Living in the Palm of His Hands: a Glimpse into the Story & Music of Felson Palad and Sheena Palad
Soaring.
If there is one word to describe In the Palm of His Hands, it is that. The amazing vocals of the brother-sister duo, Felson Palad and Sheena Palad, lift dark moods as listeners plug into the music, truth, and wonder of their newest album.
Original compositions by the Palads showcase hope in lines like these:
Mula sa malayo ako’y dinungaw mo Binuksan ang mga bisig Tumakbo’t ni yakap mo
What gives emotional depth to such lyrics? Felson playfully laughs while sporting a casual cap and jeans, looking nothing serious. Sheena, meanwhile, beautiful and sharp, gives the impression that everything is going cookie-cutter well with her.
This momentary façade disappears as we dig into their past.
Background Of the Palad Siblings
Born with a fifteen year age gap, Felson acts as brother, father, and manager to Sheena. They grew up in Dasmarinas, Cavite, where fields are plentiful and naturally green. At that time, there were no malls and chaos; only local wet markets for peaceful recreation and shopping.
The two lost their father to a heart attack when Felson was just twenty-eight years old and Sheena thirteen. This event, though painful, set the stage for songwriting in the life of Felson. It would take years for a single song to be birthed from this experience, but the incubation time was necessary.
Like most youngsters enthralled by music, Felson formed a band with some friends in high school. One day, while rocking out his vocals, little Sheena, then only five years old and still on a milk bottle, critiqued her brother. “Kuya! Mali kanta mo!” She pointed out parts where Felson was off-key. This showed Felson that his sister was extraordinary.
He couldn’t have been more right. As Sheena grew up, their church started to ask the siblings to sing duets or special numbers during worship services. This became the perfect training ground for them to sing and polish their skill with crowds watching.
For Sheena, things became serious when she represented the Philippines at the World Championship of Performing Arts in Hollywood, 2016, where she ended up bagging bronze, silver, and gold medals in the categories of Gospel Broadway and Opera. She was even a New York Film scholarship awardee! Felson, meanwhile, was always nearby. He was with Sheena the whole time, managing her singing engagements and being the sound engineer for her shows.
As things looked up for Sheena, Felson found himself expanding his own music career. Although he had finished a degree in BS Biology, major in Human Biology from De La Salle University-Dasmarinas and had taken on “serious” jobs in the field of teaching, marketing, and school admissions, music was still a strong force in his life. In fact, it was while studying Biology that Felson honed his talents. He performed at the musical, “All for the Love of Thee Musicale: The Life Story of Monsieur De La Salle, John Baptist De La Salle,” which boosted his confidence.