By Ricky Calderon
THE music partnership of Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana emerged triumphant again, winning the grand prize in the Fourth Philippine Pop Music Festival, or simply Philpop 2015, for their song “Triangulo.” The grand finals was held on July 25 at the Meralco Theater.
The two received the coveted Ramon Orlina trophy, together with balladeer Jeric Medina, who interpreted the award-winning song with them. The song is about a woman torn between two lovers—her current boyfriend and her ex who is trying to win her back.
Two years ago, Thyro and Yumi also won the top Philpop prize for the song “Dati,” which was interpreted by Sam Concepcion and Tippy Dos Santos. Thyro and Yumi went home richer by P1 million.
DJ-cum-singer/songwriter Davey Langit was the first runner-up for his song “Paratingin Mo Na Siya,” which he described as some sort of prayer not just for a romance but also for one’s wishes in life. He interpreted his own composition which won the nod from the board of judges that included composer-musical director-arranger Louie Ocampo, director Paulo Valenciano, The Dawn soloist Jett Pangan, Karylle and Kris Lawrence, among others.
The second runner-up honors went to Mark Villar’s composition “Sa Ibang Mundo,” interpreted by Nadine Lustre and Kean Cipriano. He won P250,000.
Yumi was in tears when she talked to the media following their big win. She said they were not expecting a repeat and submitted only one entry. “We’re so overwhelmed. We did not expect to win. We just submitted an entry to show our support for OPM. Earlier, we were asked if we felt pressured given that we won the competition in 2013, and we said that we’re happy enough just to be part of the competition, and that winning would be a bonus,” Yumi said.
For his part, Thyro said they won’t be joining Philpop for the next five years. They want to savor the victory. When asked what makes this victory different, he said, “It’s like winning an NBA finals but you were up against the former champion and you won. It feels great.”
Thyro and Yumi are encouraging other songwriters to submit entries for the next Philpop. “Every competition is a new challenge, because you can never know what song will appeal to the judges. Every competition brings you back to zero, back to square one,” Thyro said.
For the first time in the four-year history of Philpop, an award was given for the Best Music Video among the 12 finalists. This went to Johann Garcia’s “Edge of the World,” which was interpreted by Josh Padilla and Yassi Pressman. Nadine and Kean earned the People’s Choice Award for their performance in the video for “Sa Ibang Mundo.”
Mark Bautista and Bela Padilla served as the hosts of the grand finals, which was aired on a delayed telecast on TV5 on the same night.
The top 12 songs were chosen from over 2,500 submissions from the Philippines, the US, Canada, Australia, the Middle East and other Southeast Asian countries. The finalists included “I Owe You My Heart” by MJ Morallos; “Nasaan” by Lara Maigue; “Tanging Pag-asa Ko” by Paul Armesin; “For The Rest Of My Life” by Ned Esguerra; “Triangulo” by Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana; “Kilig” by Soc Villanueva; “Paratingin Mo Naman Siya” by Davey Langit; “Sa Ibang Mundo” by Mark Villar; “Musikaw” by Melchor Magno Jr.; “Walang Hanggang” by Ramiro Mataro; “Edge of the World” by Johannes Daniel Garcia; and “Apat Na Buwang Pasko” by Gino Cruz and Jeff Arcilla.
The songwriting competition is headed by PhilPop Executive Director Ryan Cayabyab and Managing Director Patricia Bermudez-Hizon.
Image credits: Enie Reyes