Netizens defend Lyca Gairanod against ‘illiterate’ jokes in social media platforms

• The Voice Kids Season One winner trends as she performed her own cover of popular song Havana on Umagang Kay Ganda.
• Netizens expressed their divided opinions towards the said cover.

Lyca Gairanod drew attention as she made a cover of Camila Cabello’s hit song ‘Havana’ on the morning show Umagang Kay Ganda.

Unfortunately, people aren’t sharing her videos to praise her, but to point out her lyrical errors. Seems like other netizens aren’t so fond of the Voice Kids’ Season One winner’s rendition.

She was wearing a white and black dress at her ABS-CBN appearance and looked mature in her own cover. Even though she hit the notes, her mispronunciation of the lyrics is what drew all the buzz.

Hindi ko maintndhan ung knta ni lyCa gairanod ng kantang havana sa umagang kay ganda,,,i dont know if this is her own iterpretation to the song but i think theres something wrong about the diction…i was just concern…nagshoshortcut ka…

This one netizen even mentioned Darren Espanto, who lost against Lyka at The Voice Kids.

Lyka gairanod’s version of havana made me realized na mas deserving talaga dapat si Darren na manalo sa the voice kids. Pero wala eh dinaan sa awa eh #Justice

Lyca Gairanod’s version of Havana is a pain to watch because I just love her voice but she failed to deliver it. As a singer, you are a storyteller and to get your message across you have to study the lyrics and interpret it. Her management should have sorted this one out.

On the other hand, people have defended Lyka against all the mocking as she started her education late due to financial difficulties.

From a post of Edgardo Alegre Jr., this is not the first time that the singer has messed up the lyrics of a song. “If u guys can remember, the same happened when she performed ‘Call Me Maybe’ during The Voice Kids 2014 finals.” he wrote in his Facebook profile.

“It was later on revealed by Coach Sarah that the 10-yr old Lyca was illiterate. She had to recall the lyrics by listening to the song, and it was extra difficult because it was in a language I suppose she can’t understand at that time.”

He also emphasized that Lyka might have never gone back to school but she is still the breadwinner of her family.

“She might have won all the prizes in TVK but she probably never went back to school. All I see here is a young girl who was forced into exploitative labor to become the breadwinner of her poor family.

“Nevermind that she can’t understand the lyrics. Nevermind that she’s making a fool of herself on national TV. I’m sure she’ll be willing to mumble any song out there as long as it brings food on her family’s table.

“Sorry but I don’t find anything laughable about this.”

In the end, a netizen apologized for making fun of the singer’s pronunciation, clarifying that he did not know that the kid just learned the words just by listening due to her lack of reading abilities.

hello everyone, i’d like to apologize for making fun of lyca… just found out today that she’s botched english lyrics before because of her illiteracy. she learns the words by listening. imagine having to memorize lyrics in a foreign language that way… wow i feel so bad.

He also shared that children should not join “exploitative singing competitions” and sacrifice their education just to escape poverty.

children shouldn’t have to join exploitative singing competitions, with their struggle reduced to a storyline, in order to escape poverty. they shouldn’t have been made to remain in showbiz and act as breadwinner at the expense of their opportunity to study.

Lyka Gairanod’s Havana cover has surpassed 650,000 views on YouTube.