An article by Nestor Torre on today's Inquirer talked about how importing pop stars for live concerts may be hurting local singers. Is there a legitimate concern for this or is this just a way of scapegoating foreigners for the crappy state of Pinoy pop music or, even worse, veiled xenophobia?
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20080521-137961/Discordant-strains-in-local-music-worldDiscordant strains in local music world
By Nestor Torre
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 19:46:00 05/21/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Late last month, we had a fun time with some of the country’s best singers. Laughter and lively conversation made for a delightful evening out. But as the night grew older and the wine bottles keeled over one after another, the convivial mood took a darker coloration.
The radical change was triggered off by somebody glumly observing that the music and recording scenes had deteriorated in the past few show biz seasons, frustrating some of the country’s best musical talents in grievous ways.
One major complaint raised was about the renewed popularity of concerts by “imported” singing stars, depriving their local counterparts of both income and opportunities to perform.
Concert producers pay imported talents a lot, so there’s little money left over to bankroll our homegrown singers’ own shows.
Of course, producers stoutly aver that Filipino music buffs have a right to all sorts of entertainment options. If foreign acts were to be kept away from them, this would be an abridgment of that right — a no-no in this age of “globalized” pop culture.
Our musical stars counter, however, that — no thanks to our “deathless” colonial mentality — foreign acts have a psychological advantage, so local performers end up holding the short end of the stick.
Foreign invasion
They further point out that, if the ongoing “invasion” of these imported musical carpetbaggers isn’t controlled or otherwise rationalized, Filipino singing stars’ career prospects will be even more severely affected than they already are. So, regulatory agencies and local music fans, have a heart and give our collective colonial mentality a (good, long) rest!
Another new development that depresses and confounds established singing stars is the rising trend of bad or even non-singers coming out with albums that become hits!
The bad singers usually star actors whose fans loyally buy their albums even if they sound bad in them.
As for the non-singers, they compile albums of their favorite songs or dance tunes performed by other musical artists, and they sell a lot of copies as well!
Bleak prospects
Meanwhile, some of the established singers’ own albums do poorly in the hit parade, so what are they to do?
Finally, many of today’s new talents are products of talent search shows on TV, where the focus is on cuteness, youth and ability to generate a lot of “votes,” so their musical “talent” leaves a lot to be desired.
And yet, these overnight stars are made to sing on TV, sometimes even doing duets with established singers. The dissonance and lack of quality are irritating to listen to, and industry prospects of excellence are bleak, indeed.
Is there any way out of these sintunado situations? Music fans can do a lot to set things right. First, decide to favor local singers over the imports. Second, patronize only the albums of good singers, and give the bad and non-singers a wide berth. That’s the one-two punch that will give our best singers a fighting chance to boost their self-esteem and reclaim their lost glory.
