Singer Myko Mañago released a total of five digital singles last year, certainly a good haul considering how 2020 was viewed as a setback and a bore by most recording artists. In essence, he was preparing for something bigger this year as his duet piece (“Pangako”) with friend and management-mate Alisah Bonaobra garnered over a hundred thousand Spotify streams and counting, more than any of his previous releases.
The momentum is giving his latest solo release, “Kung Pwede Lang Sana” a significant lift. Small wonder Spotify editors included his pop love song to its Fresh Finds Philippines playlist.
That it was dropped in digital stores last Friday, the first day of another ECQ stretch in Metro Manila, made it a poignant moment for Myko who posted he was waiting for it by his lonesome on the eve of the release date.
He has always been thankful for his fan base Mykoholics for cheering him up since day one of pandemic 2020s. No doubt these loyal supporters kept him company in the midst of a new alarming scare.
Myko, once again, provided what he does best: great singing that gives real justice to songs at hand.
“Kung Pwede Lang Sana” was written and composed by Noriel Calderon, relatively a newbie given the privilege of a mainstream release under RJA Productions LLC which is fast-rising in the arena of talent scouting and producing.
“The song is very nice and I am very proud to be singing his first-ever commercial song release,” Myko noted.
The multiple-time champ from It’s Showtime’s “Tawag Ng Tanghalan” has likewise started writing his own songs and expressed his excitement about a composition he’d soon record and release. But that one may have to wait as “Kung Pwede Lang Sana,” for all its good melody recall and impassioned lyrics, deserves the spotlight now.
Myko’s livestream performances on his Facebook page have become a hit among netizens. He continues to do covers of familiar tunes and post them on his YouTube channel that’s about to reach around 20k subscribers.
Last week in a virtual media chat, Myko sang his seventh digital release seated in his room, hitting the right notes in his genuinely expressive face. He said that while he is missing the studio lights and live audience impact, he has adjusted to how things should be done in this new normal set-up. It showed vividly in his performance.
The five other songs in Myko’s growing singles catalogue are “Stuck,” “Patawad Sinta,” “Mahal Kita (Kahit Mahal Mo Siya),” “Tulad Niya” and the Christmas-themed “Sa Pasko, Piliin Mong Magmahal.”
“Kung Pwede Lang Sana” opens with the line “Siya na naman bang dahilan kung bakit ka nalulungkot?” The verses and the chorus run on the same melody pathway, yet delivered in varying intensity. The trick works especially with a refrain that serves as a durable link between them. You’d care for Myko when he starts asking, “Bakit ganun lagi ka niyang sinasaktan/ Binabalewala na lang ang iyong pagmamahal.”