Ogie Alcasid’s more than three million reasons to keep singing

September 25 ------ On the same day he called on Filipinos to join what would become the historic Trillion Peso March last Sunday, OPM’s beloved singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid also found himself talking about something just as meaningful. His listenership on Spotify had unexpectedly ballooned from a long-standing average of 450,000 to 500,000 to more than 3 million.

It was the kind of milestone that could have been announced with fanfare. But, of course, Ogie being Ogie, the OPM icon just shared the news over a casual and cozy luncheon. He was chatty, friendly, and humble as ever — which goes to show why he was genuinely amazed that something like this could happen more than three decades into doing what he loves.

As it turns out, the spike wasn’t planned or manufactured. It was sparked by something far more spontaneous, albeit serendipitous: Back in July, during a tribute staged by Wish 107.5 for the seasoned artist, young hitmaker Rob Deniel was chosen to perform “Nandito Ako” — the very song that made Ogie, Ogie Alcasid. Rob’s rendition struck a chord with his millennial and Gen-Z fan base, and before long, Ogie experienced the biggest surge of his streaming career without releasing anything new. “He sang it so well that the video started gaining traction online. Rob’s core audience really connected with it, but since he didn’t have a version out, they looked for it on Spotify and found mine,” the part-funny man chuckled, looking both amused and slightly sheepish.

By the way, the Spotify explosion wasn’t a one-time spike; Ogie’s monthly listeners continued to grow steadily from that point on, and Rob wasn’t the only spark. About a month later, he sang Nandito Ako in a duet with Belle Mariano on “ASAP,” as well as his composition, “Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang,” with Kai Montinola on “It’s Showtime,” and unknowingly sustained that growing consciousness in “generation now’s” listening pleasure. Both videos again went viral on social media, resulting in more and more new listeners on Spotify. “By God’s grace, all of that happened when, deep inside, I was trying to reach new listeners,” Ogie revealed.

To be clear, he wasn’t chasing more fame, nor did he need a comeback given his near-daily presence on noontime TV and across ABS-CBN’s digital platforms. Everyone knows him, even on TikTok, where his super-charged and highly exaggerated dance moves are staple digital fan favorites. But as Ogie simply and specifically said, “I’ve always wanted more young people to discover my music.”

A firm believer that a great song will always stand the test of time, The T-Zone nonetheless asked Ogie if he had ever wondered how “Nandito Ako” would be received by today’s audiences had he rereleased the single on his own, without the viral boost. He paused and thought for a moment, then honestly said, “I’ve reimagined some of my old songs not long ago and rereleased them — like ‘Mahal Kita Walang Iba,’ ‘Sumayaw Sumunod’ — and they got really good traction. But it was still from people my age. Young people really listen to something else. “And it’s only now they’re starting to listen to my music, kasi nga parang wala silang (it’s like they didn’t have a) choice because of what happened,” he laughed again. “They hear it on Facebook or YouTube, they hear it live, and then they go to Spotify and find me. Thankfully, they like it too,” he added sincerely.

Source: manilatimes.net