A lot of people are more than ready to say goodbye to 2020. But before that, the country’s different music labels have come together to hopefully let you end the year on a lighter note. “Bye 2020” is a first-of-its-kind year-ender collaboration concert that aims to “usher in a brighter, better new year.”
“What BYE2020 delivers is a way for every Filipino to look back at all the challenges we have faced, and enter 2021 a bit more hopeful,” the organizers explained. “Fortunately, technology has allowed us to re-imagine what we can do for music entertainment and live events. And we are bringing to bear every learning, every talent, and every skill we have gained this 2020 and applying it to our event Bye 2020.”
Yesterday, we had a little chat with two of the talents lined up for the show: Tala and Ace Banzuelo. Here’s how it went down:
What would you say bye to in 2020?
Ace: Syempre, I’d say bye to COVID[-19]! ’Yon lang talaga.
Tala: I was obviously gonna say the same thing. The pandemic has changed so many lives (and) it would be nice to be able to socialize again. ‘Cause humans are obviously social beings and it’s been tough for everyone. So I’d say bye to that. I wanna get back to how life was before.
What’s been on your quarantine playlist?
Ace: For me, it’s Jacob Collier and ITZY.
Tala: For me right now, I really got into Phoebe Bridgers (her album is amazing) and BTS.
Host: A little bit of K-pop for both of you.
Tala: Deserved. It’s the wave right now, I love it.
Since we have the resources to check other genres, aside from K-pop, what other music did you discover?
Tala: Well, it’s not really much of a surprise ’cause I’m sure this genre has a wide fan base. But I really got into city pop, like Japanese ’80s city pop. That’s really my study playlist now. It’s a nice discovery for me. I feel like that’s gonna be in my top genres in 2021.
Ace: Actually, same na same talaga. ’Yon din—Tatsuro Yamashita and all the other cool Japanese artists. Yeah, puro Asian music talaga.
Tala: Yes, [I] agree. And it’s nice to listen to Asian artists, I think. I feel like the Western music industry has been great and dominated a lot, but I like that everything digital now gives Asian artists, including Filipino artists, more chances to have a wider audience.
So what do young artists like you think of K-pop?
Ace: For me, I think K-pop is not just about Korea. I think it’s also about Asia and Asian music. And as Tala mentioned earlier, back then, there were more Western artists who were getting recognized. But now, it’s inspiring for Asian audiences and Asian artists as well to see Asian representatives on the Western stage.
Tala: I agree with Ace. It’s more than just dancing, singing and performing. I think it’s more on the discipline and how hard it is for artists of color to make it worldwide. For me, I respect any group able to make it everywhere. It’s kind of like a light, I guess. Growing up, I barely saw Asian artists outside the Philippines. It gives us hope.
It seems that young artists like Tala and Ace Banzuelo support non-Filipino Asian music and artists like K-pop, J-pop and more. They believe that supporting these kinds of music is putting Asian artistry out there and, for them, it’s a win for the local industry and its artists as well.
Now if you’re wondering how you can watch Ace and Tala perform with other artists like Ben & Ben, Moira, SB19 and more on their six-hour continuous livestream, you can catch it for free on the “Bye 2020” YouTube channel on Dec. 31, 7pm onwards.
Art by Jan Cardasto
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