Original Pilipino music, now more commonly termed original Pinoy music, original Philippine

music or OPM, originally referred only to Philippine pop songs, particularly ballads, such as those
popular after the collapse of its predecessor, the Manila Sound of the late 1970s.

mong many others.

Underground bands emerged and along with them were their perceptions of idealism and self-
expression. The famous lyricist of Circle's End, Geno Georsua landed on top as the melodramatic
expressionist. Bassist Greg Soliman of UST Pendong grasps the title as the best bassist of underground
music.

From its origin, OPM has been centered in Manila, where Tagalog and English are the dominant
languages. Other ethnolinguistic groups such as Visayan, Bikol and Kapampangan, despite making music
in their native languages, have rarely been recognized as OPM. Unusual cases include
the Bisrock (Visayan rock music) song "Charing" by Davao band, 1017. Multiculturalism advocates and
federalists often associate the discrepancy to the Tagalog-centric cultural hegemony of Manila. Having
successfully created a subgenre of Philippine rock that they call "Bisrock", the Visayans, by far, have the
biggest collection of modern music in their native language, with great contributions from Visayan bands
Phylum and Missing Filemon. However, a band called Groupies' Panciteria that hails from Tacloban,
a Winaray-speaking city, launched a free downloadable mp3 album on Soundclick.com in 2009
containing 13 Tagalog songs and only one very short song in the Cebuano language.[1]

Following suit are the Kapampangans. The debut music video of "Oras" ("Time") by Tarlac City-based
Kapampangan band Mernuts penetrated MTV Pilipinas, making it the first ever Kapampangan music
video to join the ranks of other mainstream Filipino music videos. RocKapampangan: The Birth of
Philippine Kapampangan Rock, an album of modern remakes of Kapampangan folk extemporaneous
songs by various Kapampangan bands was also launched in February 2008, and was regularly played via
Kapampangan cable channel Infomax-8 and via one of Central Luzon's biggest FM radio stations, GVFM
99.1. Inspired by what the locals call "Kapampangan cultural renaissance", Angeles City-born
balladeer Ronnie Liang rendered Kapampangan translations of some of his popular songs such as "Ayli"
(Kapampangan version of "Ngiti"), and "Ika" (Kapampangan version of "Ikaw") for his repackaged album.

Despite the growing clamor for non-Tagalog and non-English music and the greater representation of
other Philippine languages, the local Philippine music industry, which is centered in Manila, is
unforthcoming in venturing investments to other locations. Some of their major reasons include the
language barrier, small market size, and socio-cultural emphasis away from regionalism in the
Philippines.

The country's first songwriting competition, Metro Manila Popular Music Festival, was first established
in 1977 and launched by the Popular Music Foundation of the Philippines. The event featured many
prominent singers and songwriters during its time. It was held annually for seven years until its
discontinuation in 1985. It was later revived in 1996 as the "Metropop Song Festival", running for
another seven years before being discontinued in 2003 due to the decline of its popularity.[2] Another
variation of the festival had been established called the Himig Handog contest which began in 2000,
operated by ABS-CBN Corporation and its subsidiary music label Star Records. Five competitions have
been held so far starting in 2000 to 2003 and was eventually revived in 2013. Unlike its predecessors,
the contest has different themes which reflect the type of song entries chosen as finalists each
year.[3][4] In 2012, the Philippine Popular Music Festival was launched and is said to be inspired by the
first songwriting competition.[5]

Pop music

OPM pop has been regularly showased in the live band scene. Groups such as Neocolours, Side A,
Introvoys, The Teeth, Yano, True Faith, Passage and Freestyle popularized songs that clearly reflect the
sentimental character of OPM pop.

In the new millennium up to the 2010s, famous Filipino pop music artists included Sarah Geronimo, Erik
Santos, Yeng Constantino, Mark Bautista, KZ Tandingan and Christian Bautista, among many others.

.Rock music

The United States occupied the Islands from 1898 until 1946, and introduced American blues, folk music,
R&B and rock & roll which became popular. In the late 1950s, native performers adapted Tagalog lyrics
for North American rock & roll music, resulting in the seminal origins of Philippine rock. The most
notable achievement in Philippine rock of the 1960s was the hit song "Killer Joe", which propelled the
group Rocky Fellers, reaching number 16 on the American radio charts.

1970s

Up until the 1970s, popular rock musicians began writing and producing in English. In the early 1970s,
rock music began to be written using local languages, with bands like the Juan Dela Cruz Band being
among the first popular bands to do so. Mixing Tagalog and English lyrics were also popularly used
within the same song, in songs like "Ang Miss Universe Ng Buhay Ko" ("The Miss Universe of My Life") by
the band Hotdog which helped innovate the Manila Sound. The mixing of the two languages (known as
"Taglish"), while common in casual speech in the Philippines, was seen as a bold move, but the success
of Taglish in popular songs, including Sharon Cuneta's first hit, "Mr. DJ", broke the barrier forevermore.

Philippine rock musicians added folk music and other influences, helping to lead to the 1978
breakthrough success of Freddie Aguilar. Aguilar's "Anak" ("Child"), his debut recording, is the most
commercially successful Filipino recording, and was popular throughout Asia and Europe, and has been
translated into numerous languages by singers worldwide. Asin also broke into the music scene in the
same period, and were popular. Other similar artists included Sampaguita, Coritha, Florante, Mike
Hanopol, and Heber Bartolome.

