Fans are hoping for a new season of reality singing competition The Voice of the Philippines, and rock star Bamboo Mañalac says he will gladly jump on the judge’s chair again, if given the chance. There is yet no news of a second season of the show.
“I’m excited. It’s a hard thing to do but at this point I’m enjoying the idea of ‘paying it forward’ for all the years music has given to me and my life,” Bamboo told tabloid! ahead of his October 11 concert in Dubai with his former band Rivermaya.
Would he prefer to work with Leah Salonga, apl.de.ap and Sarah Geronimo on the judges’ panel again? “Yes”, he said, adding that their chemistry mattered.
“It’s tricky when you sort of build chemistry moving forward. It takes time. We knew each other but we didn’t really know each other. As we progressed, a friendship ensued,” he said. There was “friendly rivalry” of course, but “It was always in good spirits”.
“It was never about someone going ‘Me! Me! Me!’ At some point we were being competitive; we wanted to win, but it was fun,” Bamboo said.
What was the toughest decision he has ever had to make on The Voice?
“Probably during the battle rounds… I wanted to move with a team who I felt were versatile artists and song writers,” Bamboo said. In the battle rounds, a coach divides his team into pairs of two, and pits them against each other in a vocal showdown where only one artist can advance to the next round.
“I didn’t pick songs from their repertoire. I wanted them to put their own spin to the song. I could see each of them had a hard time. Some of them have never heard of the song [I suggested],” he said.
“Some of the stuff shocked me. It shocked me how young they were, how a bit inexperienced they were on some level. They’re very good singers but their [taste in music is] very current. My advice to them was to listen to everything. Open yourself up to different music and the classics,” he said.
