This year, Billboard Philippines is proud to host the first-ever Billboard Philippines Women In Music Awards, where we celebrate Filipina excellence in music from the past, present, and future. In its inaugural year, we are launching the Listeners’ Choice and People’s Choice awards, where fans can vote for their favorite artists and songs in the list of nominees. These two awards will be presented alongside the awards for Woman of the Year, Icon, Powerhouse, Hitmaker, Rising Star, and Rulebreaker, the awardees of which are carefully selected by the Billboard Philippines team.

The Listeners’ Choice award recognizes a chart-topping hit and fan-favorite anthem, which is chosen by the fans themselves.

The poll opens today (February 29) and will run until March 20, 11:59 PM Philippine time. The nominee with the most number of votes will be awarded at the Billboard Philippines Women in Music event this March.

What are you waiting for? Check out our list of the first-ever nominees for the Billboard Philippines Women in Music Listeners’ Choice award below.

Bugambilya — Belle Mariano

Actress-singer Belle Mariano’s six-track EP from 2023, Somber, is woven together with folk, pop, and acoustic elements. “Bugambilya” (Bougainvillea) is a song that can only be described as quintessentially Filipino — a hugot style ballad that includes strings and powerful harmonies. The song has racked up nearly 15 million streams since its release and is her second most-streamed song, after 2021’s “Sigurado” (Sure).

Belle Mariano

Belle Mariano courtesy of ABSCBN entertainment.

Hinahanap-hanap — Jikamarie

R&B and dreampop fusion artist Jikamarie dropped “HINAHANAP-HANAP” (Looking For) in November of last year, and the track is full of that good-old 21st century R&B. You have the trill of the hi-hats and Jikamarie’s signature breathy voice easing you into a groove that you can’t help but bop your head along to.

Jikamarie

Jikamarie photographed by Kenneth Clark Ponce & Aurecor Ponce.

Just Because — Mrld

Billboard Philippines Discover artist and folk phenom Mrld has released hit after hit since she was 14, and “Just Because” is no exception. The song shows off a different side to the singer-songwriter, where she incorporates more electronic and R&B elements compared to her usual acoustic sound. Since its release last year, the song has garnered 12 million streams on Spotify alone.

Mrld

Mrld photographed by Marvin Panes for OC records.

Tsada Mahigugma — Maymay Entrata

It’s been a good year for actress and pop artist Maymay Entrata. In “Tsada Mahigugma” (roughly translated as Stupid Love), her larger-than-life signature pop sound comes out in full force. With infectious hooks and an undeniably danceable rhythm, there’s no mistake that Entrata is a strong contender for the award.

Maymay Entrata

Maymay Entrata courtesy of @maymay.

Sitwasyonship — Janine Berdin

“Sitwasyonship” marked the start of a new chapter for Tawag ng Tanghalan grand champion Janine Berdin. As a now fully independent artist, she takes full creative control in her 2023 viral hit. Listen to that unforgettable rasp and tongue-in-cheek lyricism — it’s no wonder that the song has almost 10 million streams online.

Janine Berdin

Janine Berdin courtesy of @janineberdin.

Sabik — DENȲ ft. Arthur Nery

2023 was a great year for R&B, and DENȲ was one of the genre’s newest faces. Her sultry and powerful voice paired with Arthur Nery’s croon is a match made in heaven for a track like “Sabik” (Eager). The self-proclaimed “pretty maangas” is no stranger to penning hits, and “Sabik” definitely deserves the love that it gets.

DENȲ

DENȲ courtesy of @itsdenyph.

B.A.D — Denise Julia ft. P-Lo

You only need to hear one second of this song to immediately recognize it. “B.A.D” from R&B singer-songwriter Denise Julia was arguably one of the biggest songs of last year, not just in the Philippines, but even abroad. With her Ariana Grande-like voice and melodies, she has just released one hit after the other ever since she started her career. Truly, there’s nowhere but up for this artist.

Denise Julia

Denise Julia courtesy of Sony Music PH.

Glue Song — Beabadoobee

Filipino-English artist Beabadoobee revisited her Filipino roots with pride in “Glue Song,” one of the biggest global hits last year. I mean, you don’t get an estimate of 250 million combined streams without a truly heartwarming and special song. In the music video, she shows a love letter to her Filipino family and the rural life in Iloilo without making it tokenistic, which is something that can’t always be said for artists from the Filipino diaspora.

Beabadoobee

Beabadoobee courtesy of @radvxz.

Kisame — Rhodessa

Rhodessa‘s breakout hit “Kisame” (Roof) was all over our feeds last year with its honest songwriting that made the song close to listeners’ hearts. The song also clinched Rhodessa the Wish Ballad Song of the Year earlier in January, beating established acts like Moira dela Torre, Belle Mariano, and even SB19.

Rhodessa

Rhodessa courtesy of Viva Records.

Delikado — Dwta

Awit Award winner and Billboard Philippines Discover artist dwta is one of the fastest rising stars today, bringing pride to her Bicolana roots. Her song “Delikado” (Dangerous), written and sung in Bicolano, draws you in with the bouncy rhythm and dwta’s enchanting voice. It’s clear that in dwta’s music and lyrics, she stays true to herself no matter what.

Dwta

Dwta photographed by Alliece Shazney.

Vote for your Listeners’ Choice awardee in the poll below.

  1. Voting commences on March 1, 2024, 2:30 PM, and will close on March 20, 2024, 11:59 PM.
  2. Unlimited voting is allowed. Votes are not limited per user, per day nor per category.
  3. Page may be refreshed after each vote to count each entry.
  4. Only one winner will be named per category.
  5. Official voting will ONLY be conducted via the Billboard Philippines website polls. 
  6. Vote buying, cheating, and any other methods used to gain an unfair advantage is strictly not allowed.
  7. Billboard Philippines will have an auditor review all votes and take action on any anomalous votes (ie: spam, bots, etc). Billboard Philippines reserves the right to nullify malicious votes.
  8. Billboard Philippines will tabulate the votes at the end of the voting period mentioned. 
  9. The nominee with the most votes will be declared the winner in their respective category. The winner will be awarded at Billboard Philippines’ Women In Music event on March 22, 2024.