The Philippine Popular Music Festival (also known as Philpop) is an annual songwriting competition organized by the Philpop MusicFest Foundation and was launched in 2012.[1] The creation of the festival was inspired by the defunct Metro Manila Popular Music Festival.[2] The foundation itself is headed by the chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, executive director Ryan Cayabyab and administrator and communications director Patricia Bermudez-Hizon.[3] The competition is only open to original and previously unreleased songs in English, Filipino and other Philippine languages.[4] Since its inception, it has been airing annually in TV5.
There are three prizes given: Grand Prize (₱1,000,000), 2nd Prize (₱500,000) and 3rd Prize (₱250,000). An additional award is given named Smart People's Choice Award (₱200,000), which is the most popular song based on the text votes sent by the people. People who win these prizes also receive trophies while the defeated finalists each receive ₱50,000 and a plaque.
In its first year, the festival has received many controversies regarding to its finalists and its rules.[5][6] On its second year, all the interpreters were able to film music videos for their respective song entries.[7][8][9]
Viva Records released the compilation albums of the PhilPop Music Festival finalists.[10]
In 2020, the Philpop Foundation formed a partnership with Warner Music Philippines and telecommunications company Smart Communications for its 2020 Edition of the competition.