KENT LEMUEL ESPALTERO
I’m the youngest participant in the competition but I am more humbled and honored to be part of the list especially that it is my first attempt to join a song writing competition.
I’m a graduating student taking up Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management in University of San Agustin. I’m a mental health advocate and an artist. I believe that with music artistry I am building my nation one ART at a time.
Joining competitions, performing, sharing my stories through songs, giving talks and involving myself in different organizations & sectors of the community are just a few of the countless happenings that sum up my life that inspires me to write my songs.
I have joined, various competitions, local, national & international contests such as World Championship of Performing Arts. I have represented my hometown, my province and proudly carried our flag against 50 countries and bagged medals and honor.
I’ve always been ambitious and dreamed to be an interpreter of every contest pieces every power belter can imagine but now in these years I realized that none of my achievements & medals were the measurements of who I am today and that’s why I wrote up my songs.
I am a depression survivor and I am not just here to compete but to ventilate the voice of the youth especially to those who are silenced about their condition.
I would just like to give an emphasis to my song which is entitled “Chat Box”. The song is one of the 15 songs that I made for my first love, two of the 15 songs were used as an original soundtrack in an Ilonggo local film entitled “Saliwat” and this one song was sincerely made when I was in the brink of depression and hopelessness.
I just want to light up a candle and show everyone that despite how happy the song is, there’s a deeper meaning in it. In that moment, that specific time when I thought I was unloved, instead of being depressed, there was a medium, which is music, there was this gift which gave me a power to save myself and now I am lending and sharing it to you.
I’m sharing my story, my music to possibly share that we can save one soul one art at a time. I passed this not to profit popularity but once again to prove that these people who are suffering from these mental health instabilities like me can do something beautiful, cause we are beautiful “Inside Out” (I am a founder of a mental health community Inside Out Iloilo is the name) I want to prove my countrymen especially myself that despite everything, my condition will never be a hindrance for me to be triumphant, that in every downside of our lives there’s still a rainbow after every rain, and guess what, after all of these suffering, at least now I finally found the one whom I can write the right songs about.
The Lyrics
CHATBOX
Verse 1
Nong una kang makita di nako pa nag duda
Add na kagad baka meron pang mauna
Di na tumigil sinisid nang gigil
Lahat ng website inalam at kinikil
Refrain
Oh miss oh please kahit la ng kiss
Basta huwag akong tinitiis
Pansinin ang amin akoy huwag bitinin
Pag mamahal koy iyong dingin
Chorus:
Hayaan mo ako na manligaw sayo
Hayaan mo ako mahalin ka ng todo
Huwag mag alinlangan akoy di lilisan
Matagalan man nandito lang maghihintay sayo
Verse 2
Simpleng chat at simpleng seen di maibigay kilig lang ang akin
Naka active pero di namamansin
Nakachat na sa iba pero sakin walang tingin
Tila ba di nakikita naka mute na ba o unfollowed na?
Di lubos maisip kung anong ikakanta makuha ka lang at mahalin na
Refrain
Oh miss oh please kahit la ng kiss
Basta huwag akong tinitiis
Pansinin ang amin akoy huwag bitinin
Pag mamahal koy iyong dingin
Chorus:
Hayaan mo ako na manligaw sayo
Hayaan mo ako mahalin ka ng todo
Huwag mag alinlangan akoy di lilisan
Matagalan man nandito lang maghihintay sayo
Bridge:
Martyr man ang sabi nila
Pero smile mo lang ako’y masaya
Di mo man piliin atleast napansin
Sa memories kinikilig pa din
Chorus:
Hayaan mo ako na manligaw sayo
Hayaan mo ako mahalin ka ng todo
Huwag mag alinlangan akoy di lilisan
Matagalan man nandito lang maghihintay sayo
Repeat Chorus
Matagalan man nandito lang maghihintay sayo (ooh)(2x)
Matagalan man nandito lang maghihintay ako
