Pinoy Music Resurgence in the 90’s and Beyond

Pinoy Music refers to the music of the Philippine Islands.  The term ‘pinoy’ is a slang term for ‘Filipino’, or anything related to the Philippines. This article deals with the various stages of modern pinoy music, beginning with the 90’s.

ALTERNATIVE OPM ERA

In the early 90’s, pinoy music scene had a new face when The Eraserheads came into the OPM scene. Since then, hip-hop acts and even foreign artists have never enjoyed chart success in the Philippines, like never before.  After the existence of the said Filipino band, many other acts have flourished and came into existence, thus making another era of pinoy music.

Some of them are enumerated below:

• Rivermaya

• Parokya ni Edgar

• Orient Pearl

• Siakol

• Rizal Underground

• Yano

THE RISE OF CONTEMPORARY PINOY R n’ B/POP BANDS

In the middle of the alternative OPM’s dominance on the Philippine airwaves, pinoy music had its other side. This kind of pinoy music is a melting pot of rhythm and blues, contemporary jazz, pop-rock, and other similar genres, which gained a number of audiences, especially from the outside of the alternative music crowd.

Here is a list of some of the pinoy bands in this genre:

• South Border

• Freestyle

• Side A

THE COMEBACK OF ALTERNATIVE OPM

During the summer of 2004, Francisco Mañalac, better known as ‘Bamboo’, returned to the pinoy music arena, but this time, with his newly-formed band after his nickname.  Their debut single ‘Noypi’ (reversed syllabication of ‘pinoy’), eventually went on top of the pinoy music charts, then followed by a bunch of music chart hits. Shortly after Bamboo’s comeback, Rivermaya reemerged again, with their comeback single ‘Liwanag sa Dilim’, and was then also followed by hit singles.

ALTERNATIVE OPM ERA PART TWO

In the summer of 2006, ‘The Day You Said Goodnight’ was released, making itself a breakthrough hit. ‘Hale’, the band behind the said track, turned into instant stars and became one of pinoy music hitmakers.  Hale’s most successful single literally ‘said goodnight’ to the silence in the pinoy music scene. As the saying goes, “History repeats itself” and it did. Just like in the 90’s when alternative pinoy music reached its peak after the existence OPM bands have sprouted again, OPM bands have sprouted again after Hale’s nationwide phenomenal success, and they are listed below:

• Cueshé

• Sugarfree

• 6CycleMind

• Spongecola

• Kamikazee

• Rocksteddy

A LITTLE BIT: THE ACOUSTIC AGE

Such pinoy music artists like Paolo Santos, Nyoy Volante and Nina came into the pinoy music scene and introduced a breakthrough in OPM-acoustic music.  But they were not successful enough to rule among other artists from other genres.

In the middle of summer 2004, ‘A Little Bit’ by then-breakthrough act ‘M.Y.M.P.’ (Make Your Momma Proud) was released, and went successful in the pinoy music charts and the Philippine airwaves. A number of singles were released by the said group, and they all became chart-toppers in the Philippines.

As criticized by many, acoustic acts seldom make pinoy music on their own. In fact, most of their singles were covers, (also known as remakes or revivals) of classic hits. Some critics say that this period in pinoy music is not just ‘the acoustic age’, but also ‘the age of covers’.