Daryl Ong feeling pressured to keep up with younger artists

Daryl Ong

Daryl Ong can’t deny that he does feel a bit of pressure to keep up with the younger generation of singers. But he doesn’t see them as competition, he stressed, but potential collaborators.

“Yes, I have to keep up. But more than that, I’m excited to work with new artists. My other other dream is to be a record producer. So when I see someone who’s doing well, the first thought that comes to mind is, ‘How can I get in touch with him or her? What can we work on?’” he related in a video conference introducing him as Viva Records’ newest talent.

“It’s great to see young talents who are already doing stuff I only learned in my mid-20s,” added Daryl, who’s also looking forward to collaborating with other Viva artists—Sarah Geronimo is at the top of his list. “The pool of music artists I can now work with has expanded.”

Daryl also hopes to focus on songwriting and release more original songs. While he does have the talent for it (He finished second runner-up in the 2014 PhilPop songwriting contest with his entry, “Torpe”), Daryl became more popularly known for his covers.

“I want to come up with original material this year, because, after 2014, I have become associated with remakes and teleserye theme songs. I wasn’t as aggressive as a songwriter. Now I want to challenge myself. I have actually been in touch with songwriters like Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana,” he related. “That’s one thing the fans can look forward to.”

But that’s not to diminish the work or creativity that goes into doing covers, which is actually more challenging than it seems.

“It’s like retelling a story people have already heard,” pointed out the R&B artist, whose renditions of the ballads “Basta’t Kasama Kita,” “Stay” and “To Love Again” have amassed millions of streams across different digital platforms.

“As a form of respect to the composer and artist, I make the first half as close … as possible to the original when I’m covering a song. That’s how I introduce it. And then, later on, I try my own approach. I build it up or get creative with it, so I can make it interesting to a new crowd or generation who has a different taste,” he explained.

Daryl is one of the local artists who had the foresight to establish and cultivate his online presence and market. Many of his videos on YouTube have gone viral including the cover “One Sweet Day” (43 million views), which Daryl produced and performed with frequent collaborators Michael Pangilinan, Bugoy Drilon and Katrina Velarde.

Thus, the 33-year-old artist had a relatively easier time transitioning to full-time digital work amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It was an advantage for us, because we had already invested time and effort into YouTube and other platforms. And then when the pandemic happened, we thought it was the time to really go in full-gear with our online gigs. We really have no choice because live shows are rare,” said the “The Voice PH” season 2 semifinalist.

While he admitted that virtual shows pay nowhere near actual concerts or shows, Daryl said he appreciates the spontaneity digital media allows.

“I appreciate the fact that it’s easier to interact with fans. They can send you messages, give shoutouts or make song requests. And since you’re in charge of your backing tracks, you can do those on the fly. That’s something you can’t do in an actual concert with a setlist,” he said. “So even if I don’t get to see the fans in person, I still feel the connection.”

Daryl’s wish for 2021 is for the successful rollout of vaccines and the music industry’s return to normal.

“We recently had the chance to perform in Balesin. The venue was huge, but the crowd … the people looked like they were about to take an exam!” he quipped. “But still, it felt good to hear actual applause and see people’s smiles. We really miss that.” INQ