A brief history of P-pop, from anti-Marcos messages to the mainstream and back

The past decade has been a golden era for Filipino pop music, aka Pinoy-pop or P-pop. The past couple of years alone have marked some landmark moments for the genre, which is rapidly gaining an international presence to rival that of its J-pop and K-pop forebears that have so heavily influenced the music in its current form.

Last year, boy band SB19 picked up a nomination for an MTV Europe Music Award and became the first South-East Asian act to be nominated for a Billboard Top Social Artist Award. They kept this success going into 2022 by spending seven weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot Trending Songs chart, breaking K-pop superstars BTS’s record for Butter in the process.

On Spotify’s annual streaming charts last year, Zack Tabudlo topped the Philippines’ most-streamed-song list with Binibini. It’s not entirely unusual for Filipino artists to make the list, but it’s more commonly dominated by international names such as Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. With Olivia Rodrigues and Bruno Mars — both artists of Filipino descent — joining him in the top 5, and 84 million streams in a single year for Binibini, it was a particularly strong performance.

Meanwhile, girl band MNL48 are part of a pan-Asian pop franchise success story, originating in Japan, that is taking the continent, and world, by storm. The Filipina branch of the ‘reality pop’ 48 phenomenon have picked up awards at the MYX Awards, P-Pop Awards and TikTok Awards, and even have their very own theatre to hold performances at Manila’s Eton Centris Mall.

A recurring theme in these success stories has been the heavy influence of K-pop and J-pop, but it wasn’t always thus. While modern P-pop is marked by meticulous dance routines, polished production and squeaky-clean teen pin-ups, the early history of the genre is one of subversion.

The term “Pinoy” began to be widely used as a prefix to domestic pop music in the late 1970s and applied initially to a largely folk rock-inspired movement, sung not in English as had been the norm in the former US colony, but in Tagalog or “Taglish”, and with a frequent undercurrent of opposition to the authoritarian regime of then president Ferdinand Marcos. Heber Bartolome’s 1977 song Nena, for example, told the story of a young girl forced into prostitution owing to an uncaring government, while Florante De Leon’s Digoman (War) flatly states: “I am ready to do battle for the cause of our freedom.”

Craig Lockard’s Dance of Life, a 1998 study of South-East Asian pop music, explained: “The rise of politicised pop music is linked to the development in the early ‘70s of the musical style known as ‘Pinoy’. Sung not in English but in Tagalog [or] slang-filled Tagalog that appealed to urban youth, Pinoy music was a conscious attempt to create a Filipino national and popular culture.”

The term Pinoy-pop really hit the mainstream in 1978 when Freddie Aguilar’s single Anak (Child) sold 100,000 copies in the Philippines in its first two weeks of release — something that was unheard of at the time. The song was released in more than 50 countries and translated into nearly 30 languages, according to local media.

Anak wasn’t an overtly political song. It was a touching tale of a father-son relationship. Aguilar’s 1979 follow-up, Bayan Ko (My Country), pulled no such punches, with lyrics that translate as, “The Philippines, Nest of tears and poverty, My aspiration, See you perfectly free.” This song would go on to become the anthem of the 1986 uprising against Marcos, with Aguilar himself leading the crowds in singing on occasions.

As the 1970s became the 1980s, the growing influence of US hip-hop began to show. Musically, P-pop retained a strong folk influence, in part owing to the lack of easy access to hip-hop standards such as cheap samplers and record decks in the contemporary Philippines. The lyrical poetry of the genre began to emerge in P-pop, however. A trend even emerged among street theatre/musical collectives for adapting the poems of Amado Hernadez — a Marxist Filipino poet who died in 1970 — to music.

