Pinoy pop (also known as Philippine pop or Pilipino pop) refers to a contemporary pop music in the Philippines originating from the OPM genre. With its beginnings in the late 1970s, Pinoy pop is a growing genre in year of the 2020s. Through the 1990s to the 2000s, Pinoy pop was regularly showcased in the live band scene.[1]
From 2010 to 2020, Philippine pop music or Pinoy pop went through a huge metamorphosis in its increased quality, budget, investment and variety, matching the country's rapid economic growth, and an accompanying social and cultural resurgence of its Asian identity. P-Pop emerged with a heavy influence from K-pop and J-pop, a growth in Asian style ballads, idol groups, and EDM, and less reliance on Western genres, mirroring the Korean wave and similar Japanese wave popularity among millennial Filipinos and mainstream culture.
Etymology
In the early 1970s, Pinoy music or Pinoy pop emerged, often sung in Tagalog. It was a mix of rock, folk and ballads making political use of music similar to early hip hop but transcending class.[2] The music was a "conscious attempt to create a Filipino national and popular culture" and it often reflected social realities and problems.[2] As early as 1973, the Juan De la Cruz Band was performing "Ang Himig Natin" ("Our Music"), which is widely regarded as the first example of Pinoy rock.[3] "Pinoy" gained popular currency in the late 1970s in the Philippines when a surge in patriotism made a hit song of Filipino folk singer Heber Bartolome's "Tayo'y mga Pinoy" ("We are Pinoys"). This trend was followed by Filipino rapper Francis Magalona's "Mga Kababayan Ko" ("My Countrymen") in the 1990s and Filipino rock band Bamboo's "Noypi" ("Pinoy" in reversed syllables) in the 2000s. Nowadays, Pinoy is used as an adjective to some terms highlighting their relationship to the Philippines or Filipinos. Pinoy rock was soon followed by Pinoy folk and later, Pinoy jazz.[2] Although the music was often used to express opposition to then Philippine presidentFerdinand Marcos and his use of martial law and the creating of the Batasang Bayan, many of the songs were more subversive and some just instilled national pride. Perhaps because of the cultural affirming nature and many of the songs seemingly being non-threatening, the Marcos administration ordered radio stations to play at least one – and later, three – Pinoy songs each hour.[2] Pinoy music was greatly employed both by Marcos and political forces who sought to overthrow him.[2]
In the 1980s, disco group VST & Co. and pop icon Gary V. gave rise to dance-pop in the mainstream.
Prominence of rock-acoustic bands, belters, and balladeers (mid-1990s to present)
The early to mid-1990s saw the emergence of the pop-rock group, Eraserheads, considered as a turning-point in the OPM music scene. In the wake of their success was the emergence of a string of influential bands such as Yano, Siakol, Parokya ni Edgar, Grin Department, Rivermaya, Moonstar88 and Hungry Young Poets, each of which mixes the influence of a variety of pop and rock subgenres into their style.
Though rock bands have been dominating the mainstream since their commercialization in the '90s, acoustic groups were still regularly showcased in the live band scene such as Side A, True Faith, Neocolours, South Border and Freestyle popularized songs that clearly reflect the sentimental character of OPM pop. Popular acoustic acts like Nina, Juris (of MYMP) and Aiza Seguerra also prove the diversity of Filipino pop.
Since 2010, the genre of Pinoy pop drastically changed as the usual rock bands and novelty songs from the 1990s and 2000s started to fade out of the mainstream, creating the new pop genre without any influence of rock and hip-hop.
The rise of Pinoy pop idol groups and new generation of solo artists (2020s)
From the influence of K-pop and J-pop, a new era of Pinoy pop was born as P-Pop. The Philippines' first idol group MNL48, a sister group of the J-pop group AKB48, started a new era for Pinoy pop when they debuted in 2018. Following them is the all-boy idol group SB19 who also debuted in 2018. They are the first Filipino act trained by a Korean entertainment company under the same system that catapulted K-pop artists into global stardom. SB19 is considered to be the first Pinoy pop idol group to chart on the Billboard Next Big Sound and Billboard Social 50.[7] On November 20, 2019, SB19 made history by being the first Filipino artist to chart and debut on the Billboard Next Big Sound chart debuting and peaking at No. 5.[8] On December 3, 2019, the group broke the all-time record of the longest stay at the No. 1 spot of Myx Daily Top Ten with "Go Up" staying at the top spot for 53 non-consecutive days.[9] And on April 29, 2021, SB19 become the first Filipino and Southeast Asian act to be nominated in Billboard Music Awards for Top Social Artist along with BTS, Blackpink, Ariana Grande, and Seventeen.[10] It marked the first-ever appearance of a Filipino artist in the Billboard Music Awards. SB19's Where You At Tour was one of the first concert tour by a Filipino pop boy band. The tour held 10 shows in the country's major cities and in Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Singapore.
