Filipino songwriter vies for the 2027 Grammy's

LOS ANGELES, California — Award-winning Filipino songwriter Elzar “Dodjie” Simon has officially thrown his hat into the most prestigious accolade in the global music industry, submitting his latest collection of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) for consideration in the 69th Annual GRAMMY® Awards in February 2027.

The submission centers around Simon's seven-track album, Best of All (The Music of Dodjie Simon), a project defined by its intricate four-part vocal arrangements.

Simon revealed that the album and two of its standout recordings have been entered
across four distinct categories: Best Global Music Album (Full Album); Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (Full Album); Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals (for the track “Ikaw Lamang”); Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella (for the track “Kulang Ang Paleta”).

Released in August 11, 2026, "Best of All" showcases a blend of cultural and linguistic identity, featuring four tracks in Tagalog and three in English. Four of the album's seven tracks are performed entirely a cappella.

To bring the complex vocal harmonies to life, Simon collaborated with a stellar lineup of vocalists, including Moy Ortiz, Nica Tupas, Bianca Lopez-Aguila, and Joshua Cadeliña. The full tracklist includes “Pinakahihintay,” “No Mount Too High,” “Best of All,” “In God Alone,” “Ngayon ang Bukas,” “Kulang Ang Paleta,” and “Ikaw Lamang.”

Describing the GRAMMY Awards' process, he said the Recording Academy is currently reviewing all entries for eligibility and category placement. Once cleared, the album will face the voting body.

First-round voting is scheduled to take place from Oct. 12 through Oct. 22, with the official nominees revealed to the world on Nov. 16. The 69th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place on Feb. 7, 2027, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Aside from music, Simon's career also spans information technology, engineering, and artificial intelligence.

In the Philippine music industry, Simon, known professionally as Dodjie Simon, first gained national recognition when he won the 1988 KBP MusicFest for Isang Dugo, Isang Lahi, Isang Musika.

In 1997, he won the Grand Prize at the 1997 Asia Song Festival in Hong Kong, with Jaya; Second Place at the Manila International Song Festival, with Lani Misalucha; and Second Place at the Metropop Song Festival, with Lloyd Umali. Two years later, he returned to the Metropop Song Festival and captured the 1999 Grand Prize, again with Lani Misalucha.

Simon is the songwriter behind notable OPM songs as “Ikaw Lamang,” popularized by Zsa Zsa Padilla and by the Janno-Jaya duet; “Can Find No Reason,” recorded by Louie Heredia; and “Kung Alam Mo Lang,” popularized by Joanne Lorenzana and Jed Madela. His compositions have also been recorded by some of the Philippines’ most celebrated artists, including Lea Salonga, Martin Nievera, Gary Valenciano, Sarah Geronimo, Sharon Cuneta, Angeline Quinto, Carol Banawa, and Basil Valdez, among many others.

Aside from having written numerous theme songs for popular Philippine films and television dramas, Simon's earlier commercial songwriting credits include recordings by Filipino artists Jed Madela, Jay R and Alden Richards.

In the information technology field, Simon has served as Chief Information Officer in major organizations including the U.S. Veterans Affairs in the Philippines, Asian Terminals at South Harbor in Manila, P&O Ports, a British ports and shipping company with operations based in Sydney and London, and Maher Terminals in New Jersey, one of the largest container terminals on the U.S. Eastern Seaboard.

Currently employed as a Senior IT Director at a multi-billion-dollar research university in New York, Simon also served as Vice President for Information Technology at AIG near Wall Street, where he was part of a pioneering team involved in enterprise data management at one of the world’s largest insurance companies.

A proud product of the University of the Philippines, having graduated from UP Elementary School in 1976, UP Integrated School in 1980, and the UP College of Engineering with a degree in Industrial Engineering in 1985, Simon also continued postgraduate education and executive training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cornell University, Boston University, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and Templeton College at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.