“Who here has been heartbroken?” The host of Coke Studio Season 3 Music Festival yells to the crowd. This one statement, casually thrown out and probably impromptu, easily embodies this year’s theme: My Feels.
There’s a renewed interest in OPM Music, one that is fueled by a generation of teens that are arguably freer to explore their emotions and share them online. Music, especially, becomes a source of comfort for them, as the lyrics embody the highs and lows of their life.
For the past three years, Coca-Cola Philippines has been celebrating Filipino music through OPM icons and rising stars alike. This celebration took on the form of Coke Studio, which is a weekly show where seasoned artists and up-and-coming stars collaborate, and where fans can watch their favorite artists at the Coke Studio Music Festival.
To keep up with the My Feels theme by Dentsu Jayme Syfu, the following artists performed at the festival last August 23 at the grounds of Circuit Makati: Janine Teñoso, Clara Benin, Bea Lorenzo, IV of Spades, Brisom, St Wolf, UDD, Just Hush, Al James, Ron Henley, Inigo Pascual, Silent Sanctuary, This Band, Lola Amour, Sarah Geronimo, and December Avenue.
These artists, while different in genre or style, have at least one thing in common: The music that they create and perform are connected to what this generation of Filipino teens are feeling—be it sorrow or joy, being in love or having one’s heart broken.
Sharon Garcia-Tanganco, Coca-Cola Philippines’ VP for Marketing, said of this year’s roster: “…because it’s all about hugot and all about emotions, what we did was really tap into dance and music artists that really capture all of these emotions and feels of teens. So from that roster list, we are able to call out who the teens are most interested in or what are they listening to…”
Despite the rainy weather, throngs of people still attended the concert. Each individual, enthralled by the performances, seemed to be having the time of their lives and even willingly followed suit as an artist requested for them to turn on the flashlight on their phones so the crowd can create a sea of lights. And of course, as a karaoke-loving country, when the audience knows the verse of the song, they sing at the top of their lungs.
While there are other music festivals held in the Philippines, what makes Coke Studio’s music festival different, according to Garcia-Tanganco, is this: “I think what’s uniquely different about the Coke Studio is that we’re bringing together different genres of artists that you wouldn’t think would actually fit together, so that’s the unique thing about Coke Studio per se, not just this specific festival.”
“Coca-Cola has been here for more than one hundred years… Pinoy na pinoy ang Coca-Cola,” Garcia-Tanganco shared. “It’s a national beverage of the Philippines and what we really do is really tap into what people are listening to—what they want. We know people’s feelings. We’re part of the fabric of your everyday life so that’s how we are—that’s how the brand is interwoven into the lives of Filipinos.”
Photographs by Mohd Sarajan
