...the world class Pinoy singers

Pinoy pride!

By MARK BONIFACIO

MANILA tIMES

19 September 2019

The Filipino singer’s talent is well known the world over. Most foreigners in fact perceive that every Filipino can sing or carry a tune. They believe so what with the likes of Tony Award winner Lea Salonga, Charice (now known as Jake Zyrus), Joanna Ampil, Rachel Ann Go, Jed Madela, KZ Tandingan, Darren Espanto, Morissette Amon, Elha Nympha and the TNT Boys, among so many others, making the nation proud.

And now, two new additions are on the Pinoy pride list in music — the a capella group Acapellago and YouTube sensation Reneé Dominique.

Earning Asian honors

Award-winning a capella group Acapellago brought pride anew to the Philippines when they bagged another victory at the Asian Cup A Capella Competition in Kagawa, Japan.

Acapellago, whose members include Michelle Pascual, Almond Bolante, Joshua Cadeliña, Bogart Laderas and Happy Lemon Laderas, bested other groups from Asia on August 9 at the Rexxam Hall of the Kagawa Prefectural Hall in Takamatsu, Kagawa.

Besides being grand champions, the group was also hailed as the VoiceJam Awardee, which earns them the privilege to perform in next year’s VoiceJam Festival in the United States.

Acapellago

This year has indeed been great for Acapellago. They also won the first place at the Medium Vocal Ensemble Category in the Moscow Spring Acapella Festival last May.

The group is now looking forward to a concert tour of Taiwan. This is a return engagement due to insistent public demand after their sold-out tour last May. They are also excited for the results of this year’s Awit Awards where their single “Kariton” is a finalist for Best Vocal Arrangement. They won the same award last year for their song “Peroplano.”

Acapellago is now getting ready to record their second album which will carry some of their award-winning pieces and tracks they will sing at their extensive performing tour of Europe early 2020.

Duet with Jason Mraz

Another Pinoy Pride who is making waves around the world is the young singer Renee Dominique who not only signed with Virgin Records/Universal Music Germany but also collaborated with famous a American Grammy award winning singer/songwriter for her new single.

Renee Dominique

Weeks before his concert in Manila, American singer-songwriter Jason Mraz told Music Geek in a phone interview that he was in the process of collaborating with a young artist based in Manila. She was none other than Renee.

“She’s such a great talent and a great writer. Beautiful voice!” Mraz praised the Pinay singer whom he had never met before his concert on here on May 8. Naturally, the collaboration was made possible via the Internet.

“It’s as if we were sending messages in a bottle across the sea, working in different time zones between different schedules to make this dream collaboration become a reality. Though we had never met, I feel like I knew Reneé simply through the quality of her voice. I was drawn to her tone and vocal attitude, and through the process of co-writing the song, felt drawn to harmonize and appear on the track. It’s an honor to be featured. But I’m here because I’m a fan.”

The result of this collaboration is the single “Could I Love You Any More” which they first performed during his Manila concert then released on May 31. The track is a conversation put in song between a woman and a man, both realizing the magic of love. The peaceful and touching duet combines the beautiful voices of both artists and delivers a dose of romantic vibes with breezy, calm guitar sounds.

Reneé Dominique is known for her creative music and beautifully designed videos on YouTube. In December 2009, she started uploading videos of cover songs of various classic hits (The Beatles, Carpenters) as well as self-written songs on her channel. She stands out for her uniquely soft and soulful vocals, which combined with her ukulele, add a dreamy and distinctive touch to her music. One of her most successful covers, “Somewhere Only We Know,” by Keane counts over 5 million views on Youtube and was chosen by Samsung for one of their global campaigns.

Reneé says about the love song: “Love can never be stopped, it never runs out, because with the right person love exists in abundance. Love is kind and patient, never boastful, proud or rude. Love is not selfish or quick tempered, it does not keep a record of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. Love never fails.”

Their music video was shot in Manila and Singapore and was directed by Jeff Coffman. She is currently on tour with Mraz in the US to promote the single.