MOVIEGOER: What Nonoy thinks of today's OPM
Published Aug 20, 2025 06:19 pm
At A Glance
- Although he admires the phenomenal growth of Original Pilipino Music, he longs for the kind of compositions that he and his batch of singers put out on record in the 70s and 80s.
Nonoy Zuñiga is proud to say he’s got dual citizenship, someone lucky enough to wave two discount cards in restaurants or drug stores. One for senior citizen, another for person with disability.
“I use them both, depending on which one comes out first from my wallet,” the veteran singer tells us during a phone interview August 14.
Nonoy lost part of his leg in a freak bombing accident in October 1980 at the former Philippine Plaza Hotel. Then a member of a band that played nightly in the hotel’s Siete Pecados bar, he was lucky enough to be able to turn the unfortunate incident into an opportunity.
Nonoy now considers the accident a blessing in disguise, opening amazing doors for him as a solo artist. Only months after the accident, he landed a recording contract. What followed was a series of hit songs that resonate to young and old to this day.
Never Ever Say Goodbye. Doon Lang. Kumusta Ka. Love without Time. Among many others.
“I was fortunate to have landed great songs by the best composers in our time, notably the late Willie Cruz,” he says.
Nonoy is holding a thanksgiving anniversary concert, ‘Beyond Gold,’ on Sept. 5 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater (NPAT) with guests Kuh Ledesma, Lani Misalucha, Rey Valera and Marco Sison.
The concert , produced by Echo Jam, celebrates his 50th year, counting the time he started as a folk singer when he was only 15.
Describing himself as intrinsically an introvert, it took many years, Nonoy says, how he was able to come out of his shell. That was quite a challenge for someone thrust in to the public eye as an entertainer.
“I was shy as a snail. I can’t look at people straight in the eye. On stage, during a show, I would avoid looking at them in the eyes for fear of losing my focus.”
A veteran showman taught him a lesson: “Don’t look at people in the eye. Look a bit higher, like at the forehead. Sing to their forehead, so you won’t get self-conscious.”
Slowly, but surely, Nonoy shed his shyness and upgraded his level of performance. When he joined the 5-man group, The Hitmakers, his confidence level as an entertainer matured. He loosened up some more, so that now you can even catch him throwing a joke or feeding one. His 20-year stint with The Hitmakers has made him more open, more approachable.
Although he admires the phenomenal growth of Original Pilipino Music, he longs for the kind of compositions that he and his batch of singers put out on record in the 70s and 80s.
“Our songs then had rich melodies. The lyrics were more formal unlike today when street or even foul language can be part of a song,” he muses.
He also notes that while the theme remains the same, usually about love and its many splendored forms, many songs today sound alike. The same goes for the voices behind them.
We look forward to Nonoy Zuniga’s promise to drop a new album in 2026.