Why Tagalog Songs? - the beginning

Why Tagalog Songs?

I sort of wish there was a short answer for this question, but there are at least a hundred different reasons why I've learned Tagalog songs. And each song also has it's own individual reasons as to why I decided to learn it. So let's start at the beginning...

Before I ever fell in love with OPM I first fell in love with the Philippines, and not so coincidentally around that same time I also fell in love with a Filipina :)

A few Pinoy friends of mine I'd gotten to know while performing in other countries invited me to come visit them while they were home on vacation. . I had learned a few Tagalog phrases from them and they were some of the most friendly people I'd ever met so finally decided to take them up on the offer. In some way maybe it was destiny because the girl who picked me up at the airport when I arrived ended up becoming my girlfriend of over 2 years …but that's getting ahead of the story.

When I woke up the first morning I turned on the TV in the hotel and it was on MYX. The video playing was Rico Blanco's song "Your Universe". At the time I had no idea it was a local artist. I just thought it was a song that hadn't yet been released in the US. I loved the song.

The two weeks that I spent on vacation in the Philippines were probably the best two weeks of my life. I was so in love with Dominique (the girl I mentioned), and all the fresh fruit, jeepneys, 168 Mall, haha …I felt at home.

A few months later I came back to the Philippines to visit again and this time I thought it would be fun to check out some of the local music. Dominique had gotten a Facebook invite to a Rico Blanco show, and she told me how much she liked his songs. We watched a couple of his music videos together on YouTube, and I liked his songs too. I remembered hearing "Your Universe" on MYX my last trip. When I saw Rico perform live I was so impressed! Afterwords I met him and we talked for a little while. I got his album, and was so excited to listen to it.

Once back in the US I started listening to Rico's album almost daily and "Antukin" became one of my favorite songs. I asked Dominique if she would help me learn how to pronounce the words in the song. I thought it would be cool to have a Tagalog song to play for her, and I knew she would really appreciate. I loved learning so many new Tagalog words, and it was easier to remember them in a song. I ended up learning almost every song on Rico's album ...both the English and Tagalog songs.

I was really interested in moving at least part time to the Philippines because of how much I'd enjoyed my visits, and because Dominique lived there. Then suddenly one day I got an email from MCA/Universal Music Philippines. They had heard one of my original English songs "So Hard To Let Go", and they told me Nyoy Volante wanted to record it for his next album. I didn't yet know who Nyoy was, but Dominique told me he was quite popular and a great singer. Nyoy and I started becoming friends via email. He told me that he would introduce me to his other musician friends on my next visit. Suddenly I was excited about the opportunity to have a music career both in the Philippines as well as the US.

My next trip back Nyoy started introducing me to his friends; Gary V, Yael Yuzon, Top Suzara, Mike Chan, Duncan Ramos, Barbie Almabis .etc. As I got the chance to hear these artists perform live I was really impressed by their songs. Every time I heard a song that I didn't know I would ask someone "…what's the title of this song?" Soon I was learning lots of new Tagalog songs, and what made it even more exciting was often being privileged enough to get to jam the hits I was learning on stage with the original artists. My favorite moment came when Rico invited me to perform "Antukin" on stage with him at the club where I first saw him perform.

Here are a couple of the most popular YouTube songs I've covered, and at least one "Reason" as to why I learned the song.

"Himala" - my friend Ryan Peralta often substitutes on drums when the Rivermaya drummer can't make it. He suggested this song to me, and it instantly became one of my favorites. I had Dominique help translate the lyrics for me. The lyrics are brilliant! One of the best things about learning new Tagalog songs, is the fact that I also learn the English translation and therefore more Tagalog each time I learn a new song.

"Ikay Mahal Pa Rin" - I heard this song playing in Mini-stop on a couple of my late night visits for snacks. I found the melody irresistible so I decided to put together my own version.

"Wag Na" - I cover Yeng's songs for three reasons: One, because I like them. Two, because I like what she stands for and the fact she writes her own songs. Three, because I have a crush on her and I started thinking maybe if I cover enough of her songs on YouTube she'd notice me …and maybe say "yes" when I ask her to collaborate on a song and/or marry me someday, haha.

"Sabihin Mo Na" - Top Suzara sent me a copy of his album, and I loved it. Especially his English song "Overcast" …it's actually my favorite song of his. But "Sabihin Mo Na" is my 2nd favorite ...so I decided to learn both.