Eight of the Top 12 finalists of PhilPop Himig Handog

A new batch of talented young artists will compete in this year's PhilPop Himig Handog songwriting festival. Only one of the 12 finalists will be hailed as the winner for their creative songwriting and music production. 

The collaborative project, which was produced and presented by songwriting institutions PhilPop and Himig Handog, kicked off with a Digicamp series that is carefully designed to develop the skillset of aspiring participants in the fields of songwriting, music arrangement and recording, branding, marketing, career development, and intellectual property.

After a two-month workshop with some well-known musicians, including National Artist for Music Ryan Cayabyab, Jim Paredes, Paolo & Miguel Guico of Ben&Ben, Gino Cruz and more. 

The entries went through multiple rounds of adjudication, headed by an esteemed panel of Board Members, producers, key leaders, prominent songwriters, and decision-makers affiliated with PhilPop and Himig Handog.

Without further ado, here are the 12 finalists with their original compositions that will compete in the PhilPop Himig Handog Songwriting Festival:

Bulacan: Rinz Ruiz – “Papahiram”

Laguna: Francis Contemplacion – “ATM”

Metro Manila: Tiara Cinco – “Wag Paglaruan”

Metro Manila: Kevin Yadao – "Ghostwriter"

Rizal : Rob Angeles – "MHWG"

Metro Manila: Geca Morales – “Langit Lupa”

Metro Manila: Alvin Serrito – “Kurba”

Bacolod: Shantel Lapatha – “Tulala”

Cebu: Relden Campanilla – “Dili Nalang”

Cebu: Jimmy Grajo – “Salamat (Nga Wala Na Ta)”

Bohol: Keith Quito – "Buhi"

Davao: Maric Gavino – “Taliwala”

ABS-CBN Music Creative Director Jonathan Manalo stated that one of their considerations for picking the song is based on the quality of songwriting and composition. 

"It was important to us that the songs were up to the standard that were set by bothPhilPop and Himig Handog. We also wanted to see how effective the fellows were in applying the lessons and insights that they've learned from the PhilPop Himig Handog DigiCamp. We wanted to challenge the fellows to break borders and push the boundaries of Filipino pop music. Lastly, we also had to factor in the appeal and marketability of the entries since our goal was also for the top songs to appeal to a wide range of Filipino music listeners," he said. 

PhilPop Himig Handog Songwriting Festival is an initiative of Himig Handog and PhilPop Music Foundation. This year's game-changing event remains unwavering in its obligation to come up with innovative approaches in music-making and songwriting that are at par with international standards.