OPM acts shine at star’s first Truth Festival
Various homegrown artists across different genres of Original Pinoy Music (OPM) championed the true Filipino talent at the Truth Festival held last Aug. 20 at Quezon Memorial Circle to mark the 37th anniversary of The Philippine STAR, the country’s biggest print media.
Dubbed “Truthtellers,” OPM acts and thousands of festival-goers gathered together at a free and fun-filled festival as a show of support for local music and performers.
Recognizing Pinoys’ love for Taylor Swift, drag queen Taylor Sheesh, the Philippine top impersonator of the American singer-songwriter, kicked off the festival with her idol’s hit songs such as Cruel Summer, Style, and Love Story.
“Na-o-overwhelm ako. ‘Di ko rin i-ne-expect na sobrang dami ng tao na pumupunta ‘pag may mga listening parties and everything, so thank you,” she told this paper in an interview.
The local drag performer rose to popularity for her Errors Tour, her version of Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour, which was well-loved by Filipino Swifties.
Before the crowd got more immersed in the music scene, the event first highlighted the importance of truth in this contemporary time, especially for the young generation.
“Nais naming i-celebrate this with you by celebrating truth — know truth, live truth, and celebrate truth. Huwag kalimutan, let truth always prevail,” said PhilStar Media Group executive vice president Lucien Dy Tioco, stressing The STAR’s daunting mission.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte also urged the public to be “empowered citizens” amid the society’s alarming problem of misinformation.
“Huwag po tayong magkalat ng disinformation, malinformation, at lahat ng kamalian, kasinungalingan. Dapat huwag tayong maging bahagi ng mga problema ng ating lipunan,” Belmonte advised.
The advocacy for truth further echoed from Maimai Cantillano and Jonel Revistual, who delivered spoken word poetry performances. Their own pieces about personal and societal despairs in pursuit of truth left a striking impression on the audience.
After making an impact on the attendees, the festival went on with solo artists Fitz Shioda and Kobe Silvestre to serenade the crowd and fill the venue with a mellow atmosphere through their acoustic performances.
Cheers erupted from the crowd as they finally witnessed the much-awaited lineup of rising P-pop stars, featuring girl groups Dione, G22, KAIA, and Calista as well as boy bands 1st.One and Press Hit Play. Capping off this roster of P-pop performances was the boy group Alamat, which also took the stage for the opening ceremonies of the 2023 FIBA World Cup at the Philippine Arena on Aug. 25.
“It’s a big opportunity, it’s an international event, so we are gonna do our very best to make our culture known, to make Filipino talent known,” main dancer and sub-vocalist Jao remarked during the interview.
After savoring the P-pop genre, the concertgoers then got their energy all hyped up with rap hits courtesy of rapper Abra. The audience could not help but vibe to his popular tracks such as Diwata, Ilusyon, and Gayuma.
“Sobrang saya makita na nandiyan na ’yung crowd, nandiyan na sila sa harapan mo kapag nag-pe-perform ka, dahil iba rin ’yung nagpapasahan kayo ng enerhiya,” Abra exclaimed.
“Maraming salamat sa lahat ng pumunta at sumuporta, hanggang ngayon sumusuporta sa lahat ng genre at lahat ng itsura ng OPM,” he added.
Everyone was also in for a rock ‘n roll treat with performances from OPM bands Sunday Special, Similar Sky and Autotelic, and soloist Kean Cipriano, who jammed with the crowd via the song Susundan while a colorful fireworks display lit up the open venue.
Singer Cean Jr. did not let the audience leave without having a taste of R&B as he sang his viral TikTok song YK and unreleased track, Huwag Kang Bibitaw.
Alternative pop music also charmed the crowd, thanks to Kenaniah with live stages of his 2023 tracks Totoo and Bahala Na.
Serving as the final act for the seven-hour music fest, OPM pop rock group This Band did not disappoint the attendees by performing their hugot songs Di Na Babalik and Kahit Ayaw Mo Na.
True enough, the event proved that Filipino music and artistry can serve as an avenue to rally for truth, which The Philippine STAR has embodied as a media platform since 1986. And just as The STAR works on letting the truth always prevail, those talented OPM and Filipino artists showed an undeniable truth that Pinoy talent has what it takes to reign in local and international stages.
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