FilIpino artists have been winning awards, not just local ones but international ones, but most of them aren’t ‘popular’

Lea Salonga won a Tony in the 90’s but if you asked most millennials before she became Coach Lea in The Voice, they probably didn’t know her

@SB19Official

The Cercado-Gollayan sisters now known as 4th Impact, won 16 gold medals in the WCOPA last 2016 & bagged the Junior Grand Champion I’m Vocal Group Category.. but they were basically unknown until they joined XFactor UK

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Here’s the complete list (1/2) of 2020 WCOPA winners from the Philippines.. most of them winning awards in more than 1 category

And I don’t recognise any name from this list

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Complete list (2/2) 2020 WCOPA Winners from PH

@SB19Official

I doubt if many millennials know her or any GenZ peeps.. but she’s a freakin’ Filipina ballerina who’s received international awards in the 1990’s

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How about the 1981 Leventritt Competition Gold Medalist - classical pianist extraordinaire, Cecil Licad?

Does anyone recognize her still?

@SB19Official

The point is.. just because an artist is virtually unknown to you, doesn’t mean that artist isn’t good or doesn’t deserve recognition

I would bet that if you ask OPM artists now if they know @SB19Official they’d say “Yes”! Believe it or not, these boys have lit a fire in OPM

For so long, our airwaves have been dominated by foreign artists & KPOP groups.. now a Filipino boyband dared to break down all barriers & stereotypes, yet some think they’re just copycats?

If you love music, you wouldn’t have this kind of limited mentality

@SB19Official

Ben&Ben remaked ‘Make It With You’ originally by Bread, an American folk rock band (a band I grew up listening to) & if you just have a wider exposure to music, you’d know that the sound of Ben&Ben is quite similar to the folk rock sound of those bands in the 90’s

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Jim Croce, James Taylor, David Gates & Don McLean

If you know them, you’d probably say that most indie-rock/alt-rock/alt/folk-rock bands of OPM are not exactly “original”

Musicians are greatly influenced by the music they listen to, by artists they follow

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Listen to Johnoy Danao, Bullet Dumas & then try listening to Joey Ayala & Gary Granada.. IV of Spades and Orange and Lemons? IV of Spades and E-Heads?

And don’t get me started on the Pinoy HipHop artists.. please the whole idea of HipHop isn’t Filipino

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Moira and Sarah McLachlan? Morisette and Mariah/Whitney/Beyonce?

Truth is, OPM artists are heavily influenced by foreign artists. That doesn’t make them less than other OPM artists or less deserving of being recognized in the PH.

@SB19Official

My dad was a big Kundiman fan, & during HS I fell in love w/ Kundiman.. my classmates found it weird I would burst out singing a song from MissSaigon then a Metallica song then sing ‘Saan Ka Man Naroroon’

Yet I wouldn’t even say Kundiman is 100% Filipino

@SB19Official

Btw, if you want to know more about Kundiman, try this playlist.. it has some of my favorite songs

@SB19Official https://open.spotify.com/album/0m0sk2Yi1jUkiM6eIqWfQT?si=tNrui_wQShup402MGH6EhQ

In conclusion..

OPM does not mean music that is not influenced by other cultures or foreign artists. OPM is diverse, dynamic, evolving.

Just because a band isn’t your cup of tea, you should discredit their contribution to OPM.

@SB19Official

Every band, soloist, musician, lyricist has a unique voice. Every single one of them risk putting their hearts out for people to see and judge, every time they write & perform.

I don’t know about you but for me that alone makes any one of them worth to stan.



@SB19Official