(Updated 8:08 p.m.) Coke Studio Philippines is officially back with its 6th season!
With the official hashtag #CokeFanFusion, Coke Studio is set to delight Filipinos with local artists and fan collaborations.
Six artists, namely, BINI, Arthur Nery, Adie, KZ Tandingan, Shanti Dope and The Juans along with six talented fans have prepared co-created songs for a Fan Collaborated Coke Studio EP (extended play).
Fans submitted their entries via social media for a chance to collaborate on the final song with their favorite local artists.
Coke Studio will begin airing its weekly episodes on July 30 and will run until August 30.
Criteria for choosing the lineup
Cesar Gangoso, frontline marketing director of Coca-Cola ASEAN and South Pacific, discussed during a virtual media conference on Wednesday, July 20, what factors they took into account when selecting the season’s lineup of musicians.
“One of the values that we have in Coca-Cola is inclusivity. It is a brand that is consumed by many people. It is a brand for everyone. As KZ has said, we’re looking for people who can tell stories, maybe stories that haven’t been told,” Gangoso said.
“We wanna be inclusive, as you can see, iba-ibang musical genres, iba-ibang musical styles. We tried to be as inclusive as possible sa brand, that’s one of our criteria,” he explained.
Gangoso also said the beverage company is a brand that is about connecting people together, which was also one of the factors that they took into consideration.
“We also listen to fanbases and communities and really see basically who are the artists that are also promoting values of connecting with each other and really building communities,” he said.
“The third criteria probably for choosing the lineup every year is we always wanna look for artists who are basically pushing kind of like the boundaries of creativity and sound in the industry,” Gangoso added.
Inspiration behind the songs
During the online media conference, each Coke Studio artist shared the inspiration behind the songs.
For Shanti Dope, his rap challenge was created with the story of Filipino youth in mind while Arthur asked his fans to collaborate with him on a love song.
BINI, meanwhile, invited their fans “BLOOMs” to create a rap verse about body positivity. The members explained how they themselves experience body shaming because of the high standards that are expected from P-Pop idols.
“’Yung theme po ng song namin is body positivity, and feeling po namin ang perfect lang po ng theme for BINI kasi kahit kami po nakaka-experience ng body shaming kasi po parang ang taas ng standards na sineset sa mga P-pop idols,” Jhoanna said.
“Dapat ganito ka, dapat ganyan yung physique mo, so we want to change that mindset,” the BINI member added.
Adie’s song, on the one hand, is all about expressing one’s feelings.
“Para sa mga taong finally natagpuan na ang kanilang one and only, malaya sila sa isa’t isa despite challenges, para sa mga sinasana all,” Adie explained.
KZ, on the other hand, invited her fans to write a song about perseverance and sing “di na makikinig sa sabi-sabi” in different styles, dialect, or language. She believes that the song is her way of connecting Filipinos who are in different parts of the country.
Meanwhile, The Juans encouraged their fans to share their “diskarte” stories through the song. The band explained how they wanted to champion the Filipino value of being “madiskarte.”
Filipinos can watch and listen to Coke Studio episodes on YouTube and Spotify on the following dates:
- July 30: Shanti Dope’s “Day Onez” + Arthur Nery’s “Sinag”
- August 6: BINI’s “Love Yourself”
- August 13: The Juan’s “Diskarte”
- August 20: Adie’s “Tinatangi”
- August 30: KZ’s “Sabi-Sabi”
How fans reacted
Following the announcement of this year’s season, Original Pilipino Music fans cannot help but express their anticipation online.
“So excited na po! BINI ON COKESTUDIO #CokeFanFusionWithBINI #BINI @BINI_ph,” user @ako_si_mitchy wrote on Twitter.
“THEY WILL PERFORM SONGS WRITTEN BY THEIR FANS???? OHHHHH EXCITING,” another Twitter user expressed
Last year, Coke Studio Philippines featured other popular OPM artists such as Moira Dela Torre, BGYO, Janine Teñoso and more.
The first season of Coke Studio Philippines was aired in 2017 and was produced by Raimund Marasigan and Buddy Zabala.