Filipinos are so madly and deeply in love with singing! This can be manifested by the endless existence of amateur singing contests and singing contests in TV popping out all over the place like mushrooms. In the much more common life, we’ll see videoke machines in canteens, in tricycle terminals, and in all kinds of parties. Recently, I came across this funeral service establishment which has this big sign in front which read:
Funeral with libing and VIDEOKE package promo!
That signage made me give it a second look–as I don’t really like looking at funeral parlors, of all places! That was my first time to see such offer and it really made my mind have a flashback of all the funerals and wakes that I have attended in the past (I don’t have a lot really and I’m thankful for that) and thought if I have ever seen a funeral with the relatives of the departed singing through the videoke machine–and I have attended none so far. Not that I want to. I think it’s totally ridiculous to sing your hearts out when the family is mourning the loss.
This just proves the preponderance of the singing prowess in the Filipino society’s activities. If we be happy because we passed the BAR examinations or the boards, we would always hit the videoke bars or rooms and celebrate over drinks or food. If one of our friends got his heart broken by a girl, one person in the barkada will always say ikanta mo na lang ‘yan dude (project that to singing, dude).
We Filipinos do not really give a damn if we have the most horrible voice amongst the crowd. If we are asked by our friends to sing, we WILL look for our mastered song and end up singing just for the heck of it! My paternal side of the family developed this certain tradition during our Christmas parties ever since the scoring in videokes became popular. In our parties, we’d list down names of the willing participants and would sing whatever song in the Magic Sing every time his/her name is called. The singer’s score will be noted and at the end of the game, the scores will be added and the total will be the amount of cash the person will get. So if you sing your practised songs and get scores not lower than 100 all the time, you’d probably go home with a big smile on your face. I would say that I have cousins whose voices truly sound like aluminum plates being torn but for the sake of money, they didn’t really give a damn. After all, Filipinos always appreciate the performance of singing. I believe that we do not really look at the quality of the person’s voice but at the willingness and dedication to entertain our family and friends.
I am sure that each and everyone of us has tried singing in parties and gatherings through the Magic Sing. For this, we have mastered at least one song so that we’d always be prepared when we are asked to belt out. I have a cousin who is working in the media industry and whenever they’d be partying with clients, they would always bring them to places like RedBox or Centerstage. Of course, everyone in their company would be required to sing–as a manifestation that they’re willing to cross the boundaries just to please and entertain their clients. She’s not really one who’s gifted with a nice singing voice but through the years, she has been using Police’s Every Breath You Take as a piece. It’s convenient for her because it’s low-pitched and does not require birits. 😛
Videoke singing is definitely my number one guilty Filipino pleasure and my videoke mastered “pieces” are Burn, Dancing Queen, Torn, Alone, It Must Have Been Love, 2 Become 1 and Time After Time. 😀
What is yours? 🙂 Or what is your most guilty Filipino pleasure? 😛
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