Top Suzara talked about a social media post of Jinky Vidal
Singer Jinky Vidal is not allowed to sing the songs of the band Freestyle, vocalist Top Suzara said.
Freestyle is an OPM band that was a big hit in the mid 90s until the 2000s. They had several hit songs that resonated even with the younger generation, such as “Before I Let You Go,” “So Slow” “Till I Found You,” “Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang?” and “Once In A Lifetime.”
Jinky and Top were among the original members of the band. In a recent interview, based on the article in PEP, Top revealed that Jinky is prohibited from singing the band’s hit songs.
The male vocalist shared that Jinky Vidal promoted herself as Freestyle when she was no longer part of the band.
“You see, there’s a legal restriction on her, and she knows, she knows. Kasi, when she sells herself for the show, she sells herself as Freestyle. Ongoing, that’s happening till now,” Top Suzara said.
He also said that even the producers from Canada said that the female vocalist would advertise herself as Freestyle. Jinky had a show in Canada early this February.
“But more accurately, it should be, former Freestyle. Kasi, she’s not the vocalist of Freestyle. Freestyle exists now and you’re not the vocalist, yun lang naman. Kasi, she sings songs that I wrote and it led to confusion, di ba?” the male vocalist stressed.
As the composer of Freestyle songs, Top Suzara had the rights over them. He pointed out that he owns the trademark and Jinky Vidal is legally prohibited from using the band’s songs.
“Yes, you were the original singer, cover it if you want before, but the way she promoted it, she’s Freestyle,” the male vocalist said. For him, this is something tricky, because Jinky is claiming things that she should not claim.
The current members of Freestyle are Top Suzara, IJ Garcia (keyboards, vocals, music director, songwriter), Bouy Manalo (guitar, visuals), Ian Tan (bass guitar, vocals), and Gibson Viduya (drums, vocals).
The male vocalist left the band in 2005, but he returned in 2022. He was able to get the right to use the trademark and the name Freestyle.