Unlike his previous compositions that would take him several days to finish, Vilmark Viray was able to come up with a song which he titled Lisan in only less than an hour.
Lisan is Vilmark’s sophomore single released under GMA Music. It speaks about losing someone but at the same time bringing comfort and hope to listeners, who are gripped with sorrow and pain.
Every word in every line of Lisan expresses the Kapuso balladeer’s longingness for his dad Virgilio whose sudden passing two days after Christmas 2022 left him and his family in grief. They were vacationing in Tagaytay when Vilmark’s dad collapsed inside the comfort room of their hotel room.
According to Vilmark, they rushed his dad to the hospital but they were told that the chance of survival was very slim due to aneurysm “but of course, we’re still hoping for a miracle. We prayed. We did not go back to Pampanga until he breathed his last. He left us on Dec. 27.”
Understandably, Vilmark was inconsolable, and he dealt with his grief the only way he knew how — through writing a song.
“I wrote the song during the first night of my father. I was in my room and I was profusely crying when I began writing the song and finished it in less than an hour,” said The Clash Season 4 finalist who also shared how his mom would try hard to be strong, especially because his parents were always together.
Lisan reflects the inner workings of his whole family’s grief. “The same lyrics I presented to our producer (at GMA Music). I poured my emotions into the song. I’m just hoping that listeners will like it.”
There’s a line in Lisan that Vilmark described as his favorite and it goes, “Paano, saan mag-sisimula/ mga pangarap biglang nawala/ sa ‘yong paglisan ika’y ipauubaya/ umaasang muling magtutugma.”
Vilmark recalled how his dad would accompany him to all his singing commitments and even drive him to and from his regular day job.
“My dad was a joker, even if sometimes he’s corny,” he mused. “Pero napapasaya n’ya ‘ko kasi iyun ang mga simpleng bagay pati yung pagsundo at hatid n’ya sa akin sa mga lakad, ‘yun ang bonding namin. He worked abroad so when he came home, he really made sure to spend time with me.”
His dad would also remind him of the value of “pakikisama.”
“Papa said that it’s important to learn how to get along with people, dapat marunong akong makisama. Nakita ko rin kung paano s’ya makisama sa mga tao. Nakita ko gaano karami ang nakiramay nung nawala si Papa,” he shared.
“Ako kasi, I’m an introvert. I’m fine in front of the camera but there are times that I enjoy being alone. But I’m trying my best to get along with as many people and to mingle with them as often as possible,” he added.
Aside from singing, Vilmark maintains his day job as an electronics engineer. He admitted that managing his time between two careers is never easy.
“To be honest, mahirap pagsabayin bilang engineer and artist. But I’m just really thankful to my management and my work(mates) for taking into consideration my schedule whenever I would have to ask for permission or excuse,” Vilmark told The STAR. “’Pag passion mo rin kasi, it’s hard to say, ‘No’ at ‘yung puso ko laging nasa pag-kanta kaya I always try my best to fit everything in my schedule.”
With a lot of new singers being discovered through talent searches, you can’t blame Vilmark for saying that he had moments of doubt about the future of his singing career.
“At some point, I asked myself if I’m really for this na kaya ko bang makipagsabayan? There are so many excellent singers — new singers and indie artists — and all are good-looking. But because I believe in my music, that I have this music that I really want to share to people, that’s enough reason to keep my passion burning,” he said.
“When I write songs, I always make sure that people can really relate to my songs. I wanted to be an inspiration to those who doubt themselves about what they can do. They just have to continue doing what they love because I firmly believe that there’s a perfect time for each of us,” he concluded.
(Lisan is now available on all digital streaming platforms worldwide.)