OPM or Original Pilipino Music has been evolving the last few years with the rise of the P-pop genre. The genre has been making waves not only in the Philippines but globally as well and the Tugatog Filipino Music Festival at SM Mall of Asia Arena was the event to catch as it became the biggest stage to catch your favorite P-pop artists and groups.
17 acts took the stage with a lineup that included: 1st.One, Alamat, Bini, BGYO, Calista, Daydream, Dione, G22, LITZ, MNL48, P-Pop Generation, Press Hit Play, R-Rules, VXON, Yara, The Juans and Zack Tabudlo, offering over six hours of non-stop music collaboration and celebration. Organizing an event at this scale was no easy task and took an even larger team working behind the scenes to pull it off. ASCEI Chief Executive Officer Sarah Ruth Matias said, “The concert is all that we dreamt of..We were ecstatic with how everything went. Big props to our ever-hardworking team, especially our P-Pop and OPM artists who have been working so hard to put forth a great show.”
One of the highlights of the show were all the collaborations happening between groups, songs, and artists. Bini sang with Alamat for their hits “Na Na Na” and “K bye.” Boy group BGYO joined forces with MNL48 to the tunes of their hit singles “Sabay” and “High Tension.” While Litz joined Press Hit Play to perform their original song “Tell Me"; 1st.One and The Juans were dubbed as 1st.Juans for their collab performance of “Atin Ang Mundo.” The triple crossover among boy groups 1st.One, VXON, BGYO, and Alamat for “Shout Out,” “The Beast,” “The Baddest,” and “Kasmala” got the crowd excited.
“It’s the transformative power of music to bring people together that pushed us to produce this concert in the first place. I’m sure I am not alone in saying that the pandemic has made everyone crave for activities like attending concerts.”
SARAH MATIAS, ASCEI Chief Executive Officer
The new crop of P-Pop and OPM talents also brought another layer of funk out of Pinoy hits—both in the present and from the past—including Maymay Entrata’s self-love anthem “Amakabogera” performed by P-Pop Generation, R-Rules, and Calista, the crowd favorite “Dati” as popularized by Quest, Sam Concepcion, and Tippy Dos Santos performed by Press Hit Play and Yara which arranged in a medley with Thyro and Yumi’s powerful collab “Triangulo” performed by Vxon and Daydream, and then Gloc-9’s immortal “Sumayaw Ka” powerfully rendered by G22 and Dione.
Another important aspect of the festival is of course the fans. They hold the power to essentially help make the event happen because of their enthusiasm and support to the respective artists and groups. Anj Heruela, Communications and Strategy Executive Director of ASCEI shares that the fans are crucial for an event like this, “Fans ask for a concert and we respond not just with a concert but a gathering where they will see something more from their idols as they also connect with other fans. Beyond bringing performances to life on a live stage, we want to bring together a whole community that fuels the love for OPM.”
OPM and P-pop music isn't going anywhere anytime soon, they're here to stay. The genres are only growing as more artists embrace their roots and fanbases grow across the globe. The possibilities are endless when it comes to what's next for Pinoy music and embraced by all.
Cover Photo Credit: Tugatog Filipino Music Festival Instagram