In May 2020, in the midst of pandemic, Star Hunt Academy led by Laurenti Dyogi introduced new Pinoy pop idol groups trainees in public, composed of 8 SHA Girls (now collectively known as BINI) and 5 SHA Boys (now collectively known as BGYO).[11]
On January 29, 2021, Star Hunt Academy (SHA) Boys officially debuted as BGYO. A week after the release of their debut single "The Light", BGYO made a history for being the fastest Pinoy pop group to reach over a million views on YouTube views.[12][13]
On February 14, 2021, Viva Entertainment introduced their newest P-pop group Alamat with the release of its debut single "kbye". Formed through PWEDE: The National Boyband Search, the group distinguishes itself as a multilingual and multiethnic boy band that sings in seven Philippine languages: Tagalog, Ilocano, Kapampangan, Bisaya, Hiligaynon, Bikolano, and Waray-Waray.[14][15][16] Shortly after the release of their debut single, Alamat ranked second on the Pandora Predictions Chart, released on the week of February 23 and also holds the distinction of being the second P-pop group to make it on Billboard chart and the fastest-rising Pinoy act on the Billboard Next Big Sound chart, debuting at #2. On February 24, their debut single "kbye" ranked sixth on Myx Daily Top Ten chart.[17][18] On March 30, Alamat and their debut single remained on the top of the UDOU's Top 10 Songs of the Week chart for 2 consecutive weeks.[19][20]
On June 11, 2021, Star Hunt Academy (SHA) Girls officially debuted as BINI with their debut album Born To Win. Versions in Bahasa, Japanese, Thai, and Spanish were also included in the album. The current members are Jhoanna, Colet, Maloi, Aiah, Stacey, Gwen, Mikha, and Sheena.[21]
The 2020s also gave the Pinoy pop scene for a new generation of young solo artists. In March 2021, singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo released his single "Binibini", which garnered 18.3 million streams on Spotify which led to became the top song on the said service's local Philippines charts for 2 consecutive months in April and May.[22][23]
In October 2021, Arthur Nery gained into fame when his best-selling single "Pagsamo" became the top-streaming song on Spotify's Daily Top 50 chart and has over 200,000 streams for the lyric video on YouTube for the first 12 hours.[24]
Awarding Shows are also popular to recognize the local artists in the Philippines. Awarding Shows in the Philippines are made through different platforms including social media and others. These award shows includes Wish 107.5 Music Awards and MYX Music Awards that is held annually.
International recognition
In 2010, Jake Zyrus (then known under the mononym Charice)'s self-titled album Charice debuted at number eight on the Billboard 200, making Zyrus the first Asian artist to reach the top 10 on the chart solo.[25] While his lead single, "Pyramid", featuring Iyaz, reached number 17 on the UK Singles Chart, making Zyrus the first Filipino singer to have a top 20 single in the UK.[26]
In 2015, Alden Richards' self-titled debut EP Alden Richards landed on Billboard World Albums Chart at number 10 for the week of October 17, 2015.[27][28]
In 2017, Morissette was directly hand-picked by the organization of the Korean Asia Song Festival. She lined up to perform with some of the top KPOP groups in Korea, including EXO and MAMAMOO, to name a few.[29] She was invited to sing again at the Asia Song Festival in 2018. Morissette is the only Filipino musician to be invited to this event twice in a row to represent the Philippines. She sang a Korean song (Resignation), making her version by transposing the words into English and singing the concluding section of the song in Hangul (Korean Language).[30][31][32]
In 2019, Pinoy pop idol group MNL48 performed at AKB48 Group Asia Festival 2019, the first held at Bangkok, Thailand on January 27,[33] while the second one was held at Shanghai, China on August 24.[34] Such performances catapulted MNL48 to the international stage, especially with other fans of their 48G counterparts. That same year, MNL48's Abby Trinidad was the group's representative on the New Year's Eve special of NHK's "Kohaku Uta Gassen", where along with other 48G counterparts, performed "Koi Soru Fortune Cookie". This is the third time a Filipino performer appeared on the said show, alongside Gary Valenciano and the band Smokey Mountain.[35]
In 2020, Pinoy pop boy band SB19 became a BillboardSocial 50 mainstay after peaking at No. 15 on the chart, likely due to the music video of their single "Alab".[37] SB19 reached their highest position in the weekly Billboard Social 50 list two weeks after the release of their album, ranking second behind BTS on the week of August 15, 2020.[38] A week later, by placing in the top five of two charts, the group achieved another Billboard milestone: 5th in the Emerging Artist list, their highest ranking to date, while staying 2nd in the Social 50 chart[39][40] On the week of October 31, 2020, SB19's "Go Up" peaked at number 2 in Billboard's LyricFind Global chart after debuting at number 17 the week before,.[41] while also making its initial appearance at number 9 in the U.S. version of the chart.[42] Two weeks after, "Hanggang sa Huli" debuted at number 16 in Billboard's LyricFind U.S. chart[43] while also debuting at number 4 in the chart's global version.[44] On the week of November 28, 2020, the group reached another milestone, their first number 1 in a Billboard chart, after "Alab (Burning)" debuted at number 1 in Billboard's LyricFind Global chart,[45] and at number 6 in the U.S. version of the chart.[45]
On January 31, two days after their debut, Star Magic's newest P-pop boy group BGYO was featured by EXO Baekhyun's Privé Alliance on the streetwear line's social media accounts, becoming the first P-Pop group to ever be featured by the clothing line.[46][47]
On December 8, 2021, SB19 become the first Filipino group and Southeast Asian act to make it to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Trending Songs chart, powered by Twitter, leading for the first time.[50]
On January 25, 2022 SB19 "Bazinga" Surpasses BTS "Butter" for Most Weeks Spent at No. 1 on Hot Trending Songs Chart.[51]
Some Pinoy pop artists are extremely popular in Philippines, and some also have fanbases in other countries—especially in Asia, but also in Western countries. They influence not only music, but also fashion. As of 2020, the top five best-selling artists in the Philippines charts history are MNL48, SB19, Sarah Geronimo, KZ Tandingan, and IV of Spades.[citation needed] Among the five, IV of Spades holds the record for being the only Pop band Artist.[citation needed]
