Stream, share, repeat

By Justine Denise S. Cruz

Ahallmark of a trueblooded Filipino is being able to belt out a song (with full confidence) as if they are vying for a fourchair turn in The Voice.

Funnily enough, a birthday party here in the Philippines wouldn’t be complete without a karaoke machine. Your tito’s rendition of My Way and your mom’s version of many Whitney Houston hits would be heard throughout the whole neighborhood. Who needs a vocal coach when you have years of karaoke experience?

Admittedly, we are often stereotyped as great singers—but for all the right and evident reasons. Homegrown powerhouse belters, like Lea Salonga and Arnel Pineda, and artists of mixed heritage, such as Bruno Mars and Nicole Scherzinger, are living testaments of how our race has dominated the international music scene.

With the influx of rising artists here in the country, there is no doubt that musical prowess runs in the veins of Filipinos who are rising to local stardom—even when COVID-19 held the world at a standstill.

The recent pandemic gave birth to a new era of

NEW STAGES/P1 been introduced to Pinoys since high school. With its premiere during the last quarter of 2022, Maria Clara at Ibarra broadcast by GMA Network, took the Philippines by storm through its creative storytelling following a Gen-Z main character traversing through Jose Rizal’s magnum opera.

The series tails Klay, a present-day nursing student that is mysteriously transported to

1880s Manila after reading a copy of Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. She wakes up in Maria Clara’s room, hearing the people around her naturally speak Tagalog tongue. Shortly after, she crosses paths with characters that are exclusive to Rizal’s novel.

Maria Clara at Ibarra retells the tale of Rizal’s timeless masterpieces with a modern twist. The series garnered the attention of many Filipinos by reinventing historical romcom, and by introducing modernity to the classics.

To shine and to shed.

With buried bodies and buried secrets as the central theme of Dirty Linen (2023), Filipinos’ interests have been piqued as they encounter a murder mystery unlike any before.

The series, directed by young Filipino artists and musicians. Aside from having strong contenders in R&B and pop, the country is also home to promising boy and girl groups.

R&B newbie Denise Julia blew local music charts with her post-break up single “NVMD” in 2022. The threeminute-long anthem rose to millennial fame as a viral sound on Tiktok.

In an interview with Bandwagon Asia, the 21-yearold Filipino singer-songwriter admitted that she was afraid her song would only be a onehit wonder. However, she also knows that she has a lot more to offer her fans.

“I’m not really about the numbers. It’s all about my connection with the fans and making sure I’m putting out good music and good vibes,” the rising R&B star proudly revealed.

With musical inspirations such as Beyonce and TLC, no wonder she had everyone bopping together with her in the song’s chorus, which now has over 81M streams on Spotify.

Another R&B and pop superstar is Ylona Garcia, who is known for being a teen housemate in Pinoy Big Brother in 2015. Her international success started when she was taken under the wing of 88rising in 2021.

With hits such as “All That ” and “Entertain Me,” the Filipino-Australian singer was named as the “the new global voice leading R&B Pop” by American fashion magazine V.

“Everything that I put out, it’s all inspired by living. It’s just living—that’s the inspiration. That’s where my mind is at,” the 20-yearold performer shared in an exclusive interview with Metro.Style

Meanwhile, BINI, an eight-piece girl group, and SB19, a five-member boy band, are two of the most widely-distinguished P-Pop groups in the country.

Focusing on genres like dance-pop and EDM, BINI is known for their singles “Na Na Na” and “Lagi.” To further solidify their mark in the industry, American music magazine Rolling Stone named the Star Magic-formed band as one of the rising global artists for RADAR in 2022. Currently, the nation’s girl group has over 125,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

On the other hand, SB19, formed in 2018, gained popularity after the release of

“Go Up,” their second single, in 2019. “Mapa,” a song made as a tribute to parents, was released in 2021 and further skyrocketed their group’s reputation. It is currently ranked as their most streamed song, with its official lyric video containing more than 80M views in YouTube.

As these artists enjoy their growing fanbase, Steve Choi of Korea Music Copyright Association (KMCA) shared that in order to thrive in this challenging industry, their craft should be built atop the pop culture of the country. This way, they are able to speak to the feelings of the listeners.

“Music should contain common issues so that anyone can understand. But on top of that, it is important to incorporate your national identity so that it can be differentiated,” Steve Choi of Korea Music Copyright Association said.

The versatility of these youngsters in the music scene is proof that their talent and hard work deserve to be reciprocated with support. If local artists can produce quality music, what hinders the public from rallying behind their backs? Stream, share, and repeat.

Onat Diaz and Andoy Ranay, trails the story of generational grudges harbored by the loved ones of those who inexplicably disappeared in the hands of an aristocratic family. To carry out their vengeance, each member infiltrates the household under varying identities in hopes of exposing the family’s secrets. However, as the team slowly shines light upon the truth, buckets of bloodshed only stare back at them.

Aside from offering a twist to the usual noontime revenge dramas, Dirty Linen also gives a different viewpoint when it comes to social injustices and power dynamics. The murder mystery genre of the series makes you want to close your eyes in suspense, but at the same time, it makes you want to force them open and stare at the harsh reality of unfairness within our world. and path to popularity of the performative art.

As the Philippine film industry closes its curtains on a century-old act, it welcomes a new era filled with twists and turns of the past’s remains. As 2023 starts, what the people have seen so far is just the opening act of what is yet to come as new stages are bound to arise with this new phase the industry is braving.

Notably, the life and career of one of the most well-known drag queens RuPaul Andre Charles played a huge role in bringing great publicity to the art as stated earlier—with her hit song “Supermodel (You Better Work) in 1993 and her drag reality TV show.

The local runway.

In the second half of the 20th century, drag was first featured in the Philippine media through the works of comedy king Dolphy Quizon—he was the first to spotlight the discussed performative art in the local scene with his portrayal of a hyperfeminine gay man in the film Ang Nanay Kong Tatay (1978).

August last year, one of the spin-offs of RuPaul’s Drag Race: Drag Race Philippines premiered, in which 12 contestants competed for the