VISPOP: Ang Tingog sa Bag-ong Bisaya

CEBU, Philippines - Proudly taking an ambivalent tone of the “bisayaa uy!” mentality, the first Visayan Pop Music Festival was held last May 18, showcasing live performances of the event’s top 6 finalists.

Dubbed as the VISPOP: Grand Finals Night, original compositions by Alphecca Perpetua (Historias), Jewel and Joe Villaflores (Duyog), Marianne Dungog and Kyle Wong (Ang Balay Ni Mayang), Marie Maureen Salvaleon (Pa-Pictura Ko Nimu, Gwapo), Pat Niñal (Hinaut) and Lourdes May Maglinte (Laylay) were the main highlights of the occasion.

“Duyog” by Jewel and Joe Villaflores bagged the competition’s Grand Prize Winner title, followed by Lourdes Maglinte’s “Laylay” and Marianne Dungog’s and Kyle Wong’s “Balay Ni Mayang” respectively coming in second and third.

The evening also featured live performances by Martina San Diego, Uly Tenchavez, Chai Fonacier, Missing Filemon, Pain in the Neck and Cattski.

Kicking off with a series of songwriting workshops and enrichment activities late last year, a total of 80 VISPOP entries were gathered by December 2012, from where the top 6 final entries featured in the Grand Finals Night held in the Benedicto College Artists Hall were picked.

As an event, VISPOP goes beyond the bounds which have become staple standards in songwriting competitions, taking a more proactive stance in the overall production of quality Cebuano songs.

Organized by the Artists and Musicians Marketing Cooperative (Artist Ko) in cooperation with the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP), VISPOP is a songwriting campaign, one with aims to do away with crass mentalities associated in the production of music, inspiring rising composers and talents in creating original music that stokes the fires of bisaya pride.

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For more information on VISPOP, visit www.artistko.com/vispop or like Artist Ko’s Facebook Page at facebook.com/ArtistKoCebu. All produced VISPOP entries, together with other VISPOP banner songs, can be heard on soundcloud.com/visayanpop (FREEMAN)