Sing Your Original Pinoy Music In English

I have been wandering around our strange looking landscape for several weeks and still I never realize nor found the right topic to discuss in this crazy paper. I put on the radio and feel the solemnity of How Did You Know by Aiza Seguera to cut off the insanity and desperation of a blank coconut. Unfortunately, I did get sleepy with the song she recorded but with God’s help, my long search was ended at the same time. I found what I’ve been forcing myself to see, the OPM issue.

OPM had been the brand name of Filipino tunes since time and it had already established its own career. But as the clock turns, the style that people crave shift and was proven in the music scene. I am an avid fan and at the same time, an artist (don’t judge me, Please) of music and I felt the transformation. I don’t get the point of destroying the past and to build another present and future but I think an image modification must be done at the present. Some people say, it’s not worth because OPM is Original Pinoy Music which must be in Filipino Language while on the contrary, using a universal language could boost up the name of the industry albeit, I had been a victim of OPM shift once, I accidentally pictured the song “Let Me Be The One” (by Jimmy Bondoc) to be an original piece of Nick Carter (a foreign star) which is a great mistake as well as a great pride. A mistake because I believed since, that only foreign artist can do good music in English; a great pride in consequence of having a singer competent to international superstars. Having these disadvantages and advantages can make you growl with disagreement or push you to nod with approval.

Almost all local artists shifted from Filipino to English language for their songs. The trepidation of having blank Filipino OPM contest pieces for Literary-Musical Contest is not far from reality. Remember that only Filipino songs are qualified in LitMus Contests until now. I had joined a literary contest and I found out that even the contestants are craving for the recognition of English OPMs to be added to the list of qualified songs, even I. I have also proven that English OPMs are easier to sing rather the Filipino ones because of the ending of every phrase. English OPMs often ends the phrases with A’s and E’s compared to Filipino which ends with O’s and U’s which is much harder to control. It can even jade your whole mouth. I have a positive feeling regarding this (to justify), that judges in these competitions measures the capacity of a singing talent with the difficulty of Ooooing and Uuuuing in the song but more than that, I think OPMs in English is cool.

The respect and patriotism of using the Filipino language can be a reason of limiting songs done in English but with the globalization we insanely desire, I just doubt it. Try to sit and tune in a radio station, observe the OPM songs being played, 80% of it is in English, only 20% is in Filipino. From “Forever’s Not Enough” to “Hands to Heaven”, I don’t think anybody would attempt to demand a kundiman. I can’t tell the exact reasons why listeners have a better reception with English songs except that these songs can easily break the monotony of the tunes and can be comfortably added with adlibs and acrobats. That’s all.

Having OPMs in English is not a big issue to neither artists nor composers even listeners but to the History, Heroes and the Philippines, I firmly oppose. English is not a monster but loving and developing our own in our own is more appreciative. Don’t you think so? For me, yes but I still keep my stand, it’s easier to sing in English (sorry!)