There’s nothing like old-time folk music! This Filipino folk band went viral in their backyard for their beautiful acoustic cover of the ABBA classic “Fernando.” The eight-piece band, called Candungao Rondalya, created a brilliant cover using banjos, guitars, and an enormous guitarrón bass. As the sounds of birdsong rang out in the peaceful rural scene, the band delivered an ingenious arrangement that captured the graceful melodies of the ABBA hit so well.
Candungao Rondalya played the vocal melodies of Agnetha Fältskog and Frida Lyngstad on 12-string instruments similar to banjos. The band’s groovy rendition of the hit really highlighted how brilliant ABBA’s melodies are. Viewers also really loved seeing the band smiling together and doing a little boogie as they played. The Music Man is pleased to report that Candungao Rondalya scored a viral video for their trouble, as their ABBA cover has been viewed more than one million times since its upload on April 15, 2023.
Candungao Rondalya is a folk group based in San Isidro on the island of Bohol, Philippines. Viewers left hundreds of comments showing their appreciation of the band’s unique performance, adding remarks such as “This video just popped up on my feed. I listened and am so engrossed. One of my old time favorites” and “Lovely to see a bunch of people just enjoying each other’s company and music together.”
You may also like...
- Article Continues Below -
The ABBA cover is not the first time Candungao Rondalya have scored a viral video. The group’s living room cover of Boney M.’s disco hit “Rivers of Babylon” has racked up 1.3 million views since the band uploaded it on July 24, 2023. In this six-piece performance, the band again gave a creative arrangement of the song, playing the famous melodies in such a captivating way.
Candungao Rondalya call themselves barrio musicians, which translated means neighborhood musicians. The group has been regularly uploading their performances to YouTube since 2021. Candungao Rondalya’s first video to really take off on YouTube was their October 17, 2021 cover of Sue Thompson’s 1961 hit “Sad Movies (Make Me Cry).” Clearly, the band loves to play the classic pop hits of yesteryear, and they’re certainly very good at delivering the songs in their own distinctive style. The Music Man loves to cover unique artists like Candungao Rondalya, and hopefully, we’ll see many more viral videos from the group.