The Philippines is composed of different cultural groups. There are the Tagalogs, the Visayans, the Ilonggos, the Kapampangans and many more. Each of these cultural groups uses different languages. This cultural and linguistic diversity of the Philippines manifests in their music, from OPM (Original Pilipino Music) of the Tagalog to “Bisrock” of the Visayans. OPM has been popularized by Tagalogs located in the country’s capital. As a music genre made famous by the nation’s capital, OPM artists became household names around the country. OPM musicians were very helpful in shaping the nation’s music industry. Examples of musicians in this musical movement are singer Lea Salonga, music director Ryan Cayabyab and singer/songwriter Ogie Alcasid. All of which have achieved international recognition. Due to the passage of time, however, OPM now refers to any type of original music created by Filipinos, regardless of the location of the artist or composer.
Although OPM now means music created generally by Filipinos, records created by other cultural groups are not categorised under OPM. “Bisrock” is one of the most famous music movements other than OPM. “Bisrock” has mostly been created and made popular by the locals of Cebu, one of the major cities in the country. There are already several musicians from Cebu that made it big in the whole country even before “bisrock” came to be, such as Pilita Corrales and Urbandub. Cebu’s music scene was already at large even in the 1980s. The term “bisrock” was recently coined to refer to the Cebu rock music industry. The Philippines may contain an assortment of music genres and musicians. This diversity only shows how flexible Filipinos are with music.




