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Ely Buendia reacts to alleged 'Ang Huling El Bimbo' plagiarism

By Cara Emmeline Garcia
Published August 4, 2020 10:49 AM PHT

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ELY BUENDIA AND CJ VILLAVICENCIO


The statement comes after 'Ang Huling El Bimbo' musical director, Myke Salomon, called out CJ Villavicencio for allegedly copying the musical's song arrangement for a contest.

Ely Buendia shared his disappointment towards CJ Villavicencio -- winner of The Pop Stage -- for allegedly plagiarizing the musical arrangement of the musical, "Ang Huling El Bimbo."

His statement follows after musical director Myke Salomon called the attention of the contest's producers to reconsider CJ's win.

Myke wrote on Twitter, "A guy copied or ripped-off our musical arrangements for #AngHulingElBimboMusical (musical treatment, concept) without permission.

"He won in that Pop Stage contest for his final round. He won 1 million [pesos] and an artist contract.

"I feel bad for the other contestants."

He added, "And para sa mga productions and judges, you are judging concept and originality... you tolerate ripping off."

CJ won the contest on Sunday, August 2, for his performance that incorporated a medley of Eraserheads songs.

Among the criteria for judging includes creativity and originality that account for 40% of the total score along with performance (40%) and entertainment value (20%).

The uploaded finale performance has earned more than 11,000 reactions -- mostly angry emojis.

On his personal Facebook account, CJ reposted The Pop Stage video on July 27 but did not credit “Ang Huling El Bimbo” on the post.

An edit was made on July 31 which cited the musical as his inspiration and added, “You gave us the drive to persevere in life.”

Upon hearing this news, the Eraserheads lead vocalist expressed his dismay for the entry.

Ely wrote on Facebook, "AHEB's ROTC 'Pare Ko' was by far, among all the brilliant arrangements and choreography in the show, the most striking and original renditions I had witnessed and enjoyed during its original run, and easily became my favorite.

"It took something old and was INSPIRED to make it NEW and FRESH. Therein lies the difference.

"Which is why it is disheartening that there is still a culture out there, not just in entertainment, that somehow makes it okay to take, credit, and be rewarded for someone else's work.

"I am disappointed for all the AHEB crew because I know for a fact that they poured all their hearts and souls into creating something that was true to the material and their craft.

"In our day to day struggles against this oppressive life, the temptation is always there to take the fast route, the shortcut, the easy way to success. But we are human.

"I hope this matter is resolved soon and credit is given to those who deserve it."

Among the many who spotted the similarities are theater artists Stephen Vinas and Jef Flores who created a side-by-side compilation of each musical number.

As of this writing, CJ and The Pop Stage have yet to issue a statement on the alleged claims.