Mas kumpiyansa ang mang-aawit dahil sa palakpak.

Because Filipino often does not use a separate verb for to be in simple descriptive sentences.

So:

• Mas kumpiyansa ang mang-aawit
  naturally means The singer is more confident

There is an understood is, but it is not spoken as a separate word.

If you see ay in a sentence like Ang mang-aawit ay mas kumpiyansa, ay is not exactly the verb is. It is mainly a marker used when the topic comes first.

Because predicate-first word order is very common in Filipino.

Here, the sentence is organized like this:

• Mas kumpiyansa = predicate/descriptive part
• ang mang-aawit = topic or subject-like part
• dahil sa palakpak = reason/cause

So Filipino often says the equivalent of:

• More confident the singer because of the applause

rather than starting with the singer the way English usually does.

Mas means more. It marks a comparative idea.

So mas kumpiyansa means:

• more confident

The comparison is often left unstated if it is obvious from context. It could mean:

• more confident than before
• more confident than usual
• more confident than someone else

If you want to say the comparison explicitly, Filipino often uses kaysa or kumpara sa.

For example:

• Mas kumpiyansa ang mang-aawit kaysa dati.
  The singer is more confident than before.

No. The comparison can be implied.

In English, we often want to know more confident than what? Filipino can leave that unsaid if the context already makes it clear.

So in this sentence, listeners might understand:

• more confident than before the applause
• more confident than earlier
• more confident than expected

If needed, you can add the comparison.

It can behave like both, depending on context.

At its core, kumpiyansa is a noun related to confidence. But in everyday Filipino, it is also commonly used in an adjective-like way to mean:

• confident

So in this sentence, mas kumpiyansa is best understood as:

• more confident

A more literal structure is also possible:

• mas may kumpiyansa = has more confidence / is more confident

Both are understandable, but mas kumpiyansa is very natural in everyday speech.

Ang marks the topic of the sentence. In many beginner explanations, it is often described as marking the subject, though topic is usually more accurate.

Here:

• ang mang-aawit = the singer

So ang tells you that mang-aawit is the main person being talked about.

Mang-aawit means singer.

It is formed from the root awit and a prefix that makes a noun referring to a person associated with the action or role.

The hyphen appears because the root begins with a vowel. In writing, Filipino often uses a hyphen in forms like this to make the structure clearer:

• mang-aawit

You do not need to overanalyze it as a beginner; the important thing is that mang-aawit is a fixed, common word meaning singer.

Dahil sa means:

• because of
• due to

In this sentence:

• dahil sa palakpak = because of the applause

The sa introduces the cause as a noun phrase.

Compare:

• dahil sa palakpak = because of the applause
• dahil pumalakpak ang mga tao = because the people applauded

So dahil sa is especially common before a noun.

Here, palakpak means:

• applause
• clapping

Literally, it can refer to a clap or clapping, but in this sentence the most natural English meaning is applause.

So dahil sa palakpak is best understood as:

• because of the applause
• because of the clapping

Because Filipino nouns are often not marked for singular or plural unless needed.

So palakpak can refer to clapping/applause in a general sense without adding anything plural.

If you specifically wanted to emphasize plurality, Filipino can use mga, but that is often unnecessary here.

In this sentence, palakpak works like a mass idea, similar to English applause.

Yes. That is also correct.

Compare:

• Mas kumpiyansa ang mang-aawit dahil sa palakpak.
• Ang mang-aawit ay mas kumpiyansa dahil sa palakpak.

Both mean the same thing. The difference is mainly structure and style:

• predicate-first version: more common and very natural
• ang ... ay ... version: more topic-first, sometimes a bit more formal or deliberate

So both are good, but the original sentence sounds very normal and natural.