Thanks to Mojofly’s Lougee, we got inspired to go all nostalgic and come up with a list of more singers we so miss that we’d like to see them perform again through “The Voice of the Philippines.”

 

It’s the perfect venue for comebacks and second chances. Remember Radha (of the ’90s pop group Kulay), who auditioned and made it to the finals of the show’s first season? How about Aia de Leon of Imago, who unfortunately didn’t pass the blind auditions?

 

Season two of the popular talent search is getting similar hopefuls who want another shot in the music industry. Just look at heartthrob Daniel Padilla’s mother, Karla Estrada, who actually started as a singer before becoming an actress. She sang 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Going On?” during the blind auditions, but failed to convince the judges to turn their chair around.

 

Or how about ’90s singer Nino Alejandro who successfully persuaded all the coaches to press the red button, thanks to a great cover of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell”?

 

Let’s not forget Lougee Basabas herself, who was a member of the Ryan Cayabyab pop group Kaya and eventually fronted the ’90s band Mojofly as Kitchie Nadal’s replacement.

 

Her rendition of Sheryl Crow’s “Strong Enough” on “The Voice” got the nods of Bamboo and apl.de.ap; she chose the former to be her mentor.

 

While it’s only proper to “give chance to others” and see fresh talents competing, it’s also nice for yesterday’s pop acts to resurface on the show. Doesn’t even matter if they won’t sound as good as before, or if they still have “it.”

 

Karla, Nino, Lougee not enough? Here are more singers from way back that we’d love to see again—this time as “The Voice” hopefuls.

 

Mike Luis

 

This talented musician (he also plays keyboards and writes songs) blasted into the scene in the ’90s with the catchy song “Iba Ka Na Pala Ngayon,” which is probably the only tune he’s known for, although his debut album contained a lot of underrated gems.

 

 

He is now a member of Freestyle, but we think such talent deserves a solo spotlight, especially because we haven’t really been hearing much from the band lately. His voice and style, greatly influenced by Michael Jackson, should arouse interest from the mentors.

 

Chedi Vergara

 

Who says Zhar is the only Smokey Mountain member who can try out for a talent search (“American Idol”)? We want to see how Chedi, best known for “Kahit Habang Buhay” and shaving her hair, would be received in “The Voice.” She’s got that rich, deep voice with a lot of personality, and we haven’t really come across anyone who sounds like her.

 

Jayson Angangan

 

Okay, since we’re on the topic, why not include another Smokey Mountain (SM) alum? Imagine if one gets in and the other does not. Imagine if both don’t get in!

 

Among all the SM boys, we think Jayson should make a comeback because the “Nahan Ka” singer has the most interesting-sounding voice (sorry, Tony Lambino, James Coronel and Jeffrey Hidalgo).

 

Benj of FOJ/Vanna Vanna

 

What about the female vocal group FOJ (First of June)? Scoring hits like “Hurting Inside,” “So Much in Love,” “I Need Your Love,” and “He Loves Me” when it changed its name to Vanna Vanna and released an album in Asia, any of the three girl members could win the judges’ nod.

 

Teri—who used to be in the band U Turn along with Richard Poon and is now based in the United States—has a pop/R&B flavor in her voice. Alana, who used to do gigs in bars with Chad Borja, has a more mainstream sound but can hit the high notes. Last but not the least, Benj has a silky-smooth voice that is so soothing, unique and full of personality. We really want her to join “The Voice” and prove that you don’t need to be a belter to be considered a good singer.

 

Maxine

 

Annabelle Santos in real life, Maxine was a singer who appeared in the GMA 7 shows “Best Friends” and “SOP” in the early ’90s. Known for being a Joyce Jimenez lookalike and once being linked to Paolo Bediones, she had a hit song, “Ilang,” which sounded like an Aaliyah and a Destiny’s Child song. Kyla, (aka Melanie Calumpad in real life) was her kasabayan, and we’d love to see the two sing together again. Maybe “The Voice” can make that happen.

 

Jamie Baby

 

We’re not really sure how good a singer Jamie Baby is because we didn’t buy a copy of her album when we were young, and her hit single “Eh Kasi Bata” was a cross between a rap song and a melodic poem. This is why, in the spirit of fairness, we want to hear how she sounds like now.

 

Dawn Dineros

 

Not a lot of people may remember this sort of one-hit-wonder. She recorded “Changing and Giving Ways,” which sounded like it was “sung by a foreigner” (meaning good). She released her version of “One in a Million You,” which surprisingly wasn’t as famous as her first single. She also had a duet with British boyband Code Red (“We Can Make It If We Try”) when the group visited the country.

 

We have no idea where the hell Dawn Dineros is, but we would surely love to see her try out on “The Voice.”

 

That girl from WYRD

 

This girl band impressed a lot of people back in the ’90s because the group wrote its own songs and knew how to play musical instruments. The members were very young, too, making them the Pinoy/girl version of Hanson. Claims to fame? WYRD won a contest in MTV Asia and had some hits, such as “Gone,” “Don’t You Ever Go Away” and “Scream,” which highlighted the unique voice of the lead singer.

 

Such uniqueness is what “The Voice” needs right now and we are counting on Bamboo or apl to spot this factor in case That Girl from WYRD joins the blind auditions.

 

LA Lopez

 

Sure, he was pretty annoying as a child star and a young singer (or maybe we were just jealous) and how we felt for him didn’t change when he released that “Yakap” song. But in the spirit of, well, giving people a second chance, we’d love for the former child star to join “The Voice” to try to prove us that he’s no longer that annoying. Just look at Tom Taus, who is now a certified hottie.

 

Melody del Mundo

 

The name may not be familiar, but her band Sugar Hiccup should be. That, or her hauntingly beautiful voice in the hit “Five Years.” Who could ever forget that song or Melody’s eerie wailing? It was unique. Now that’s the kind of voice we need on “The Voice.”

 

We can’t help but wonder, though, what Melody—supposing she’d join the blind auditions—would sing for the contest. Wouldn’t it be amazing if she sang “Five Years” again, only for the judges to find out it is her singing her own song? Or how about something more contemporary, like Sia’s “Chandelier”?