Music industry newcomer Zion Aquino is all smiles after receiving three trophies at the 30th Awit Awards on Nov. 26 at the KIA Theater.
He won Best Ballad Recording for “Ever My Only Love,” Best R&B Recording for “Really Over You” and Best Performance by a New Male Recording Artist for “Defenseless.”
He is this year’s artist with the most number of nominated recordings, including “So Grateful” in the Best Inspirational category as well as Best Performance by a Male Recording Artist for the song “Brave For You,” his current single.
Bagging three awards out of five nominations came as a complete surprise to Zion’s manager and record producer Trina Belamide, who also penned all 10 tracks from the album titled Grateful Soul.
“We were up against stiff competition from more popular artists, so I set my expectations low. It was (an) honor enough to receive five nominations from our peers. I told Zion that winning even just one of them would already be a bonus for us. So this kind of validation for our hard work is an unexpected and enormous blessing. I’m so thankful to Awit Awards and to all fellow music practitioners who voted for us.”
Belamide hopes these awards would pique people’s interest in Zion. “My wish is for everyone to give him a listen. He truly has such a special voice. Anyone who hears him for the first time is almost always blown away buy that rich texture. Now that he has been noticed by the industry, hopefully he wins over the general public, too.”
Zion Aquino’s So Grateful album, distributed by Star Music, can be streamed on Spotify and downloaded on i-Tunes, Amazon, and other digital platforms. CDs are also available at AstroPlus branches nationwide.