Original Pinoy Pop music is evolving and reshaping our cultural identity. Discover how these passionate artists are taking our music to the international stage.
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FunTranscript
00:30Hello there misterioso, I'm sure you've heard of this kind of music.
00:43Doesn't it feel good to listen to this kind of music, especially in our own language?
00:49You just need to be prepared and face the revelation of P-pop.
00:53It's just like the hits that were popularized by the P-pop groups BINI, SB19, MNL48, ALAMAT, and BGYO.
01:00But where did this kind of music and music of Filipinos start?
01:04And how did P-pop groups in the Philippines start?
01:07I interviewed Ruani Tupas, Associate Professor at University College London to share about P-pop music.
01:15First and foremost, P-pop is an evolving concept, alright?
01:19It's never static, it evolves through time.
01:23If you look at P-pop and spell it out as Pinoy pop, for example, or Filipino popular music, for example,
01:33then the trajectory is much longer, right?
01:37Let's go back to the 1970s, to Limbawa, at the time when the term Filipino started to be attached to music.
01:48The original Pinoy music, or OPM, was first introduced in the 1970s.
01:54The musical genre, Manila Sound, was introduced, where rock, disco, jazz, and funk genres were mixed,
02:01like the hits of Manila by the band Dang Hato, and Tayo'y Magsayawan by BST and Company,
02:08two of the pioneer OPM bands.
02:11In Memorandum No. 75-31 of the Broadcast Media Council in 1975,
02:17all radio stations were required to play a Filipino composition every hour.
02:23From then on, the original Filipino music continued to be played in mass media,
02:29and pop groups started to emerge.
02:32Who wouldn't be impressed by the hit songs like Bakit Papa and Spaghetti Song by Sex Bomb Girls,
02:42Kikai,
02:46and Bulaklak by Viva Hot Babes,
02:49and Jumbo Hotdog by Masculados.
02:53A few years later, the Pinoy pop groups started to be called P-pop groups.
03:00The 48-member all-girl group MNL48,
03:04one of the international sister groups of the Japanese idol group AKB48,
03:09was called P-pop Pioneers.
03:12They debuted in 2018 with the song Aitakata, or Gustong Makita.
03:19In 2015, the Show Beauty founder and chairman, Robin Jong,
03:24formed the first Filipino idol group under the K-pop system, SB19.
03:33The group debuted in 2018 with the song Tila Luha.
03:38Their single Go Up became viral in 2019 because of their synchronized choreography.
03:45At the same time, Filipinos have a deeper acceptance of the concept of P-pop idol groups.
03:52But how did the term P-pop and idols come about?
03:58According to Happy Sigo, an event producer and chief operating officer of pop group of companies,
04:05So I think it started when the music labels wanted to elevate the scene,
04:09wanted to be competitive to the world scene of pop, pop groups, pop idol groups.
04:15So they created P-pop groups.
04:17But then of course it's a trial and error, right?
04:19And then when the media bit into it, when the media wanted to support that kind of genre,
04:24they started calling it P-pop, always naming the group as P-pop idol group, like this, like this.
04:31So it became a term that everybody uses when it's describing a group of idols or a group of artists
04:38that does that catchy song with all those trendy dance moves with that stage presence, aesthetic look.
04:48And then when the fans supported that and they created a community around that music, around that idol group,
04:55then they become P-pop idol fans, right?
04:58So suddenly it became a whole community of P-pop.
05:02After the debut of MNL48 and SB19, the emergence of several other groups began.
05:10One of them is Vision, who I interviewed to tell their story as P-pop idols.
05:18Hello Manila Bulletin, Gatot, we are...
05:20Vision!
05:21Hello, this is C13.
05:22Hi guys, my name is Sam.
05:24I'm Franz.
05:25Hey guys, it's Enzo.
05:26And I'm Patrick.
05:34So our name, Vision, we're the result of the company's vision, which is to have a P-pop group.
05:39Our handler is a big K-pop fan.
05:43So he asked the company, what if we have our own group?
05:48And then we formed it because we were scouted by the management.
05:53We came from different backgrounds.
05:57And then Vision, his spelling is a bit odd, V-X-O-N.
06:02V-non represents the five individuals.
06:05And then X, despite having different backgrounds, we crossed paths.
