Philippines

The Philippines is known for a rich pop and ballad tradition. Its roots lie in kundiman, the classic Filipino love song, which fed into OPM (Original Pilipino Music), the karaoke-ready balladry of stars like Regine Velasquez. The country also has one of Asia's deepest rock scenes, Pinoy rock, led by the Eraserheads, and today a booming P-pop wave fronted by SB19 and BINI. Filipinos are famous worldwide for their powerhouse singing.

OPM stands for Original Pilipino Music, a term that emerged in the 1970s to champion homegrown Filipino songwriting over foreign imports. It broadly covers Filipino pop and, especially, the love ballad, delivered by powerhouse vocalists and polished by composers like Ryan Cayabyab. From Freddie Aguilar's Anak to the diva era of Regine Velasquez and Gary Valenciano, OPM is the mainstream sound of Filipino radio and the karaoke machine.

Lea Salonga is the most globally recognized, a Tony-winning star of Miss Saigon and the singing voice of Disney's Jasmine and Mulan. Freddie Aguilar's Anak is one of the best-selling Filipino songs ever, and the Eraserheads are revered as the Beatles of the Philippines. Regine Velasquez, Asia's Songbird, defined the OPM diva era, and today SB19, BINI, and Ben&Ben lead a globally popular P-pop and folk-pop wave.

The Manila Sound was a bright, breezy pop movement that swept the Philippine capital in the mid-1970s, blending soft rock, funk, disco, and novelty humor sung largely in Taglish. It gave Filipino pop its first true mass-market identity, with cheerful, danceable hits about Manila life and young love. Bands like Hotdog, whose anthem Manila became a classic, and the disco act VST & Company defined the era.

P-pop is the polished, idol-driven Filipino pop of the streaming era, blending K-pop-style group performance with distinctly Filipino melody and language. It is led by the boy group SB19 and the girl group BINI, whose viral hit Pantropiko became a national dance craze, alongside folk-pop juggernauts like Ben&Ben. With passionate global fandoms and Billboard recognition, P-pop has pushed Filipino music back onto the world stage.

Last reviewed: 2026-07