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The following have to be finally said. Continuing to keep quiet about these will get us nowhere. I will speak my mind and not hold back on this important matter—PM—which affects us all as it is very much part of every Filipino’s life.
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Same old faces
I think by now, we are getting sick and tired of hearing and seeing the same “old faces!” Since when has “M” in OPM stood for “Monopoly”?
In my opinion, to get OPM out of its “I.C.U.” state, it desperately and urgently needs a “major push”—within its ranks—for younger, musically diverse and, of course, truly talented homegrown artists. And not mere “clones” and imitators of our veteran and established artists!
These new artists have to first discover who they truly are and not try too much to be the next “Miss So-and-so” or “Mr. So-and-so.” Because if they choose to pattern their singing styles and personae to those of their idols, then naturally they will always be compared to them.
It is almost like they are performing in the shadow of another artist!
Where is real musical growth in that?
For those veteran artists who mentor the young ones to mimic them in how they sing and perform, this practice is not right. There is a much deeper implication behind such seemingly “good-willed” motives. The older and wiser seasoned artists should not try to “mold” their understudies into their mirror images, especially if the young artists who—at the very early stages—are already showing clear signs of developing a true sense of their own unique individuality.
So, why try to thwart them from discovering who they truly are as artists?
Another point I want to cite is that the approach of our young aspiring singers has to be smart. Their career decisions should be for the long-term and not for short-term popularity by joining in current trends singing only Top 20 hits that would be forgotten in a few months.
Would you want to be a trending topic, a flash in the pan, achieve your 15 minutes of fame and then, just drop off from the radar altogether? Or do you want to embark on the long journey to building up your legacy?
The latter may be the hardest and most challenge-filled to accomplish but it will help define who you truly are in the future.
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Foreign artists are not the problem
Trying to limit the number of popular foreign acts from coming over to perform in the Philippines on a yearly basis is not the answer in solving the growing lackluster interest of the young populace in our local artists. That is not going to be a wise move at all. It only reeks of desperation, panic, and envy from those who seem to hold something against their foreign counterparts.
Do you think that if the average number of foreign acts who perform here on a yearly basis would be significantly lessened, it would instead make music aficionados and concert goers watch our local artists, given that fans will no longer have that other option of watching relevant and mainstream foreign artists?
Maybe so. But most likely, it will not be the case for more discerning concert goers. Because it has been mostly the same boring core group who have been on “top of the OPM hill” for more than 20 years who more often get to perform in all of the prime venues in the country and who are continuing to enjoy major exposure, while making sure too that they crowd out the young ones who are left to fight for those crumby spots just to be able to perform.
For those groups who only think of themselves and their own selfish gains, music goers will despise you for depriving them the right of watching these foreign artists. Must it be said again that we are part of the global music market and that it should serve as a positive sign that these foreign artists are showing more and more interest to perform here for their fans?
How would you feel if other countries would show YOU resentment and even a feeling of hostility if you yourselves had that golden opportunity to perform there? Isn’t it all artists’ dream, in fact, to perform abroad? How hypocritical, anyway, is your cockeyed perception?
And also, why should you be threatened by the presence of foreign artists here?
Additionally, how selfish can you be towards those who don’t have the financial means to travel abroad just to watch these foreign acts?! It is an entirely whole new experience to actually see these artists perform live rather than to just listen to their music and watch their music videos.
And who are we kidding here? When we get to watch some of these mainstream foreign acts, who do we see there—in the VIP section, gleefully taking pictures of themselves and boastfully posting them on social media sites—but our very own local artists? These very same artists who OPPOSE the coming to town of foreign artists?!
But has anyone told them not to be there or questioned them why they are also in attendance?
Nope. Because there is nothing wrong with that. It would be exactly the same way if we had one of our very own performing abroad and that artist saw a handful of popular foreign artists he grew up listening to watching him/her perform.
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OPM is not dead, but it does feel old
I don’t think OPM is dead. But it is “old” because it has been mostly the same local artists who have been getting all the major exposure and endless opportunities for more than two decades!
Please! For crying out loud! OPM needs a “transfusion” of more new blood to replace the old already. Sometimes, the old have to give way to the new—it is the honorable thing to do in any profession. It doesn’t mean they have to retire right away. It just means they have to share more of the spotlight with the new comers! It will be inevitable that at some point the “torch” has to be passed to them already!
Singing the same old hits can only get veteran artists so far—t’s like pulling out the same old tricks from the magician’s hat when your new songs don’t resonate with the younger crowd. And just maybe, there is a reason why you don’t have any new real hits anymore. It is because listeners are looking for something new this time from other artists!
Let me just say this in Filipino: “Sayang talaga” all the ignored and shunned talent we have here. “Kung hindi pa sila mabibigyan” opportunity in their own soil and by their own countrymen, why would they even stick around for long? Why do you think so many local artists have left the country in the last few years, like Cynthia Alexander has? It is because they have grown weary of and fed up with how things work in our local music industry!
And yet, when any of our Filipino artists—whether with a ‘name’ or not—make it abroad, we quickly embrace and proclaim them to the whole world as our own. Yeah, right! Proud to be “Pinoy nga…” but don’t we conveniently only say that when they are already famous in other countries? Wouldn’t it have been better if they had made it here first before they got to spread their wings and had the chance to become even bigger stars abroad?
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Final point
I completely disagree with those who have this narrow-minded and uninformed way of thinking that OPM is dead. Pardon my language, but I find it a load of b*** each time I read somebody say that or even have the nerve to tell it to my face.
First of all, OPM is not dead. Nor will it ever disappear as long as there are people fighting for it and representing it well. Those who insist OPM is dead are probably the ones who are not aware of what is happening around them and are so convinced of it by their own self-serving beliefs.
For those who say OPM is dead with a straight face and without any hesitation at all, that is plain nonsense and utterly ridiculous. Because if that statement were true at all, it would mean that there would be absolutely zero local music heard in the radio. It would mean that there would be no available CDs coming from our local artists. It would mean we would have had no history at all when it comes to our music, etc.
Maybe for them, it is dead since most of them could not care less if OPM survives into the next generation or not. And to be honest, some of them have done absolutely nothing to support our local artists. All they have done is voice out their opinions.
What it all boils down to is this, and I have to say it: “Too much is on the line here—if the popularity and relevance of OPM continue to rapidly decline at this rate, and as the growing margin of the youth chooses to no longer support our local artists, then the future wouldn’t be bright at all for OPM and the possibility of a few decades from now of OPM becoming more of a history lesson to be taught in school might become a sad reality!”
Would we want our kids and grandchildren to know nothing of OPM when they grow up? More and more kids now, especially the ones who are in their pre-teens, show no or very little interest in listening to local music sung in our native language.
Something went wrong down the line. And there is no way to fully repair the mistakes of the past that have led to the dire straits that OPM is in now. Indeed, it is entirely true that what we do now will affect the future and time is running out already!
For those in vital positions to help OPM, you have not been installed there to look out only for your own personal gains and individual interests. Do you forget that you are there for a higher good, and that is to look out for, recognize and support ALL OTHER TALENTS who are interconnected under OPM?
Whether they be a singer, a rapper, in a band, etc., aren’t they all representatives of OPM? The attention and good fortune can’t be focused solely on one group only, yours. Everyone should get a “piece of the pie” and be given enough attention and exposure without others feeling totally neglected and left to fend for themselves.
Supporting OPM does not mean supporting only the same names year in, year out, ad nauseam!!!!!