I’ve always wondered why Korean pop music has become so globally appreciated that even Filipino pop music aficionados are crazy about.
I have a couple of CDs of Korean music, some are of the K-Pop groups and one other a compilation of music from popular Korean TV series. And as always when I listen to them, I don’t understand a word of their lyrics but like their melodies. I sense a bit of similarity between Filipino sentimental songs and Korean ballads.
This is the reason, I think, why Yohan Wang, a Korean in the Philippines, easily took to OPM like ducks to water.
The Korean charmer and I Love OPM Grand Touristar has an album, a grand entry to the music industry. He is recording for Star Music and his debut is a great mix of OPM covers in their Korean versions. Some of the songs are a combination of Filipino and Korean.
The album, says producer Rox Santos, will be available through Melon, South Korea’s popular online music store.
Wang, who has made Philippines his home for the last three years, highlights his heartfelt renditions of three Tagalog songs in his self-titled album. He also personally translated the lyrics to Korean and in his renditions he hopes both fellow Koreans and Filipinos would enjoy them.
The balladeer’s touching interpretation of “Kung Ako Na Lang Sana,” originally by Bituin Escalante, is the promotional single of his first album. Its Korean version is entitled “Nayotdamyon.”
The 21-year-old singer also includes his covers for Yeng Constantino’s “Ikaw” with its Korean version “Noege,” and Regine Velasquez’s “You Made Me Stronger” or “Annyeong.” “Noege” was the theme song of the recently aired Koreanovela Love In The Moonlight on ABS-CBN.
Apart from the OPM hits, the song “Du Sa Rang,” the Korean version of one of KZ Tandingan’s biggest hits, “Mahal ko o Mahal Ako,” is also on the tracklist.
Wang’s album is a milestone in Star Music’s history, as the leading record label taps the music portal Melon for the first time hoping to introduce OPM, translated in Korean, to the South Korean market through Yohan’s songs.
The singer earlier rose to fame when he joined and eventually won ABS-CBN’s original singing competition I Love OPM in 2016, and got a Star Music recording contract as part of the prizes he received.
Rox Santos serves as the over-all producer of the Yohan Hwang album, which will soon be available for downloads through melon.com and other digital stores worldwide (Apple iTunes, Amazon.com, etc.), streaming via Spotify, and at record stores nationwide.
For more information on Yohan’s album, visit Starmusic.ph or follow Star Music’s official social media accounts at Facebook.com/starrecordsphil, Twitter.com/starrecordsph and Instagram.com/Starmusicph.
★★★★★
Award-winning director, Brillante Mendoza, brings us yet another masterpiece with Amo,
a crime miniseries that tackles one of today’s most controversial topics – the Philippine government’s war on drugs.
This 12-episode miniseries is set against the backdrop of the country’s war on drugs and depicts situations including the rampant vigilantism against suspected illegal drug personalities.
It features the story of Joseph, a high school student peddling crystal meth or “shabu” initially to his fellow gang members and later on to a much bigger market in Metro Manila.
Amo also shows the controversies involving the Philippine National Police in the government’s campaign against drugs as well as its role in rightfully enforcing it.
Leading the cast of this cinematic television creation is Vince Rillon who plays the role of Joseph the young drug peddler and one of the country’s leading actors – Derek Ramsay who plays the role of a good cop.
Joining the cast as well are Allen Dizon, Felix Roco, Apollo Abraham, Archie Adamos with the special participation of Baron Geisler.
Amo is yet another dauntless television masterpiece Mendoza, which reflects TV5’s strong commitment to provide quality differentiated entertainment content.
Amo premieres on Aug. 20, 9:30 p.m. and airs every Sunday on TV5.
★★★★★
Team Sarah’s Jona Soquite was declared the first-ever grand champion of The Voice Teens in the country and in Asia after receiving 44.78 percent of the public text and online votes in the program’s grand finale on July 30.
Jona, Sarah’s third artist to win the top-rating singing competition, beat Team Bamboo’s Isabela Vinzon, who got 22.42 percent of the votes, Team Lea’s Mica Becerro (17.79 percent), and Team Sharon’s Jeremy Glinoga (15.01 percent).
“I saw that almost half of the voters believed in me. I am so happy that I got to show them the real Jona. Thank you very much to everyone,” she said after being announced as the winner.
As the season’s winner, Jona won a fashion package, P1 million cash, P1 million trust fund, a business package, dental services, P2 million worth of life insurance, a recording and management contract, and a brand new house.
Before impressing viewers with her performance of her winning piece “I Believe I Can Fly,” Jona showcased her versatility in a duet with coach Sarah in “Better Days” and in a solo performance of Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance.”
The first season of The Voice Teens in the country and in Asia was a TV and online hit as viewers watched the show and made it a trending topic on Twitter every week.
They also tuned in to the grand finalists’ performances as the show recorded national TV ratings of 38.2 percent on July 29 and 40.3 percent on July 30, based on data from Kantar Media.
