K-POP fans are no stranger to “MCOUNTDOWN,” “Inkigayo,” and “Music Bank.”
For starters, these are some of the popular South Korean music programs that serve as platforms for K-pop groups and soloists to perform live on the stage and promote their latest song, with their fans singing the fan chant and waving their light sticks from the crowd.
In case you did not know, there is a music show in the Philippines dedicated to rising P-pop groups and soloists.
It is called “PPOP Stage,” the first P-pop music show that aims to take P-pop idols to the center stage where they can showcase their talents and promote their music.
Elements
But “PPOP Stage” is not just about live performances. Like Korean music shows, “PPOP Stage” also features P-pop groups’ relay dances, online voting for the Idol of the Month, and an encore stage for the winner.
Relay dances have a simple concept: members of a certain P-pop group will form a line and the person in front will be the first to dance to a specific line of their song before moving to the end of the line. The members will take turns dancing until the song ends.
Music programs have different voting systems, and “PPOP Stage” has three ways to gather fans’ votes for their favorite idols: streaming their official song release on YouTube or Spotify, casting votes on the “PPOP Stage’s” website, and being part of the live audience.
Fans are entitled to vote five times per device per day on the voting platform. According to the show’s pointing system, one stream equates to one point and audience participation is equivalent to 10 points.
Whoever is named the Idol of the Month will do the encore stage to celebrate their win.
The P-pop music show also posts different camera angles of a group’s performance—a moving version, a wide version, and a high-quality focus cam of each member.
“PPOP Stage” goes live every second Saturday of the month on PPOP Stage and E Konek’s Facebook pages and YouTube channels.
Featured artists
Produced by E Konek Events and Concerts, “PPOP Stage” premiered on January 11 and was hosted by singer Yenne Torres.
The first episode showcased rising P-pop groups BILIB, ASTER, and AJAA, promoting their 2024 songs “Say Whatcha Wanna Say,” “A Star,” and “Bes I Luv U,” respectively. In the end, it was AJAA—known as “The New Generation of P-pop”—who took home the Idol of the Month trophy.
“PPOP Stage” has so far two episodes, with the second one airing on February 8 and featuring P-pop groups GAT, Pix!e, NEO, GEM&I, and ECLYPSE.
This time, however, Yenne was joined by other local artists as hosts, with AJAA’S JC being the idol emcee and Ayumi Takezawa as the PPOP Lounge host.
The second episode saw ECLYPSE winning the Idol of the Month title with its “Shake It Down” performance.
A support to P-pop community
More than just providing entertainment, P-pop idols and their fans are thankful for “PPOP Stage” for advocating for Original Pinoy Music (OPM) and being part of the “P-pop Rise” movement.
For ECLYPSE’s Dean, the music show is a “tremendous support” for the P-pop community.
Other fans, meanwhile, were grateful that “PPOP Stage” allows many talented Filipinos to be seen.
“Their courage to start a music show that champions P-Pop and allows new groups to be discovered is commendable,” one netizen posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“This country has so many talented individuals. Kulang lang talaga sa platform kaya salamat [PPOP Stage] for showcasing P-pop talent,” another social media user said.
This is just the beginning for the P-pop community. With tons of support coming from the fans and the idols, “PPOP Stage” promises to spice things up with its improved forthcoming episodes.
