Dodjie Simon’s ‘Best of All’ enters 2027 GRAMMY® consideration

Filipino songwriter Elzar “Dodjie” Simon has entered a collection of Original Pilipino Music into the 2027 GRAMMY® Awards process with Best of All (The Music of Dodjie Simon), a seven-track album built around four-part vocal arrangements.

Simon said the album and two of its recordings were submitted for consideration for the 69th Annual GRAMMY® Awards. The album was entered for Best Global Music Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical; “Ikaw Lamang” was entered for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals; and “Kulang Ang Paleta” was entered for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella.

The Recording Academy reviews entries for eligibility and category placement before qualifying works advance through the awards process.

First-round voting is scheduled for Oct. 12 through Oct. 22, with nominees to be announced Nov. 16. The 69th Annual GRAMMY® Awards will be held Feb. 7, 2027, in Los Angeles.

Released Aug. 11, Best of All features Moy Ortiz, Nica Tupas, Bianca Lopez-Aguila and Joshua Cadeliña. Its seven tracks are “Pinakahihintay,” “No Mount Too High,” “Best of All,” “In God Alone,” “Ngayon ang Bukas,” “Kulang Ang Paleta” and “Ikaw Lamang.”

Four songs are in Tagalog and three in English. Four tracks are a cappella.

Joel Navarro arranged the album and produced it with Simon. Martin Andrew Guevara served as recording engineer, while Jett Galindo handled mixing and mastering. Marvin Querido plays keyboards on “In God Alone” and “Ngayon ang Bukas,” while Francisco Llorin on cello and Japs Bautista on oboe join the singers on “Ikaw Lamang.”

Galindo, a Filipino mastering engineer and Berklee College of Music graduate, was the mastering engineer on Gaby Moreno’s X Mí (Vol. 1), which won the 2024 GRAMMY® Award for Best Latin Pop Album.

Navarro’s career spans choral conducting, arranging and music education. A graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Music, he later spent 12 years conducting choirs at Calvin University before returning to Southeast Asia.

Ortiz has had a long career in Philippine vocal music as artistic and musical director of The CompanY and as a composer, arranger, performer and record producer.

Cayabyab collaboration

“Kulang Ang Paleta” brings Simon together with Ryan Cayabyab, who was proclaimed National Artist for Music in 2018.

According to Simon, Cayabyab composed the melody and Simon wrote the Tagalog lyrics. Navarro arranged the piece for Ortiz, Tupas, Lopez-Aguila and Cadeliña without instrumental accompaniment.

The arrangement places the complete musical framework in the singers’ hands, with the four voices carrying melody, harmony, rhythm and texture rather than relying on an instrumental ensemble.

Simon said “Kulang Ang Paleta” was entered for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella. The Recording Academy describes the category as recognizing arrangers for instrumental arrangements on instrumental recordings or a cappella arrangements on vocal a cappella recordings.

A new arrangement of ‘Ikaw Lamang’

The album closes with “Ikaw Lamang,” an earlier Simon composition presented in a new arrangement by Navarro.

Simon said the song was inspired by the woman who would become his wife, whom he first encountered through a photograph displayed at their university.

For the new recording, Simon said the cello and oboe represent two individual journeys, with the instrumental lines eventually meeting while retaining distinct musical identities.

Bringing OPM into the GRAMMY® process

The Aug. 11 release of Best of All falls within the Recording Academy’s eligibility period for the 69th GRAMMY® Awards, covering qualifying recordings released between Aug. 31, 2025 and Aug. 28, 2026.

The Recording Academy says approximately 20,000 entries are submitted annually. Entries undergo eligibility and category screening before qualifying recordings proceed through the awards process.

Simon said participating in the process has also given him an opportunity to learn more about how Filipino composers, arrangers, performers and recording professionals can bring their work into the international recording industry.

Best of All brings together Simon’s songwriting, Navarro’s vocal arrangements, Cayabyab’s contribution to “Kulang Ang Paleta,” Galindo’s engineering work and the performances of Ortiz, Tupas, Lopez-Aguila and Cadeliña.