Cebu K-Pop World Festival 2022 winners eager to showcase talent on world stage

After two years of holding the K-Pop World Festival Preliminary in Cebu virtually due to the global pandemic, the Korean Consulate in Cebu and the Cebu Korean Association returned to a physical staging last July 2 at The Terraces of Ayala Center Cebu.

Consul General Choi Sewon of the Consulate of Korea in Cebu said that the World K-Pop Festival, which started in 2011, has now become one of the most significant Hallyu Festivals connecting K-Pop lovers all over the world.

“I hope that today’s event will create meaning and understanding of our cultures, and furthermore, can enhance the established bilateral relations of our two countries,” said Choi.

The Cebu preliminaries showcased 30 K-Pop cover groups, or approximately 300 participants, that were handpicked from over 85 teams that sent their audition videos online.

The videos of the top three picks from the 30 performers will be sent to South Korea where they will get the chance to be chosen to represent the Philippines and be flown to Changwon City to compete against other countries in the 2022 K-Pop World Festival.

With the return of live performances and an ecstatic crowd during the prelims, head organizers Blanche Conclu and Angel Yong said that they felt “overwhelmed but in a good way.”

Crowd favorite Rhapsody, who covered Very Nice by SEVENTEEN, was hailed champion. Declared first runnerup was all-girl group Understatement who covered Kep1er’s MVSK, while second runner-up was youngest competitor The Glitz who covered ITZY’s LOCO.

Cover groups ORTUS, XY 28, and Mi6X were given consolation prizes.

Rhapsody channels inner Synchronization Kings Formed in 2018, grand winner Rhapsody was initially a 10-person cover group before expanding to 13 members.

James Guia, Rhapsody’s representative, said that they decided to increase their members because they wanted to cover songs from the Synchronization Kings, K-Pop boy band SEVENTEEN.

“We are all CARATS and huge fans of SEVENTEEN. They are our inspiration,” said Guia.

During the onset of the pandemic, Guia shared that they went through a rough patch as they could not join events for two years. With most of their members still minors that time, their parents did not allow them to leave their homes.

Having joined several K-Pop dance competitions and events before such as the Cebu K-Pop Convention, the Cebu K-Pop Muster Semi-Finals and SEVENTEEN Cebu 7th Anniversary Meet, the group had been participating in minor events to prepare for the Cebu K-Pop World Fest (CKWF) 2022.

Performing for the fifth time, Guia disclosed that being hailed as champions at CKWF 2022 had been their goal since 2018.

The independent team had to practice their dance routine at the back gate of the Colegio de la Inmaculada ConcepciónCebu since they could not afford to rent a dance studio.

Without sponsors and a management, they faced a lot of financial issues. Several of their members even fell ill due to their rigorous training.

“This was only a dream of ours back in 2018 and it finally became reality,” said Guia. “It was hard to believe that we actually won because of how amazing all the other contestants were.”

If chosen to represent the country in the K-Pop World Festival Finals to be held in Changwon City, South Korea, the group hopes to bring with them their Filipino pride as well as their love for SEVENTEEN on the global stage.

“If we really were to be sent to South Korea to compete, we will show the world the talent we, Filipinos, have,” said Guia.

“To represent our country would be a huge honor and privilege, so it is a given that we will be giving everything that we’ve got for our performance.”

Understatement K-Pop cover group Extension debuts at CKWF 2022

Making their first appearance at K-Pop community competitions, first runner-up Understatement was mainly a varsity group born in 2011 that competed in dance tournaments such as World Supremacy Battlegrounds, and SM’s Dance Fest.

Composed of 25 members, the team formed a ninegirl K-Pop Cover Group last March as they wanted to try something new through joining CKWF 2022.

Aidha Mariannelle Basubas, the representative of Understatement, said that they developed a love for K-Pop music over the years.

Eager for growth, the competition was the perfect stage for the dancers’ comeback, which Basubas described to be “fresh and very competitive.”

Despite their successful debut, Basubas divulged that it did not come easy as they struggled due to time constraints and their members’ prior commitments.

“We worked on individual practices and memorization. We sent individual progress videos to our group chat. We had only three practices before we had to shoot to submit an audition video before the deadline,” said Basubas.

Making it to the top 30 of the Preliminary, the firsttimers, overwhelmed and in shock, were yet to face more obstacles.

“Our leader and a member had to go back and forth to Bantayan because they were committed to teaching classes there. Another had to leave for Manila for an internship, and another had to fly to Manila as well to finalize her college application.”

“We only had time to practice as a complete group a day before the blockings when everybody was home in Cebu,” said Basubas.

It was the girls’ commitment and dedication that had gotten them through the tough times.

Basubas shared that they were also very grateful to the Unknown Company who was responsible for helping them polish their routine.

With all that they sacrificed and the gratitude they had for those who helped, winning first runner-up at CKWF 2022 gave them a huge sigh of relief.

“If we would be given the chance to be sent to South Korea, it would be a dream come true for all the members. We’d be bringing with us our Cebuana pride,” she said.

“We’d also be wearing our hearts on our sleeves when we compete on that stage. Understatement has been very passionate about dancing for years. It would be a great honor for us to represent Cebuanas on a very big stage.” Second time’s the charm for The Glitz

The youngest of the bunch, second runner-up The Glitz proved that age is not a measure of how great one’s execution of talent can be.

Dancing together since they were kids, they were originally named “Mommy’s Angels” but due to unfortunate events, the group was short-lived.

It was only in 2021 when they performed again but this time, debuting as the five-member K-Pop cover girl group, The Glitz, at last year’s Cebu K-Pop Festival.

Off to a good start, the girls became finalists of the competition before continuing to join public showcases and events such as CKM, CKK, and CKC.

They decided to try their luck once more out of their love for dancing and entertaining.

Fheby San Mateo, The Glitz’s leader, said that they wanted to share their talents and inspire others.

Fans of K-Pop’s 4th Generation Queens ITZY, they wanted to perform LOCO for this year’s CKWF to challenge themselves with the girl group’s hard choreography.

“The challenges we had to face were being incomplete during practices, having no permanent place to rehearse, and members being sick,” said San Mateo.

“Even on the day of the event, our youngest member was still feeling unwell. We got through it by being determined and dedicated to performing on stage.”

With members aged 9-13 years old, San Mateo believes that what sets them apart from other cover groups is their relative youth. What makes them unique, she said, is that despite their different styles of dancing, they can blend as one.

“If we were the ones to be sent to South Korea, we plan to bring our confidence, charm, creativity, positivity, and our hearts on the global stage.