06:09And then ON, we switch ON whenever we're on stage to give our 100%.
06:20What does it mean to be an idol?
06:23Idols are celebrities who are under the training of entertainment agencies
06:29such as YG Entertainment, SM Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment in Korea to perform on stage.
06:37Among the well-known K-pop idol groups are Girls' Generation, Blackpink, Super Junior, and BTS,
06:44and AKB48, a well-known J-pop group.
06:48In the Philippines, companies such as Star Magic PH, Viva Artist Agency, and Cornerstone Entertainment
06:55form P-pop girl groups and boy groups.
06:59The performances of idols are elegant and attractive to the audience
07:04through their rhythmic melodies and eye-catching visuals.
07:07They are the ones who started the idol image.
07:11At first, we were still confused about what we should do.
07:16And as time goes by, we realized that we should just be the artist who we are.
07:26Who we are as artists.
07:29At the same time, being idols that are looked up to by our listeners and supporters.
07:37There's also this influence of having to focus a lot on, for example, image and personality.
07:48You know that somehow you need to craft that kind of an image out of the idols and out of the artists.
07:54Because if you look at the music videos, there's a lot of visuals.
07:59Not just visual in terms of physical, but in terms of how the music videos are produced.
08:05They appeal to the young, they appeal to the sensibilities because that's how it should be.
08:11The formation of an idol image is a long process.
08:15Aspiring idols go through auditions and several years of training before they are recognized.
08:20The agencies evaluate the auditionees for their voices and dancing.
08:26Of the hundreds of auditionees, only a few will be chosen, depending on the agency's requirements.
08:33Vision went through a year of training similar to the Korean system.
08:38The members remain as trainees in a single house to go through auditions and train their voices, dancing, acrobatics, and body conditioning.
08:48It was a very rigorous training before.
08:51Some of us weren't used to that kind of training.
08:58We even had a goal to have 1,000 runs before debut.
09:03Our song, The Beast, was really exhilarating.
09:08We always train until 4am, 5am.
09:12Maybe that's what's memorable for us, for sure.
09:15Because of the rigorous training, some of the members didn't make it to debut.
09:21During our training days, I already talked to my manager.
09:29I told her that I couldn't make it.
09:34One time, our manager brought me here and I said goodbye to all four of them.
09:40The next day, my mom gave me a chance and I kept going.
09:50K-pop and J-pop's influence on P-pop is undeniable.
09:55That's why in the first year of idol culture's entry in the Philippines,
10:00P-pop groups were categorized as K-pop copycats.
10:03However, P-pop groups proved their own identity and ability in their music.
10:10In SB19's lead single, the title refers to forgiveness,
10:15which symbolizes each member who has his or her own grudge.
10:20Meanwhile, Alamad tried to normalize the use of vernacular and regional languages,
10:26like the song, Kasmala, where you can hear Ilocano, Kapampangan, Bicol, Bisaya, Waray, and Filigaynon in each verse.
10:36The song, Saksakuso, or F.S.P. No Vision, comes from the traditional game in the Philippines, Langit Lupa.
10:44Maybe we appreciate and we are inspired of the art and the culture,
10:50but of course, we always take in consideration to put the Filipino touch in the music we release and our performances.
11:01Maybe instead of being a direct copycat, we look for what's missing,
11:08and then we try to be that thing that's missing, to take inspiration.
11:13Not long ago, Filipinos accepted idol culture more,
11:18and at the same time, the formation of different communities or fandoms in the country.
11:23I think ever since, even when I was young, I believe there's always that group of fandoms.
11:29It's just that we were more separated before.
11:32But because of the influences of these other countries and influences of the K-pop fans, the J-rock fans, J-pop fans,
11:37we have created a formula on how to support our idols, and then we have learned to respect the boundaries.
11:47It gave us more, what do you call that, structure in being a fangirl.
11:52Basically, how the fans support the artist, that's how the artist slowly grows, even internationally,
11:58because it starts in your hometown, right?
12:01Last June 11, BINI celebrated its 3rd anniversary in Wanayala, Makati.
12:07Hundreds of BINI fans or BLOOMS came to enjoy their activities.
12:17We also interviewed and asked some of the BLOOMS.
12:22Hi, I'm Valerie Kore, 25 years old, from Calamba, Laguna.
