2014

The Philippines Finally Qualifies; Song of the Year; No More News

December 16, 2014 @ 5:43 PM

After three non-qualifications in a row, the Philippines finally qualified to the Grand Final on its fourth attempt and even finished in the Top 10! In Semi-Final 2 of SOSC#17, the Philippines received 73 Points and finished in 5th Place. In the Grand Final, the Philippines received 96 Points and finished 10th. The Philippine entry received three sets of 12 Points in the Grand Final from China, South Korea, and Sweden. Sweden took its first Sing Out Song Contest victory with Molly Sandén's "Freak." It received a record-breaking 191 Points. 

The last edition of the year is a special one called Song of the Year 2014. It consists of two rounds and features the best entries of all the editions of 2014. The past ten winners were automatically qualified to Round 1. The other fifteen were chosen among a list that consisted of the other forty songs that have reached the Top 5. Each player voted for their favorite fifteen, and the fifteen with the most votes completed the twenty-five entries competing in Round 1. None of the Philippine entries matched any of this criteria, but Charles did have an entry in the list of the other forty Top 5 songs. It was Tata Young's "My Bloody Valentine," which Charles sent in the 8th Edition when he was the head of delegation of Thailand. It originally finished 3rd, but, unfortunately, it did not receive enough votes to compete in Song of the Year. The Top 10 of Round 1 will progress to the final Second Round. Voting for Song of the Year is optional.

Due to limited site storage, this will be the last news post regarding the Philippines in the Sing Out Song Contest. Charles would like to thank all the readers who have followed his journey in this contest and of course Justin, the SOSC Executive Supervisor! The other sections will continue to be updated. 

Third Non-Qualification in a Row; Charice Pempengco for SOSC#17

November 3, 2014 @ 11:26 PM

The Philippines continued to not make an impression on the Sing Out Song Contest scoreboard and failed to qualify for the third time in a row in the 16th Edition! The Philippines finished second to last in Semi-Final 1 with 28 Points. The Philippines also received a second to last place ranking with its debut entry in SOSC#14. Canada and Armenia were disqualified for not voting in their respective Semi-Final. Finland won with "Yellow House" by Softengine, but it was not a favorite of Charles's. Softengine finished in 11th Place for Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

Charice Pempengco will be the Philippine representative in SOSC#17 in Finland with her 2011 single, "Louder." The song peaked at #34 in the Japan Hot 100. Pempengco earned international recognition on YouTube in 2007, which led to several appearances and performances abroad, including Star King in South Korea and The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States. She played Sunshine Corazon in three episodes of Glee in 2010-2011 and was a judge on The X Factor Philippines in 2012. Charles previously sent Pempengco to the now inactive World Vision Song Contest where she finished in 11th Place with "Note to God." 

Second Non-Qualification; Duet for 16th Edition

October 2, 2014 @ 7:04 PM

The Philippines did not qualify for the second time in a row! In Semi-Final 1 of the 15th Edition, the Philippines finished in 13th Place with 46 Points. Only the Top 12 of each of the two Semi-Finals qualified. The Philippines missed the Grand Final by 15 Points: Ukraine and Estonia both received 61 Points each and finished in 11th and 12th Place respectively. France won with Emmanuel Moire's "Beau Malheur," but it was Charles's least favorite entry in the Grand Final! This is France's fourth victory in the Sing Out Song Contest.

The 16th Edition will be held in Nîmes, France. The venue is the Arena of Nîmes, which is a Roman amphitheater. Three French singers will be the hosts: Alizée, Lorie, and current SOSC winner, Emmanuel Moire. On its third participation, the Philippines has chosen "Suddenly It's Magic" by Angeline Quinto and Erik Santos. Quinto was born in the district of Sampaloc in Manila and was the winner of Star Power: Sharon's Search for the Next Female Pop Superstar in 2011. Santos was born in Malabon City in Metro Manila and was the winner of Star in a Million in 2003. "Suddenly It's Magic" is the theme song of the 2012 Philippine movie with the same title. The movie stars Filipino actress, Erich Gonzales, and Thai actor, Mario Maurer. The movie contains dialogue in four languages: Filipino/Tagalog, Ilocano, Thai, and English. The song is a cover of Vesta Williams's 1987 single. This is the Philippines's first entry to be a duet, to include artists who were born and raised in the Philippines, and to be sung fully in the English language. 

Disappointing Debut; Half Filipino Singer for SOSC#15

August 15, 2014 @ 6:29 PM

The Philippines had a disappointing debut in SOSC#14. In Semi-Final 2, the Philippines received 29 Points and finished in second to last place, so it did not qualify for the Grand Final. South Korea won with 168 Points with Dami Im's "Super Love," which received 8 Points from the Philippines.

The 15th Edition will be held in Seoul, South Korea. Sylvia Ratonel will represent the Philippines with her 2010 Malay language single, "Mari Bersamaku," from her self-titled debut album. This entry finished in 16th Place in the 27th Edition of the AsianAmerican Song Festival, where Charles was the former head of delegation of Singapore. Ratonel was born to a Filipino father and an Irish-Indonesian mother. Ratonel was the first female ever to reach the finale of Singapore Idol and was the runner-up on the third season.

Charles Sends Himself for Philippine Debut

July 9, 2014 @ 9:37 PM

The Swiss delegation is busy planning its hosting duties for the 14th Edition of the Sing Out Song Contest after Anna Rossinelli won the 13th Edition with "Shine in the Light." Charles has decided to send himself as the debut performer for the Philippines with his 2012 cover of Bryan Termulo's "Dadalhin," which was the theme song of the 2012 Philippine television drama, Walang Hanggan. "Dadalhin" was originally released as a single by Regine Velasquez in 2002. Charles first sang this song live at a local talent show in San Diego, California where he was praised for his good vocal tone and for showcasing a song in the Filipino/Tagalog language but also given constructive criticism to work on his nerves and expressing emotions. Charles was born in the United States, but his family is of Ilocano descent, which is the third largest ethnolinguistic group of the Philippines. Charles has tried out for several singing reality television shows, but his only somewhat successful experience was passing the first preliminary round of auditions in Los Angeles during the ninth season of American Idol.