ConChords bags Akapela Open International title

ConChords

After bagging the top prize at the International Category of the A Cappella Championships in Singapore competition, Conchords emerged as the Grand Prize winners at the Akapela Open International besting nine other a cappella groups at the finals night held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Conchord’s well balanced voices, technically complex arrangements, and overall polish and sophistication in their performances of Remember Me from the movie Coco and Gary V’s ‘Di Bale Na Lang sealed them the title and the P250,000 prize money. The group from Quezon City improved on their runner up finish back in 2016.

Astrafellas

Baguio based Astrafellas ended up as this year’s 1^st Runner Up winning P150,000 but falling short in their bid to become the competition’s first ever back-to-back champions. Their rendition of APO’s When I Met You highlighted their very suave dynamics but it felt like they ran out of steam halfway through their Bon Jovi medley.

PhiSix

Rounding out the top three is PhiSix from Makati placing 2^nd Runner Up and winning P100,000 with a very contemporary take on Callum Scott’s You are the Reason and Freddie Aguilar’s Estudyante Blues. The group’s Kier Franco bagged the Best Arranger award and P50,000 with his updated arrangement of the Aguilar 1980’s classic about teenage angst.

The other finalists were Calafellas from Pangasinan, KNKTD from Manila, MVibe from Quezon Province, PSquare from Davao, Sayil and Syncofellas both from Bulacan, and Vocalmyx from Cagayan de Oro.

Akapela Open International Winners

The required song for this year is an original arrangement of a Filipino composition that was released during the 1980’s. A popular choice that night was songs by APO with When I Met You and Doo Bidoo each performed twice by different groups. And it was only a matter of which arrangement was more effective and who sold their performance more. Some groups even went a decade back with their other song choices, apart from the required one, that made some performances feel too retro. It still remains a challenge for these groups (and future competitors) to have a more contemporary sound and feel even if some of the songs are some decades old already.

Overall, the competition was intense at the top. The rest of the field, while overflowing with talent and charm, still lacked the conviction and wasn’t able to own the stage. I found myself urging them in my seat to let loose and perform up to those who were seated in the farthest rows. I learned afterwards just how young some of the members of these groups were and I could only imagine how daunting it was for them to compete at the Cultural Center of the Philippines stage of all places. It would be great to see which of these groups will be back to compete once again now that they’ve had some experience tucked under their belts. Also invaluable to these groups are the lessons learned from Mr. Ryan Cayabyab himself, the man responsible for the Akapela Open International.

The competing teams also should take some notes from the guest performers, the two time champions Acapellago. The 2013 & 2015 title holders and winners of various competitions abroad not only had the vocal chops but also had the stage presence that made them the champions that they are.

The Akapela Open International was presented by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the Music School of Ryan Cayabyab.