Bamboo in search of an original voice

‘You can’t just look good and sing good.

You have to be musically inclined.

You have to be able to create original music.’

MANILA, Philippines - “I want to find an original (voice). My job is to find (someone with that voice) in a country full of singers.”

That’s how Bamboo Mañalac challenges himself in The Voice Kids, which will premiere tomorrow, May 24, with Lea Salonga and Sarah Geronimo completing the panel of coaches. The public saw how passionate and compassionate Bamboo, Lea and Sarah were as heads of their teams in The Voice of the Philippines. In the kiddie edition, Bamboo shows no sign of slowing down. One can say that the Rock Superstar is “in it” to find his own mentees. By the way, Luis Manzano and Alex Gonzaga will host the blind auditions, the battle rounds and the sing-off.  

“There are a few challenges,” answers Bamboo when asked about coaching kiddie singers. “One is, they are at the point or age, where they are not yet whole as an artist. They’re not the whole thing yet. So, we get a sense of parents telling them that this is what you sing or what you do. Basically, they don’t have directions. Hence, that’s where I come in. I say, ‘You don’t fit in this (song or in this) genre. You fit in this.’ Another challenge is when I see the parents. To be honest, (the judges) will be speaking more with the parents than the kids because they are a big part (of this journey). Instead of me talking to just one person in the room, I’ll be talking to the singer, the artist, the mom, the dad, the lola, the lolo and the whole family dynamics — that is something I expect to happen.” Bamboo, however, admits that the kids are exceptional and talented despite their young age and their little experience in performing.

During the blind auditions, Bamboo says he had “to catch something” in a kid’s singing, convincing himself that this girl or that boy has the potential, like a diamond in the rough. “None of them were hundred-percent flawless,” Bamboo shares. “There were tiny mistakes here and there, as expected with children, except for the older children or teenagers.”

Bamboo enjoys his position as The Voice coach because it has given him the opportunity, like in the adult version-season one, to direct someone’s recording career.” He says, “That’s my job as a singer, songwriter and producer. I look for recording talents.” If one wants to start a music career, the person should have the drive to succeed, adds Bamboo, “whether you won first place or you were removed early on. Kulitin mo ’ko. I appreciate that and it means you are hungry and you want to be in the industry.” Bamboo thinks that every aspiring singer needs “one moment to succeed.” And that “one shining moment” could lead to the realization of one’s dream.

No matter how true it is that  “many are called but few are chosen,” turning down a kid contestant and seeing him cry do break any of the coaches’ heart. “Some would cry and that kills me,” says Bamboo. “I couldn’t imagine what the parents are feeling. You have to empathize with them. With the kids, I just tell them that this is just (part of) a journey. This is just a competition. I don’t want them to feel that this is the end of the road.”

Is there a market for children singers? Bamboo’s reply is a resounding “yes,” saying that we now have younger talents and the “music has become younger.” But the young singer should be a complete package, he says. “You can’t just look good and sing good. You have to be musically inclined. You have to be able to create original music. I think we might have a talent once again (who might possibly) be generational. In decades on, we can hear him or her. I believe that’s gonna happen. We hopefully find it in The Voice, if not, somewhere else.”