1980s

Folk rock became the Philippine protest music of the 1980s, and Aguilar's "Bayan Ko" ("My Country")
became popular as an anthem during the 1986 EDSA Revolution. At the same time, a counterculture
rejected the rise of politically focused lyrics. In Manila, a punk rock scene developed, led by bands like
Betrayed, The Jerks, Urban Bandits, and Contras. The influence of new wave was also felt during these
years, spearheaded by The Dawn.
1990s

The 1990s saw the emergence of Eraserheads, considered by many Philippine nationals as the number
one group in the Philippine recording scene. In the wake of their success was the emergence of a string
of influential Filipino rock bands such as True Faith, Yano, Siakol, Teeth, Parokya ni Edgar and Rivermaya,
each of which mixes the influence of a variety of rock subgenres into their style.

2000s

Filipino rock in the 2000s had also developed to include some hard rock, heavy metal and alternative
rock such as Razorback, Wolfgang, Greyhoundz, Slapshock, Queso, Bamboo, Kamikazee, Franco,
Urbandub and the progressive bands Paradigm, Fuseboxx, Earthmover and Eternal Now.

2010s

The 2010s saw the rise of various unsigned acts of different subgenres from another format of rock,
independent music which included indie acts such as Autotelic, Bullet Dumas, Ang Bandang Shirley,
Cheats, BP Valenzuela, She's Only Sixteen, The Ransom Collective, Oh, Flamingo!, Sud, Jensen and The
Flips, MilesExperience, Tom's Story, Lions & Acrobats , Ben&Ben, IV of Spades, Clara Benin and Reese
Lansangan, among others.

Rock festivals have emerged through the recent years and it has been an annual event for some of the
rock/metal enthusiasts. One big event is the Pulp Summer Slam wherein local rock/metal bands and
international bands such as Lamb of God, Anthrax, Death Angel and Arch Enemy have performed.[6]
Another all-local annual event, Rakrakan Festival, where over 100 Pinoy rock acts performed.

The neo-traditional genre in Filipino music is also gaining popularity, with artists such as Joey Ayala,
Grace Nono, Bayang Barrios and Pinikpikan reaping relative commercial success while utilizing the
traditional musical sounds of many indigenous tribes in the Philippines.

Hip-hop

Main article: Pinoy hip hop

Filipino hip-hop is hip hop music performed by musicians of Filipino descent, both in the Philippines and
overseas, especially by Filipino-Americans. The Philippines is known to have had the first hip-hop music
scene in Asia since the early 1980s, largely due to the country's historical connections with the United
States where hip-hop originated. Rap music released in the Philippines has appeared in different
languages such as Tagalog, Chavacano, Cebuano, Ilocano and English. In the Philippines, Francis M, Gloc-
9 and Andrew E. are cited as the most influential rappers in the country, being the first to release
mainstream rap albums.
Other genres

A number of other genres are growing in popularity in the Philippine music scene, including a number of
alternative groups and tribal bands promoting cultural awareness of the Philippine Islands.

Likewise, jazz has experienced a resurgence in popularity. Initial impetus was provided by W.D.O.U.J.I.
(Witch Doctors of Underground Jazz Improvisation) with their award-winning independent release
"Ground Zero" distributed by the now defunct N/A Records in 2002 and the Tots Tolentino-led Buhay
jazz quartet in the year before that. This opened up the way for later attempts most notable of which is
the Filipino jazz supergroup Johnny Alegre Affinity, releasing its eponymous debut album in 2005 under
London-based Candid Records. Mon David has also made the rounds of the Las Vegas music circuit.
Among the female performers, Mishka Adams has been the most prominent. A recent development is
the fusion of spoken-word and jazz and also with rock, chiefly attributed to Radioactive Sago Project.
Other notable names of late are Bob Aves with his ethno-infused jazz, The Jazz Volunteers and Akasha
which have anchored the now legendary underground jazz jams at Freedom Bar for almost half of the 11
years of its existence. Today, underground jazz jams are now held in a bar called TAGO jazz bar which is
located at Main Avenue, Cubao. Newer jazz groups emerged in the local jazz scene namely Swingster
Syndicate pioneering in the post-bop and modern trad jazz, and Camerata Jazz known for their Filipino
jazz arrangements and sound.

Pinoy novelty songs became popular in the 1970s up to the early 1980s. Popular novelty singers around
this time were Reycard Duet, Fred Panopio and Yoyoy Villame. Novelty pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s
included Michael V., Bayani Agbayani, Masculados, Vhong Navarro, Sexbomb Girls, Joey de Leon
("Itaktak Mo"), Viva Hot Babes and Willie Revillame.

Bossa nova and Latino music has been popular since the 1970s. Performers like Annie Brazil were active
in the 1970s, while more recently, Sitti has been earning rave reviews for her bossa nova covers of
popular songs.

While there has long been a flourishing underground reggae and ska scene, particularly in Baguio City, it
is only recently that the genres have been accepted in the mainstream. Acts like Brownman Revival,
Put3ska, Roots Revival of Cebu and The Brown Outfit Bureau of Tarlac City have been instrumental in
popularizing what is called "Island Riddims". There is also a burgeoning mod revival, spearheaded by
Juan Pablo Dream and a large indie pop scene.

Electronic music began in the mid-1990s in the Manila underground spearheaded by luminaries like
Manolet Dario of the Consortium. In 2010, local artists started to create electropop songs themselves.
As of now, most electronic songs are used in commercials. The only radio station so far that purely plays
electronic music is 107.9 U Radio. The 2010s also began the rise of indie electronic producers, DJs and
artists with the likes of Somedaydream, Borhuh, Kidwolf, Zelijah, John Sedano, MVRXX, MRKIII, Bojam,
CRWN, NINNO, Kidthrones, and Jess Connelly.