Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Asia -- The Unpopularity of Country Music in the Philippines

I came across a very interesting, long blog post about how and why country music has not attained popularity in the Philippines....


it is not a lack of enjoyment of country music but awareness in the music-listening younger generation of the Philippines, who do love their Taylor Swift but are unaware that she actually does two versions of her songs—the original country version, complete with “ twangs “and banjos, and a radio-friendly pop version.  We won’t argue which version is better but we will point out that the original was 100% country. A catchy melody and identifiable lyrics lures you in no matter what genre, generation, or continent.

Enter a new artist with a familiar face—Miles Poblete or as she is simply known online worldwide, Miles. Miles was the much-publicized winner of the prestigious Metro Pop star search competition in 1999. She was also a GMA mainstay from 2001-2003, a very visible personality on popular weekend variety show “S.O.P” and youth-targeted “Click Barkada.”
However, during the time of her launch, like most of us entering Freshmen year in college and even surviving through the Sophomore year, unsure of our major, Miles only knew she loved singing but did not know what her true place in the Philippine Music industry was…yet. Of course, between 1999 and 2010, Miles did leave Philippine show business to pursue her studies, even earning a B.S in Tourism from University of Santo Tomas.

Read full post HERE

3 comments:

Ryan said...

hi! I am researching the way that "America" has portrayed in British literature for a research paper in college. The cowboy stereotype is common, but I was wondering if you could recommend any books, authors, or articles that might address this?
Thanks a bunch! Loved running across your blog in my searching.

Ruth said...

Hi -- thanks for writing.

There is some literature on this.

One of my favorite books is "Land of Savagery, Land of Promise: The European Image of the American Frontier in the Nineteenth Century" by Ray A. Billignton (New York: Norton, 1981) -- I think you can find it online on Questia.com.

Specifically on literature, see "World Westerns, The European Writer and The American West," by Richard H. Cracrfot, a chapter in in A Literary History of the American West. Fort Worth: Texas Christian U. Press, 1987. It is also available online.

I also would recommend "Clive Sinclair's True Tales of the Wild West," by Clive Sinclair. London: Picador, 2008. He lives the dream....

Good luck -- would be interested in seeing your paper.

Anonymous said...

I hope you still check this blog?

There is a particular region in the Philippines that like country music. I'm not talking about the likes of Taylor Swift but more "hardcore" country music

It's in the Cordillera Administrative Region, a landlocked mountainous region in the Philippines that is primarily inhabited by indigenous people. It is most popular in Benguet and the Mountain province
. You can google Benguet cowboys or Baguio country music