Promoting Original Pilipino Music

Both collectively and individually, the APO is easily the most creative group in Philippine entertainment today. They have tried their hands at all aspects of the entertainment business including record production, and talent management and organizing artists under the Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM). They have been instrumental in pushing the careers of new artists through the hit songs they have composed.

Musically, it is as composers, singers, and entertainers, however that they made their mark. Working with a language they knew only colloquially, the APO began writing songs in Pilipino. The result was a series of pop hits that were distinctly Filipino in mood and outlook like "Mahirap Magmahal ng Syota ng Iba," "Pumapatak Na Naman Ang Ulan," "Nakapagtataka," Salawikain," and "Doobidoo." In the process they became exponents of Original Pilipino Music (OPM), a cause they carried even if at times they wrote in English. The 1985 novelty number "American Junk," for example, is a protest against the pervasiveness of American Top 40 music on local radio.

An APO concert, whether at home or abroad, usually relies solely on original APO material. Yet, audiences unfamiliar with their work easily get into the APO mood. Observers attribute this to the universality of the APO's music. Their tunes are catchy, their sentiments forever young and optimistic. Others think it's their banter, their intelligent and humorous spiels in current world events and trends that keep the audiences entertained and asking for more.

APO followers know, however, that the group is more than words and music and jokes. They are three distinct personalities with great chemistry. Danny Javier, who does most of the solos, is glib, quick to draw, unbeatable at repartee. Jim Paredes, who writes most of their songs, is intense, aggressive and absurd. Both of them pick on Boboy Garrovillo, who is shy and sensitive, the picture of vulnerability, but a man capable of well-timed one-liners. The combination makes them a total entertainment team that is unparalleled in the country.

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