah, powerful. He does not imitate anyone. It usually takes time for an artist to find one’s voice, and amazingly, he has found his at such a young age.
Best Vocal Performance, Female: Gerlyn Abano “Forever Na Mi”; Jacky Chang, “Uli Na Diri”; Jewel Villaflores, “Taytayan”; Karencitta, “No Apology”; Malaya Macaraeg, “Baga Ka’g Face”; Raphiel Shannon, “O”; Winset Jacot, “Kalipay.”
Winner: Jewel Villaflores. Together with her brother Joe, Jewel wrote the first Vispop grand prize winner, “Duyog” in 2013. That was no fluke as attested by her 2018 album, “Bahandi,” which is a treasure collection of modern Bisaya music materials.
“Taytayan,” which is the carrier single of the album, is a gem of a song, thanks to the distinctive husky voice of Villaflores. She delivers the lines so effortlessly, yet captures the emotive essence of the song.
(Next week: Complete nominees and winners in the following categories: Best Vocal Performance, Duo or Group; Best Rock/Reggae Performance; and Breakthrough Artist) (Part 1)