Whenever we see boys and girls playing P-Pop on the street, we remember Jose Mari Chan, whose legacy goes deep.
Borgy Angeles
Long before his memes signaled the start of the world’s longest holiday season, Jose Mari Chan was already a pioneer of Pinoy pop and Original Pilipino Music (OPM).
Chan was one of the first local artists to incorporate full orchestra, original compositions, and the Filipino language in his recordings.
Borgy Angeles
His impact on the Philippine music scene has been recognized with lifetime achievement awards from the Philippine Association of the Recording Industry (PARI) and The Metro Pop Foundation.
Borgy Angeles
The singer’s seventh studio album, Christmas in Our Hearts, stands as the biggest-selling album in the Philippines to date, but its immediate predecessor Constant Change stands not too far behind at second place.
Both albums overtake other household names like Regine Velasquez, Eraserheads, and Sarah Geronimo, on top of international acts.
Borgy Angeles
Constant Change, which PARI declared the country’s first diamond-certified album, even produced the likes of “Beautiful Girl,” “Please Be Careful with My Heart,” “My Girl, My Woman, My Friend,” and “I Have Fallen in Love (With the Same Woman Three Times).”
All certified hits, none about Christmas.
A version of this story appeared in Billboard Philippines’ pop issue, dated Oct. 15, 2023.