Louie Kem Anthony Babaran

Singer, Songwriter / Letrang Norte (First Grand Winner of Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Kanto Canta)

Hi, I am Louie Kem Anthony Babaran. I learned how to play instruments since 1st year high school and got good at it. But ever since I started music, I always wanted to sing very well. Because I self-studied playing the guitar and piano, I also tried my luck with singing but I never improved even after college when I started to work. Then, this pandemic happened. I got the chance to enroll voice lessons with sir Jojo of Singer Studio. And ever since, my singing improved exponentially. And that kickstarted my passion in songwriting. Starting 2021, I signed with Northern Root Records, a record label found locally in our area, and had a chance to write songs. I composed a song titled “Tahanan” and I recorded, arranged and sang the vocal parts together with my partner in the label, Ms. Ruth Resuello. We were about to release it on spotify but we found out that the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Kanto Kultura was holding a songwriting contest, called Kanto Canta, in which we had to write and record our original compositions with the incorporation of indigenous instruments of the Philippines. We tried our luck with Tahanan and passed it as our official entry for the contest. We made it through the pre-qualifying screen, then the finals, then ended up being their first ever Kanto Canta grand champion. We won a grand prize and a recording and management label with Widescope Entertainment, being with the likes of Ebe Dancel and Sitti. If not for the quality and effective voice lessons of Singer Studio, I would have never even reached this feat, so I am extremely grateful to sir Jojo for helping me realize my dreams.