Singer Jay R is experiencing a resurgence in his music career, thanks to the success of his collaboration with rising artist Dionela.
The two got together for the song "Sining," which at the moment is enjoying widespread popularity as evidenced by its millions of listeners and streams on online music platforms.
As of today, "Sining" has 75,301,171 streams on Spotify Philippines, making it the top OPM track on the popular streaming platform for weeks.
The overwhelming success of "Sining" egged Jay R to book a quick visit to the Philippines from the U.S.A. to help promote the song and shoot promo materials alongside Dionela.
Needless to say, "Sining" has introduced Jay R to a new generation of listeners—those who were either not born yet or too young to remember when the country's King of R&B was at the peak of his career.
Read: Is Jay R passing the King of R&B title to Sining singer Dionela
THE POWER OF STREAMING
Of course, the music landscape has changed significantly compared to the time when Jay R was churning out hits.
Back then, CDs were the primary medium for artists to distribute their music, despite the widespread issue of piracy.
Fast forward to the present, and physical forms of music have taken a backseat in favor of streaming, allowing the public to listen to music online with just a few clicks on their gadgets.
The success of "Sining" has only reaffirmed this reality for Jay R.
"It's very different from before. Kasi kung paano ma-reach ang mga fans ng music ko, it's either sa radyo or bibili ng CD. Pero siyempre, may limitation din yun," Jay R lamented to PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) in a chat at the Cornerstone Entertainment office in Quezon City.
He continued, "Kasi sa Pilipinas lang tayo, e. Yung mga ibang tao sa ibang mundo, sa ibang mga parte ng mundo, walang access doon. But now with streaming, medyo mas malawak na.
"And the whole world has access to it now. And I think it's an advantage talaga for us artists to get our music out to different parts of the world na hindi namin mapupuntahan dati.
"So, ano, meron siyang pros and cons, pero I like to focus on positivity."
WORKING WITH NEW ARTISTS
Jay R is grateful for social media, as it allows him to discover the music of young artists and connect with them.
The truth is, Jay R has never stopped creating music.
Thanks to modern technology, he can record music from the comfort of his home in Los Angeles, California and collaborate and swap ideas with fellow artists from different parts of the world.
He excitedly shared, "Ang daming mga magagaling ngayon na original music na ginagawa kaya na-inspire din ako kahit malayo ako, nakikita ko kung anong nangyayari dito."
Continued Jay R, "So, kinu-contact ko yung mga ibang artist. Tapos, through email, through digital, doon kami nagku-collab. Nagse-send kami ng mga verse namin.
"And not only dito sa Pilipinas, meron din akong mga artist na nakaka-collab galing Malaysia, meron galing Cambodia, from Laos.
"It's nice kasi willing din naman sila mag-collab sa akin. And, it's parang magandang opportunity din sa akin para mas lumawak ang mga listeners ko."
Jay R keeps himself updated about the Philippine music scene through social media.
"Regarding the scene, because of social media, mas gumagaling ng artist natin. Kasi, hindi lang Pilipino yung point of reference nila, buong mundo na, e.
"So, yung quality ng pagsulat ng Pinoy, quality ng pag-produce, quality ng pag-mix, talagang umaangat talaga dahil sa social media. I think that's a really big factor and we can use that to our advantage as artists."
"SINING" AND BINI CONNECTION
Incidentally, one of the members from the hottest all-girl group in the local music scene today has a connection to Dionela and Jay R's hit, "Sining."
The music video of "Sining" stars veteran actor Joonee Gamboa and Stacey from the phenomenal Pinoy pop group BINI.
The touching video currently has more than 14 million views on YouTube.
Jay R credited Dionela for coming up with the concept and directing the "amazing, amazing" video.
"Also, big shoutout to Stacey of BINI for letting us feature her sa music video namin," acknowledged Jay R.
Read: BINI: The binibinis of P-pop in full bloom
"Laking tulong din kasi lahat ng mga Blooms pinapanood din [yung video] dahil sa kanya."
Blooms refers to the fandom name for BINI's diehard fans.
Read: BINI makes P-Pop history with KCON LA 2024 performance
BINI belongs to the so-called Pinoy pop or P-pop genre that is making waves in Philippine music today.
Read: BINI reigns as "Summer Queens" at Star Magic Hot Summer 2024
"It's good for OPM," Jay R said favorably about P-pop.
"You know, it started from K-pop... it's great kasi it's original pa rin. It's original Pinoy music pa rin."
Read: SB19 gets landslide win at Billboard Fan Army Face-Off 2024
P-pop, said Jay R, is helping the local music industry "grow" and make it competitive globally.
"It's a new genre na parang lumabas pero, within OPM still," mused Jay R.
Read: SB19 open to collaboration with BINI
"Because of that, mas dumadami ang fans even from around the world na hindi Pinoy [pero] nakikinig ng P-pop — it's doing very good for us."