Trends are fleeting. Nevertheless, for 2021 some music styles will dominate. Thought I’d try my hand at speculation and predict the trajectory of Pinoy pop for the next twelve months.
Pinoy Rap Will Dominate.
Rap is the new pop said a wise music man. Actually, Rap has already overtaken pop and any other genre as the most creatively fertile genre today. And with YouTube as a platform for discovering new acts, and TikTok establishing itself as a (self) promotional platform, Pinoy rap will only get bigger. The next “Dalaga,” “Ivana,” “Marikit” and “Chinita Girl” is just over the horizon waiting for the perfect meme to latch onto.
Even beyond the viral sensations, Pinoy rap will exhilarate. Fused with other styles--pop, R&B, rock and even ballads--the promise for stirring new sounds are limitless. Acts like Because, Just Hush, Kiyo and Skusta Clee are examples and more will come as rap continues to spill over other styles which will lead into all kinds of burgeoning types of music styles.
Pinoy Pop In All Directions
Local pop has two faces. One wants to embrace the K-Pop style hence your sing and dance groups. All well and good, but those who want to emulate has to find the right balance between inspiration and innovation. SB19 seems to have a handle on things. Their debut album went straight to the source, employing K-pop producers whilst singing in the native tongue to get the best of both worlds. The group seem poised for success. All that remains is one giant hit to take them all the way and a slew of similar groups will follow.
Conversely, the other half of Pinoy pop is akin to white light hitting a prism. Acts will employ a gamut of styles from acoustic style, synth, folk, soul, R&B, rap, rock and mix and match. Hence the likes of Arthur Nery, Ace Banzuelo, August Wahh and Cean Jr. have already established a beachhead with neo soul. Rice Lucido, Earl Generao, Syd Harta and similar artists will continue the tradition of acoustic guitar-driven world music, folk, rock and soul. And any doubt to the potency and probability of making it big with any other style other than straight pop should just look at the biggest non-pop act of them all in Ben & Ben.
Ballads Bonanza
The old trope that Pinoys are a sentimental lot still remains It’s just a matter of time before the next ‘hugot’ song finds its way to the top of the heap. And established acts like Moira Dela Torre, The Juans, I Belong To The Zoo, Agsunta, John Roa, This Band and the likes will have erased their distinction from your traditional balladeer. Alternately, solo balladeers will evolve in order to keep up with the times. Martin Nievera knows this, hence that nice spin he did on “Di Na Muli” which led him to say something along the lines of “I never sang the blues, and yet here I am.”
Banda Revamp.
It has taken a backseat in the past year or so, but that could probably be because of the pandemic. But Pinoy bands are just using the downtime to regroup. By that we mean the next band who will matter will let loose all the pent up energy and will come out bursting. And I think that every band out there will want to be first out of the gate. Our money is on a rock vet to demonstrate how it’s done. Also, it’s high time for a new band to take the spotlight.