The champions stay in the charts

The past two years were very good ones for the singing champions. No, they were more than good. They were fantastic and filled with the stuff that young pop idols’ dreams are made of. These previously unknown kids brought the conquering horde of cantopop stars to their knees. They also ushered in a period of grandiose vocals that sent the song-loving Pinoy into new heights of karaoke expertise.

The year 2005 brought in a new threat to the supremacy of the champions. This was the arrival of the bands. All of a sudden, new rock groups were all over the place, dishing out their original works and making the garage sound hip again. So with the likes of Orange and Lemons, Cueshé, Hale and others of their ilk dominating the airlanes, it seemed like we had already seen the end of the era of singing champions.

But think again. A look at the current hit lists show that the singing champions have no intention of completely ceding the domination of the local music industry to the bands. Despite the fact that these groups are literally coming out of the woodwork, there are so many of them! The likes of Christian Bautista and Rachelle Ann Go and others continue to give the rockers a big run for their money in the charts while also beating the fabled sophomore jinx.

Christian was the guy who showed everybody that losing was the best thing that could have happened to him. He got a hit album and a number one song, The Way You Look at Me, not long after he was booted out of the Star in a Million contest. Since then he has had other hits like Colour Everywhere, Hands to Heaven and his duet with Search for a Star winner Rachelle Ann Go, (You and Me) We Wanted It All. Not only that, he is also a big hit in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia. Christian released his second album, Completely, late last year and already has a hit single Everything You Do, which his fans all over Asia are swooning over.

Rachelle Ann won the Search for a Star contest two years ago and also went on her merry way with one hit after another from her first album. Also entitled Rachelle Ann Go, the hit-studded release contains Don’t Cry Out Loud, Here I Am Again, From the Start and (You and Me) We Wanted It All, her duet with Christian. It seemed like scary idea releasing her second album, I Care, amidst the band explosion last December, but Rachelle Ann came armed with the powerful ballad If You Walk Away and produced another hit. And as though her fans want to prove that band music is not all that people are listening to, they are already clamoring for the single release of the title track of her CD.

Like Christian, Mark Bautista was also no winner. He came in second to Sarah Geronimo in the Star for a Night contest. He is also doing very well as a regular with other champions in the TV show ASAP and the talent search Star in a Million. Like Christian and Rachelle Ann, he has also released his second album. Entitled Dream On, it has already produced two hit singles, his cover of LeAnn Rimes’ I Need You and the new original You Win the Game. The latter is already the No. 1 tune in the MYX Mobile hit list where it is over and above all those band tunes.

Take a look now at the Pinoy MYX Countdown for the week. The list is mostly made up of bands but Christian, Rachelle Ann and Mark are still out there, champions through and through. Come to think of it, the only other song aside from theirs that does not come from a band or a rocker is Hindi Ko Kayang Iwan Ka and it comes from Star in a Million runner-up Sheryn Regis. Maybe it is not really that easy to put these champions down. Here is the list:

Ulan by Cueshé; Kung Wala Ka by Hale; Everything You Do by Christian; If You Walk Away by Rachelle Ann; You Win the Game by Mark; Narda by Kamikazee; Salapi by Itchyworms; Much Has Been Said by Bamboo; Nasaan Ka? by Pupil; Fire by Kitchie Nadal; Sandalan by 6Cyclemind; Para Sa ‘Yo by Parokya ni Edgar; With a Smile by South Border; Ikot by Stonefree; Akin Ka Na Lang by Itchyworms; Hindi Ko Kayang Iwan Ka by Sheryn; Alert the Armory by Urbandub; Lagi Mo Akong Dine-deadma by Rocksteddy and Spolarium by Imago.