SM Megamall’s Activity Center played host the the Grand Finals of the 2011 J-pop Anime Singing Contest last 23rd July 2011. Ten talented finalists from all walks of life came together to belt out their favorite Japanese pop tunes and anime theme songs. The finalists were joined by The Japan Embassy’s very own No Plan Band, as well as last year’s champions Himitsu who wow-ed the crowd with their renditions of J-pop and anime hits.
This year’s stellar line up of performers included Mr. Robert Bunales, a middle-aged gentleman with a deep melodious voice and a penchant for super robot themes. He found out about the contest from a local newspaper, and decided to give it a shot — Mr. Bunales bagged third place. Another stand-out performer was Ms. Sachi Gomez, who is also an enthusiastic Japanese language student aside from being a gifted singer. Ms Gomez was the runner-up for this year’s competition.
Reminiscent of last year’s results, one group of performers swept all three major awards, including the Hero’s Choice Award, the Toei’s Choice Award, and the Grand Championship. This year’s big winner is Heiki, who performed the song “Piece of My Wish” by Imai Miki. According to their Facebook fanpage, the band chose the song as a tribute to the victims of the 2011 Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Heiki is a complete package of talent, skill, and stage presence — making them the unquestionable winner of this year’s event.
The 2011 J-Pop Anime Singing Contest is presented by the Embassy of Japan in cooperation with the Japan Foundation Manila. This event is also supported by the SM Supermalls, SM Megamall, SM Cyberzone, Toei Animation Philippines, Nihongo Center Foundation, Center for Pop Music, Yoshinoya, Animation International Licensing, Ajinomoto, Canon, Heritage Hotel, Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, Yakult and HERO TV.
JPOP Manila 
I was so excited about the jpop singing contest. I was one of the audience during the event. Truly, the sponsors lived up to the expectation, more prizes *yey*
What I didn’t like though were the hosts, last year’s hosts was much better. They didn’t seem to know anything about the Japanese culture, the song, and the band performing. The interview portion was a bit awkward too… *sorry*
A big congratulations to all the winners and especially to the heiki band.And lastly, congrats to the JICC team for organizing this event!
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hmm i got a similar comment from somebody else about the emcees — i guess a lot of people are not too happy with them and prefer last year’s emcees? will let the event organizers know 🙂
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