Kevin Hermogenes laging kabado ‘pag kumakanta

SHOWBIZ KONEK
ni Maricris Valdez Nicasio

AMINADO si Kevin Hermogenes na hindi siya confident kapag nagpe-perform. Ngunit hindi ito nakikita sa kanya kapag nasa stage dahil talaga namang bigay-todo siya kapag kumakanta na.

Bagamat matagal na at sanay nang mag-perform, lagi pa rin siyang kinakabahan. Katwiran ni Kevin, “I wasn’t confident about my appearance.

Limang taon pa lang si Kevin ay kinakitaan na ng hilig sa pagkanta. Nariyang inilalagay niya ang ulo sa tapat ng speaker ng radio para marinig mabuti ang musika. At kahit hindi pa  malinaw magsalita, nasasambit na niya ang lyrics ng bawat kantang gusto niyang kantahin.

Na-develop nang husto ang pagkanta ni Kevin dahil sa suporta ng kanyang pamilya, lalo na ang kanyang ina.

“I would say, she is such a stage mom because she loves to tell me things that I must improve, things I must wear. She just always wants to be present in everything that I do. 

“She is the reason why I’m inspired to do well because my mom is good at everything that she does. She’s like my ultimate inspiration,” ani Kevin.

At nang nag-aaral na, sumali agad siya sa  music club at school choirs. Noong una’y inakalang hilig lang ang pagkanta, pero iba ang nakikita ng mga nakaririnig sa kanya, gift ang turing nila. 

“People and some relatives invited me to sing in events, that’s when I realized that I love it. I love singing, and I enjoy it a lot. I started to dream of becoming a singer. And make it as a living,” aniya.

At lalong nakompirma ni Kevin na ang pagkanta ay para sa kanya nang nakapasa siya sa audition ng World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA).

“When I went to college that’s the time it get serious. I started to perform for corporate shows seminars and make money out of it and it was also the time when I learned about WCOPA and auditioned.

“I tried to audition at WCOPA and that’s my first ever competition. At first, I was hesitant because I never had any formal training since it was not the priority of my family and we cannot afford to get me into formal training in singing. 

“I’m hesitant that time and very nervous because WCOPA is an international competition and I’ll be representing the country if ever. Apart from singing, I am also nervous about the responsibility that I will have if ever I will get into the Team.”

Kabado si Kevin nang mag-audition sa WCOPA. “I remember I was the fourth auditionee and it was held at the Opera Haus in Makati. The panel of judges was the national director, creative director of WCOPA Team Philippines, and the-Jed Madela,” na ang I Have Nothing ni Whitney Houston ang kinanta niya. 

“After singing, there’s like a five-second pause and dead air. They said ‘thank you’ and that’s it. In exiting the studio they gave me a slip. 

“I was expecting that moment that I didn’t make it because the first three auditionees were asked to sing a second song,” pagbabalik-tanaw ni Kevin kaya naman sinabi na niya sa sarili na okey lang kahit hindi makapasok. Subalit laking gulat niya nang makatanggap ng text na, ‘CONGRATULATIONS! You passed the Audition.’ 

Sa WCOPA lalo siyang nagkaroon ng inspirasyon sa kanyang talent.  

“I grew a lot as an individual and as an artist. I guess everything officially started in WCOPA.”

Taong 2016 siya lumaban sa WCOPA na ginanap sa Long Beach, California. Roon ay nakakuha siya ng Bronze medal para sa  Gospel, R and B/Jazz, at Contemporary categories. At noong  WCOPA Virtual 2020, nagkamit naman siya ng silver medal at nakapasok sa  semi-finals.

Pagkatapos ng WCOPA roon dumating ang maraming oportunidad tulad ng Idol Philippines.

“I was able to do concerts, shows, guesting, etc. In 2019, IDOL Philippines was launched on TV via ABS-CBN. 

“It was a proud moment and surreal at the same time. I remember my audition video got viral and people started to recognize me because of it. 

“Doing IDOL Philippines was a great yet nerve-wracking experience, too. All of it was worth it because I was able to make it to the Top 20 finalists. 

“Although I didn’t make it to the live rounds–it’s still an amazing experience! After IDOL Philippines, another opportunity came in. I was called to join Tawag Ng Tanghalan in It’s Showtime. 

“I was able to win twice, and it was also an amazing experience because I managed to go out of my comfort zone,” dire-diretsong kuwento pa ng singer.

Malaki ang pasasalamat ni Kevin sa naturang kompetisyon dahil marami siyang natutuhan tulad ng paniniwala sa kanyang kakayahan na anuman ang mangyari kapag ibinigay niya ang lahat, makakamit niya ang lahat.

“Personally, it is still an achievement. I also gained a lot of confidence when performing onstage. and connect to the people when conveying the message of the song. 

“All in all I gained a new realization that I can sing and explore more genres in music to be able to make my talent grow. 

At kung noon ay wala siyang tiwala sa kanyang hitsura ngayo’y ibang-iba na dahil naniniwala siyang wala sa body size ang kakayahan at magandang pagkatao ng isang nilalang kundi nasa kabutihan nito at may malaking puso.

“It is the confidence and the singer’s ability to communicate with the heart that matters most,” giit pa niya.