UT professor James Gabrillo recommends 10 tunes to listen to this summer.
Philippine pop is hybrid at its core: unburdened by genre restrictions, it blends the local with the foreign, the old with the new. Here are ten tracks worth one’s while, embodying cultural convergences, often baffling confrontations, and always exciting overlaps in the aesthetic and musical sensibilities of the Southeast Asian nation.
Sarah Geronimo, ‘Tala’ (Star) (2016)
The country’s biggest pop star today, known as Sarah G, has dominated charts and streams for over two decades. She catapulted to fame after winning a local reality singing program, titled Star for a Night, back in 2002 at the age of 14. Here’s one of her most popular hits, ‘Tala’ (Star), which features an infectious hook of a chorus: ‘Tala, tala, ta-la-a-aah…’ It’s performed alongside snazzy choreography that quickly turned the track into a social media dance craze.
Aegis feat. Birit Queens, medley of hits (2018)
During the 1990s, the band Aegis developed a distinctive brand of sound revolving around a powerful melismatic style of singing known as birit. Led by three vocalists — the sisters Juliet, Mercy, and Kris Sunot — Aegis popularized a deliberately exaggerated vocal and performance style that audiences regarded not only as novel musical entertainment, but also as diversion from the sombre political mood of the country, following the People Power Revolution of ’86 that ousted the military dictator Ferdinand Marcos. In this performance for the variety television show ASAP, Aegis performed a medley of their hits while accompanied by a younger generation of singers (known collectively as Birit Queens) who have sought to emulate the band’s musical style.
Ruby Ibarra feat. Rocky Rivera, Klassy, Faith Santilla, ‘Us’ (2018)
Born in the Philippines and raised in the Bay Area, Ruby Ibarra raps in English, Tagalog, and Waray, a regional language native to the Eastern Visayan region of the Philippines. In time for International Women’s Day in 2018, Ibarra released her collaboration with artists Rocky Rivera, Klassy, and Faith Santilla: a song titled ‘Us’, which celebrates the role of women in Philippine culture. The track’s bilingual opening offers a magnificent hook: ‘Island woman rise, walang makakatigil [nothing can stop you] / Brown, brown woman, rise, alamin ang iyong ugat [know your roots].
Bini, ‘Born to Win’ (2021)
Meet Philippine pop’s newest musical sensation: the eight-member girl group Bini, whose name was taken from the Filipino word binibini or young lady. Bini play around with tradition and modernity, fusing the increasing global K-Pop sound with elements from the folksy acoustic pop of 1980s Philippines. Their debut single, ‘Born to Win, is the freshest release on this list, dropped online on June 11.
Francis Magalona, ‘Kaleidoscope World’ (1995)
Francis M produced the first commercially released Philippine rap album in 1990. Despite his unexpected passing in 2009, he has remained the most esteemed hip-hop star in the country. His 1995 hit “Kaleidoscope World,” a reflection on the strengths of a diverse citizenry, is anchored by opening two lines often alluded to when commemorating Francis M’s musical contributions: ‘Every color and every hue / Is represented by me and you.’
Karencitta, ‘Cebuana’ (2017)
In the realm of Philippine pop, there’s nobody like Karencitta, a singer-songwriter from the province of Cebu. She’s credited as one of the main faces of Vispop — or Visayan pop, in reference to the central Philippine region of Visayas. Here’s her buoyant hip-hop track ‘Cebuana’, which has since become an anthemic tune for locals and international migrants with roots in Cebu.
4th Impact, ‘Bang Bang’ (2015)
In the summer of 2015, sisters Almira, Irene, Mylene and Celina Cercado raised money to fly to London to audition for The X Factor UK, which had then opened its talent competition to acts from around the globe. Jaws rightfully dropped when 4th Impact started their audition piece of ‘Bang Bang’. They went on to place fifth in the competition, which launched their careers; they continue to perform today in Manila, the Philippine capital.
Regine Velasquez, ‘Dadalhin’ (I’ll Take You) (2001)
Close to four decades later and she’s still a headliner in the mainstream pop industry: Regine Velasquez, the best-selling music artist of all time in the Philippines. Velasquez’s vocal range and belting technique continue to influence aspiring balladeers. A karaoke favorite in Filipinx households, her 2001 hit ‘Dadalhin’ is a study in escalation, increasing in intensity and culminating with a powerful (musical and narrative) bursting-out.
Jessica Sanchez, ‘I Will Always Love You’ (2012)
Back in 2012, 16-year-old student Jessica Sanchez competed on the talent show American Idol, impressing the judging panel with her vocal prowess and stage presence. With roots in the Philippines and Mexico, Sanchez claimed she learned to sing in a karaoke-loving household. She eventually finished as the competition’s runner-up. Here’s one of her most memorable performances, a cover of ‘I Will Always Love You’, featuring a skillful melismatic closing that earned the panel’s standing ovation — and massive support from Philippine migrants around the world.
SB19, ‘What’ (2021)
One of the most exciting Filipinx pop acts today is SB19, a five-member boy group that relocated in South Korea for three years to undergo rigorous training in performance, branding, and grooming — a manner of localizing the K-Pop model. Their latest single ‘What’, released back in March, traverses genre with incredible ease. Weeks later, they made history as the first Philippine act to be nominated for the Top Social Artist category at this year’s Billboard Music Awards, competing against global superstars Ariana Grande, BTS, Blackpink, and Seventeen.
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James Gabrillo is an assistant professor of musicology and ethnomusicology at UT Austin’s Butler School of Music. He previously taught at The New School, finished a postdoc fellowship at Princeton, and earned a PhD in music at the University of Cambridge. More information at www.jamesgabrillo.com.