FAILING to notch a spot in last year’s competition, a capella group Primiero had its big comeback as it bagged the championship during the finals night of “B-Pop: The A Capella Challenge 2019” at the Sky Hall of SM Seaside City Cebu last Nov. 9.
One of the trainers of the group, Sheeny Viason, said that the win was unexpected. She admitted that the group was not after the cash prize but was aiming to be part of the album, which is one of the prizes of the competition. Finalists are given record deals for a Christmas album to be released during the finals night through Spotify, Deezer and YouTube.
The group joined the first “B-Pop: The A Capella Challenge” last year but unfortunately did not make it to the finals.
“All of the hard work of the members, the togetherness of the group, and the love for music are the reasons behind our success. We wanted to venture out to a new genre which is Bisaya pop a capella, so we decided to join the competition,” said Sheeny.
Despite the limited time it had for practices due to its members’ personal endeavors, the group sacrificed weekends to meet. Its members believed that their performances during events greatly help them in their training.
The group name “Primiero” was spontaneously created when the group went on a road trip and saw the driver turned the car into “first gear.”
Primiero performed the Bisaya Christmas hit-song, “Kasadya” and mashed it up with “Liver Tango.” Its synchronization and choreography wowed not just the audiences but as well as the judges leading to its triumph.
The group received P50,000 in cash and a recording contract worth P50,000. Other finalists were: The Basics who placed first runner-up and received P30,000 and a trophy, The Arkapella placed second runner-up and received P20,000 and a trophy.
“Hopefully, we could join international competitions since there are really a lot of a capella competitions overseas such as in Singapore. It’s also our way to raise the banner of the Cebuano pride and Filipino pride,” said Sheeny.
The winning group last year, Vox Anima, opened the competition performing its winning piece “Gikumot-kumot” by Kantin.
Notable Cebuano artists were also present during the night and entertained the crowd with their original compositions: Wonggoys with hit “Way Blema,” Melody Hodgson with “Hahay,” and Jerika Teodorico with “Love you, Langga.”
B-Pop was able to raise around P600,000 for its second run. The proceeds of B-Pop will to the School of Knowledge for Industrial Labor, Leadership and Service (Skills). B-Pop not only helps the scholars of PSEFI-Skills Foundation but also lifts the banner of Cebuano talents.