12:27Hello, I'm Clinton, I'm from Iligan, Mindanao.
12:32How did you become a BLOOM?
12:34Actually, since when Pantropico became a trend, I was super busy when it comes to my work.
12:41Then when I heard the song, I was like, wow, my stress was gone.
12:45I was like, I was vibing during work.
12:48I was at the gym, and I was listening to P-POP, so they have a mic.
12:52Then I bumped into BINI.
12:53What is your favorite thing about BINI?
12:56My favorite thing about BINI is how they bond with each other, and at the same time, how they value their BLOOMS.
13:04Because they really come from scratch.
13:07They really worked hard for each other.
13:10They really went to auditions, no one had a shortcut.
13:13And you can see that even in their dance, that they really trained.
13:17And of course, BLOOMS has a special guest, the Nations Girl Group, BINI.
13:47Thank you very much!
13:49After a few hours of interaction between BINI and BLOOMS, they said goodbye, and the program ended.
13:58Although the acceptance of idol culture in the Philippines is just starting,
14:03there are still a lot of people who are not used to it yet.
14:07They are not used to it yet.
14:09They are not used to it yet.
14:11They are not used to it.
14:12Although the acceptance of idol culture in the Philippines is just starting,
14:17a lot of people have already accepted and got to know some of the P-POP groups.
14:23In November 2021, their song Bazinga was included in the Billboard Hot Trending Songs Chart, and it became No. 1.
14:32They are also the first Filipino and Southeast Asian artists to be nominated for the Top Social Artist.
14:37Various P-POP groups in other countries have also performed, like BINI and G22 in the Show It All program in China.
14:45SB19, ALAMAT, and BGYO also had a concert tour in Dubai, Canada, US, and Singapore.
14:52These are just a few of the proven P-POP groups, but you can see the influence and recognition of our music in other countries.
15:01They say, it's still far, but it's already far.
15:04The music industry of South Korea, including K-POP, has a record of 11 trillion Korean won earned in 2022 and US$927.6 million in exports.
15:17Because of this, the global cultural influence of Korea, which promotes tourism and cosmetics, has increased.
15:24According to the Philippine Statistics Authority,
15:27the contribution of the creative industry, along with the music industry, to the GDP of the Philippines reached 1.72 trillion pesos or 7.1%, in 2023.
15:39Because of this success, Filipinos also have high hopes that the P-POP industry will have a greater contribution to the economy of the Philippines.
15:49And this does not end the rise of P-POP and idol culture in the Philippines.
15:54Instead, this is just the beginning of a new industry in the country.
15:59We have to really think farther. We cannot just keep it within our community as it will not grow.
16:05For us to want to be known internationally, we have to fight international standard.
16:11So, I guess that should really be an inspiration for everyone.
16:15I really hope that one of these days, as a promoter,
16:19I am the one who sells our shows outside.
16:23Because I feel like, what? I am the one who always buys.
16:26So, I want to be the one to showcase ours, in a way wherein,
16:31they will fight us all here, that they will cause trouble.
16:35And then, we will cause trouble, trying to get a schedule, pushing them all out.
16:40There are many more things that Filipinos can show in the field of music and cinema.
16:44If our fellow Filipinos will accept and support this, we will be able to get to know each other better.
16:52When we talk about P-POP, there are also expressions, like any other OPM songs of course,
16:57but there are also expressions of who we are as Filipinos.
17:00And if we look at P-POP this way, and the artists this way, and their music videos this way,
17:06maybe we will be able to broaden our perspective, our belief,
17:12that these Filipinos are on their own, also highly and hugely talented people,
17:17artists who can contribute to us knowing more about ourselves as Filipinos.
17:25There are many more things that P-POP groups will do to achieve their dreams.
17:30In every step towards their expected recognition,
17:34they show what Filipinos can grow.
17:38It is also said in the industry that Filipinos have many hidden gems.
17:44So, the idea of applying the idol culture here in the Philippines,
17:52to showcase the talents of our fellow Filipinos,
17:59now we are given a platform to showcase more of our talents and our music to people.
18:06It is a huge thing for us to have someone listening to our music,
18:10because we are very hands-on with our music,
18:13and what we have gone through, what we do with our music,
18:18and to know that people are listening to our art, our own art,
18:23it gives us so much validation and drive.
18:29Thank you very much.