Lance gets Most Recreative trophy from Gawad Amerika

Lance Raymundo will receive the Most Recreative / Re-Inventive Award from the Gawad Amerika Awards to be held at the Celebrity Center in Hollywood, California on Nov. 3. He will travel along with fellow awardees Rep. Manny Pacquiao, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Gov. ER Ejercito. Past winners include John Lloyd Cruz, Venus Raj and Eugene Domingo.

Gawad Amerika Foundation, the organization that gives the Gawad Amerika award, is a non-profit organization that takes pride in providing homes for the homeless, feeding the hungry, and protecting and counseling abused children and women.

Lance played General Emilio Aguinaldo in Mario O Hara’s Ang Paglilitis ni Andres Bonifacio. Currently, he is working on his role as Lapu-Lapu in the Peque Gallaga and Lorie Reyes film titled Botong Francisco. He also plays multiple roles in Edsa XXX by Khavn de la Cruz.

A health buff, Lance is the brand ambassador of the fast growing men’s line of CESA Beach Wear.

While in the US to receive his award, Lance will have a photo shoot with fashion photographer David Christopher Lee whose celebrity subjects include Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Mandy Moore and Margaret Cho. Lee worked with Lance in 2005 during his modeling stint in America.

Young JV appeals for all Pinoy originals

Local artists who fill their albums with remakes have been blamed for setting back the cause of Original Pilipino Music. Whether they do versions of Filipino or foreign hits, some people point out that local songwriters are discouraged to create new materials since they know that no one will buy their creations anyway given the trend. OPM, seemingly, is stuck.

But really, these remakes are not blasé per se. Can you imagine attending a concert, watching a variety show or listening to the radio without one, two, maybe three familiar songs? It won’t be good either. But I believe that there should be more airtime for OPM and eventually achieve a 70/30 rule in favor of OPM. But this should be done in a way that’s not disorienting relevant parties. Engage players in the industry for more debates and discussions and come up with common implementation schemes.

Urban music artist Young JV believes in striking a healthy balance when it comes to the matter. He won’t cast a stone against artists who are into remakes, but he appeals to them that for now, they should create albums composed of mostly original songs if not all originals. This way, he said, people would sense that a movement is happening and they’d give OPM another chance if only out of curiosity at first.

He points out, though, that these originals should be of high quality; songs with good arrangements, brilliantly produced, with lyrics and melodies that aren’t run of the mill, and feature honest vocals that don’t necessarily have to be birits. The young artist also emphasizes that they should try to have a global outlook when making music but without sacrificing the Pinoy identity.

These elements we hear in his sophomore CD, Doin’ It Big. Written and recorded in a span of a year, Young JV was hands on with his work, even commissioning a “crew” to deliver the goods. He said that the amount of time spent on perfecting the product and choosing the right people to work with spell the difference between good and great output. Young JV is proud of his work and he hopes that people would give his songs — a mix of hip-hop, R&B, acoustic and house — a chance.

Young JV

He directs people’s attention to the success of K-Pop, particularly Gangnam Style which has taken the world by storm. Though on the surface Gangnam Style seems like a lightweight tune, he said that any musician could tell that both the song and its video were cleverly crafted and that no expense was spared in producing it. And, indeed, you reap what you sow.

Young JV is sure that the Filipinos have what it takes to conquer the world.

Now, if only our artists, songwriters and producers would be braver and more creative, and if the public would be more appreciative and supportive of such efforts…

Some of the tracks in Doin’ It Big under Star Records are the promotional song Your Name (duet with PBB champ Myrtle Sarrosa); Boy Meets Girl (with Yeng Constantino); Alay (with Akiko); Rock This Town (with Laze and Yumi); Hurts So Bad (with Karylle); Get Up And Dance; Kailan Kaya; Tanong; Got To Have You; and Pinas.