To create a manifesto that will address the local music industry’s problems is the aim of a two-day summit being organized by the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM), according to its chair, Ogie Alcasid.
With the enduring music of Sugarfree as its main driving force, the ongoing rock musical “Sa Wakas” has made theater—an art form occasionally perceived as elitist—more relatable and accessible, especially to the youth.
To streamline information dissemination about the works of local artists, the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) is urging musicians to submit a catalogue of their published works, saying this will help rationalize and expand its online database of songs called Philippine Music Registry.
Callalily’s Kean Cipriano is one of the few OPM band frontmen today who has one foot in show biz. In between performing and creating new music, the 25-year-old lead vocalist finds time to do acting projects for both television and film.
The top-selling albums in the country for the week Feb. 11-17, based on Odyssey Music & Video’s nationwide sales reports:
Most people equate the success of the local music industry with album sales, or the number of hit songs it can produce. But for “OPM Means”—a new movement that aims to cultivate and promote Filipino music—OPM (Original Pilipino Music) is, more than anything else, about love, expression and cultural identity.
In its original four-year run, from 2000 to 2003, the “Himig Handog” songwriting competition produced a handful of Original Pilipino Music (OPM) hits that are still heard on radio today, like “Hindi na Bale,” “Kung Ako na Lang Sana,” “Hanggang” and “This Guy’s in Love with You, Pare.” ABS-CBN and Star Records has re-launched the project, with the theme “Pinoy Pop (P-Pop) Love Songs: Mga Awit at Kwento ng Pusong Pilipino.”
We’re pleased to note that even our veteran singers are reinventing themselves: First, it was Gary Valenciano, who wowed us by putting a fresh spin on overworked ballads—like Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed,” Stephen Bishop’s “It Might Be You,” and Burton Cummings’ “I Will Always Wait For You”—in his recent album, “Gary V. Sings Just For You.”
Two of the lead players in Spotlight Artist Centre’s hit restaging of “Katy” who got exultant ovations from theater lovers were TV-film stars, Tirso Cruz III and Epy Quizon.
Gary Valenciano’s latest recording, “Gary V Sings Just for You,” features songs sung “from the heart of a husband to a dream of a wife.”
Original Pilipino Music (OPM) is neither dead nor will it ever die as long as there are Filipinos who write and make music and as long as there are those who want to listen, veteran OPM band Moonstar88 told INQUIRER.net in a recent interview.
Julie Katada, OFW: “Sharon Cuneta should record a new album to remind her fans that she is still one of our better singers. An album of well-loved OPM tunes would be most welcome!”