It was also around this time that Marcos became interested in the burgeoning Pinoy-pop scene. One might have expected him to want to shut down the growing subculture, but it seems he wasn’t paying too much attention to the lyrics. Instead, impressed by proudly nationalistic song titles such as My Country and I Am Filipino, performed in the native language, Marcos decided this was exactly the sort of movement he should co-opt for political purposes, mandating under a 1978 update to Order 75-31 of the Broadcast Media Council that all Filipino radio stations should play at least three Pinoy songs an hour as part of his campaign to boost the profile of Filipino culture and reduce outside influences.

It wasn’t the first, or last, time a populist leader had misappropriated pop music for their own ends. Earlier this month, British pop group M-People were furious when Liz Truss used their hit Movin’ on Up while she walked on stage for her Conservative Party Conference speech as UK Prime Minister, though they were also happy to note the irony of Truss using a song about breaking up with a deadbeat partner, including the line “pack your bags and get out” to highlight the bright future ahead under her leadership.

It’s a world away from the shiny P-pop product of 2022, but pop music and politics alike tend to move in circles. Filipino politics has already done so this year, with the Marcos family back in power following the election of Marcos’s son Ferdinand Marcos Jr, known as BongBong, as president in July.

Last week, meanwhile, Filipino Senator Jinggoy Estrada suggested banning K-drama and other foreign-made content from Filipino screens in a familiar-sounding call for the advancement of domestic culture.

In March, during the election campaign, Filipina songstress Nica Del Rosario, who has previously written songs for the likes of Sarah Geronimo and Barbie Almalbis, hit the No 1 and 2 spots on the Filipino iTunes download charts simultaneously, with Rosas and Kay Leni Tayo. Both were protest songs urging listeners to reject a return for the Marcos clan and vote for rival Leni Robredo.

Could P-pop be going full circle, too?

Scroll through the gallery below to see SB19 performing at Expo 2020 Dubai

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What is Folia?

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.

Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."

Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.

In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".

There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.

While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."

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What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.

French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

The Breadwinner

Director: Nora Twomey

Starring: Saara Chaudry, Soma Chhaya, Laara Sadiq

Three stars

What are the influencer academy modules?

Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
Cinematography, shots and movement.
All aspects of post-production.
Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
Tourism industry knowledge.
Professional ethics.

FROM%20THE%20ASHES

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Neil Thomson – THE BIO

Family: I am happily married to my wife Liz and we have two children together.

Favourite music: Rock music. I started at a young age due to my father’s influence. He played in an Indian rock band The Flintstones who were once asked by Apple Records to fly over to England to perform there.

Favourite book: I constantly find myself reading The Bible.

Favourite film: The Greatest Showman.

Favourite holiday destination: I love visiting Melbourne as I have family there and it’s a wonderful place. New York at Christmas is also magical.

Favourite food: I went to boarding school so I like any cuisine really.

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

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SERIE A FIXTURES

Friday Sassuolo v Torino (Kick-off 10.45pm UAE)

Saturday Atalanta v Sampdoria (5pm),

Genoa v Inter Milan (8pm),

Lazio v Bologna (10.45pm)

Sunday Cagliari v Crotone (3.30pm)

Benevento v Napoli (6pm)

Parma v Spezia (6pm)

Fiorentina v Udinese (9pm)

Juventus v Hellas Verona (11.45pm)

Monday AC Milan v AS Roma (11.45pm)

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Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

RESULTS

ATP China Open
G Dimitrov (BUL x3) bt R Bautista Agut (ESP x5)
7-6, 4-6, 6-2
R Nadal (ESP x1) bt J Isner (USA x6)
6-4, 7-6

WTA China Open
S Halep (ROU x2) bt D Kasatkina (RUS)
6-2, 6-1
J Ostapenko (LAT x9) bt S Cirstea (ROU)
6-4, 6-4

ATP Japan Open
D Schwartzman (ARG x8) bt S Johnson (USA)
6-0, 7-5
D Goffin (BEL x4) bt R Gasquet (FRA)
7-5, 6-2
M Cilic (CRO x1) bt R Harrison (USA)
6-2, 6-0

Long Shot

Director: Jonathan Levine

Starring: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogan

Four stars

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer