Rhap & his 5th Gen

Rhap Salazar has been known as a solo artist since his Little Big Star days. Now, Rhap has joined a pop group. This might prove to be a good career move for the 17-year-old singer as it has often been said that there is strength in numbers.

His new group is named 5th Gen and it is composed of five former World Championships of the Performing Arts (WCOPA) medalists and winners. Aside from Rhap (who competed in 2009), the members include Reymond Sajor (who is also known for his stint on Philippine Idol in 2006), RJ Buenagua, Marielle Corpuz and Lady Diana.

“Actually, nabuo siya for the Euro Pop Singing Contest,” says Rhap of their group. “Lahat nga kami galing sa WCOPA, tapos yung naging manager namin, si (Ms.) Charie Vega, naghahanap siya ng mentors to find new talents who can compete in Euro Pop. Kami yung kinuha niya to be mentors tapos kami naman yung naghanap ng delegates.”

Rhap and his band mates looked for and found five singers — among them Elizabeth Ramsey’s granddaughter Ana and former Goin’ Bulilit cast member Chacha Cañete — to join the Euro Pop Singing Contest. And as fate would have it, four out of five placed in the Top 5 of the competition. (Ana won first runner-up honors while Chacha placed second.)

According to Rhap, he and the other mentors never thought about forming a group. But they eventually decided to give it a go because so many people, like members of the press and even other musicians, kept referring to them as one.

“Nung una kaming nagsama-sama, hindi talaga namin main intention to form a group,” Rhap explains. “But when we promoted the Euro Pop, we were often asked whether we are a group or not. So we thought of forming a group. So lumalabas kasabay nung pagbuo namin sa Team Philippines para sa Euro Pop yung pagbuo ng 5th Gen.”

The decision to become a full-fledged pop group was made on Sept. 5, 2014. That’s partly why they named themselves 5th Gen. But Rhap says there’s more to their name than a date. It’s also a subtle reference to the individual musical influences and styles of each member. “As a group, we can perform different genres because each member has varied voice qualities.”

Rhap also jokes that 5th Gen is supposed to represent the fact that each member of the group is “from different generations.” “Iba-iba kasi kami ng edad. At 17, I am the youngest among the five of us.”

When each member of 5th Gen competed in the WCOPA, they all did so as solo artists. Some have even spent years performing alone before the WCOPA came so when they first got together as a group, it took some getting used to on everyone’s parts. “At first, there were adjustments,” Rhap shares. “Iba-iba kasi yung type ng voice namin, eh. There’s the diva type of voice, other members had rock-ish (voice), then there are ballads and R&B types, so we’re not sure if the combination would come out fine. Pero nagawan naman namin ng paraan na maging maganda.”

Their first gig as a band was opening for Jed Madela during his All Requests 3 concert. “Hopefully, makasama kami sa iba pang shows ni Kuya Jed,” Rhap says when asked what he hopes to achieve with this group. “We also want to record and release all-original songs. Eventually, iipunin din namin lahat ng na-release namin sa isang album.”

In recent years, Rhap — also a contract artist of ABS-CBN’s Star Magic — has also become known for his acting. However, he hasn’t done much to pursue that particular path lately. “My last TV outing was the ABS-CBN Christmas special where I performed a song. Nakabalik din ako sa Luv U (where he played the campus bully Max for several seasons) pero guesting lang. I will never stop in acting but for the meantime, my focus is on 5th Gen and happy naman ako.”