OPM singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid expressed his gratitude and happiness as younger artists and listeners continue to embrace his music.
In an interview with MJ Felipe on Are You G?, Ogie shared how Rob Deniel’s rendition of his classic hit “Nandito Ako” helped him achieve his goal of reaching the younger generation.
“I notice kasi na noong sumipa yung angat ng listeners ko, I just trying to find out what’s happening here and I’m trying to tell you na it was an objective of mine to reach the younger audience and I am trying to do that with my teaching, with writing new songs, with reimaging my old song. I didn't realize na it had to take pala young singers like Rob Deniel,” Ogie shared.
The OPM icon recalled being moved while watching Rob perform during a tribute for him.
“WISH kasi made a tribute for me and I was there and I was watching this young man I said ‘Wow’. He give his all and napakagaling ng bata,” he expressed.
As Rob’s cover of his song went viral online, Ogie admitted that he was surprised how his listeners skyrocketed and his song became a hit again.
“Ang nakakagulat na nagviral siya months after. Noong July, 600 thousand plus lang yung listeners ko and it became 3.2 million na. For someone as senior as I am, that was very hard to do but if you look at the metric to my spotify na the 18 to 24 years is the majority. I am so honored and pleased and so happy and so grateful and surprised,” he said.
With the renewed attention to his music, Ogie revealed that an album featuring his hit songs performed by younger singers will be released soon. He is also working on a reimagined version of “Nandito Ako” with a fresh perspective.
“Since I've been singing for almost 36 years, as I grow older, it changed yung interpretation ko, my voice changed a little bit and it’s become more mature. The meaning of the songs has changed,” Ogie first explained.
“When I was young the meaning of the songs used to be about just loving someone else, unrequited love pa yung tema ng kanta but now when I sing it I look at it as a song from God singing to us telling us an ‘nandito lang Ako.’,” he added.
Aside from Rob, Ogie also praised Belle Mariano and Kai Montinola, who performed his classics with him in a viral duet.
“It’s a songwriters dream na magkaroon ng longevity yung song mo. For the younger generation to embrace your music is everything,” he stated.
READ: Ogie Alcasid praises Belle Mariano and Kai Montinola after viral performance on ASAP
The OPM legend also revealed he has been developing a theater musical for nearly seven years, inspired by a realization he recently had.
“I've been working on a musical for nearly 7 years,” he said. “There is this guy online saying na if you create a song for your audience that's when the problem starts. You should create it for yourself. You should create it because you like to do it, that's the message you want to convey and this is who you are.”
“That's something that I thought was wrong. For many years, I thought I was writing for my audience, but in reality I wrote for myself pala. I want that this musical is not far from that idea that I do this because this is what I want,” he added.
Watch the full episode of Are You G? with MJ Felipe on TFC’s official YouTube channel.