Jonathan Manalo on writing big hits and songs about hope
Prolific songwriter, musical arranger and record producer Jonathan Manalo celebrated his 20 years in the music industry with a concert dubbed as Mr. Music: The Hits of Jonathan Manalo, on Oct. 15 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World.
The concert, as the title suggested, featured some of Jonathan’s hit compositions to be performed by over two dozen guest artists, among them were Gary Valenciano, Kyla, Angeline Quinto, KZ Tandingan, Erik Santos, Jed Madela, Moira dela Torre, Morissette, Jason Dy, Sheryn Regis, BINI, BGYO and Janine Berdin.
Jonathan, who is currently the creative director of ABS-CBN Music, has released over 300 recordings of his compositions with many of them turning out to be big hits. He, too, has also produced over 100 soundtracks and theme songs for film and TV apart from the 200 albums he produced and released for various Kapamilya artists.
My very first CD called Love Life, performed by various artists, and released in 2008, was also the result of Jonathan’s immense talent in music. We once again got the chance to work together when I produced the beautiful single, It’s Okay Not To Be Okay, which he and Angela Ken composed for Star Music.
Small wonder, Jonathan has received numerous awards and nominations from different award-giving bodies here and abroad.
Having been around the music scene for 20 years now makes Jonathan “feels it’s so long and also it feels so short.”
He explained, “If I am going to look at my journey, so far in the last 20 years, dahil sa sobrang daming nangyari at kung dadaanan ko s’ya lahat, masasabi ko ang haba na pala, especially if I’m going to be specific in each and everything that happened. Pero kung babalik na lang ako sa Day 1, it feels like yesterday.”
Interestingly, Jonathan was only four or five years old when he came up with his very first composition: a nursery rhyme on the value of time, he called Oras.
“I came up with other songs (apart from Oras). Meron pang tungkol sa trapik at tungkol sa carinderia ng kapitbahay namin,” Jonathan amusingly recalled during our conversation for Batalk Channel’s The Interviewer Presents on YouTube.
Excerpts:
You used to write your own nursery rhymes. How much of that is still there? Are you still writing about carinderias? Are you still writing about things that you experienced?
“Perhaps, Tito Boy, the child in me remains na (parang) batang nag-e-enjoy sa ginagawa ko, na tinitingnan ko ito as something na nag-lalaro. But I’ve learned to put the discipline to do my work professionally. The amount of joy of working on every song is never gone. I still love observing life, ‘di ba sabi nga ang mga songwriters kailangan keen observers of life.”
What is your process? Which comes to your mind first when writing a song — the melody or the words? Arthur Nery said he cannot write a song when he’s heartbroken but for Ogie Alcasid, it’s easier to write about heartbreak. Nasaan ka doon sa dalawang aspeto?
“It’s a feeling. A song is an expression so, you must genuinely feel it. For instance, I was able to write a happy song. Nauna ba ‘yung lyrics o nauna ba ‘yung melody? No, it’s a feeling. I was happy inside.
“Tito Boy, I’m a happy person so it’s easier for me to write songs about dreams, about hope. That’s why, I have songs that are full of hope, full of positivity like Tara Tena and Patuloy ang Pangarap. Kung sakali meron akong heartbreak song na sinulat, reference dun ‘yung time na nasaktan ako or stories of my friends who experienced heartbreak, but there’s always hope at the end of the song.”
You’ve done a lot in the last 20 years — one of the most prolific producers, arrangers, composers — if you were to thank the people who helped you to get where you are today, who are these people and why?
“First, to my family because they supported me in pursuing my passion in music. I also have an exceptionally good support system kung saan ako lumaki kasi ‘yung foundation ko, Christian family.
“Next, I will never forget (to thank) people in my Christian community, especially my mentor, Kuya Jungee Marcelo, napapanood ko s’ya sa Papuri bata pa lang ako. Sa music ministry namin, s’ya yung kuya-kuya namin doon at naging sobrang successful s’ya. He won in songwriting festivals like the Metropop. He started as a gospel songwriter, so I told myself I wanted to be like Kuya Jungee.
“And, of course, Tito Boy, I’d like to thank the artists who trusted me like Angeline (Quinto), Erik (Santos), Kyla, Yeng Constantino, Sir Gary V (Valenciano).”
Was there ever a time in your career when you doubted yourself that a singer might not sing your song?
“Many times! Ay naku, hahahaha! Si Erik Santos may ni-reject s’ya na kanta ko, Langit. But he recorded it in the album. I think the flow of the song, it’s not intended as a single but as a showcase song in the album. Sabi ni Erik, ‘Parang nag-hahanap ako ng iba.’ Sabi ko, ‘Ginawa ko ‘yun para sa ‘yo tapos hindi mo ire-record. Hindi na ko gagawa ng song ulit para sa ‘yo.’ That was me being childish, hahahaha!”
Sino ang taga sampal sa ‘yo kapag medyo, well, lahat naman tayo, lumilipad because of success?
“I have had many bosses. I appreciate bosses na mahal ako pero naging malupit sa akin katulad ni Tita Malou (Santos), hahahaha! She’s very straightforward and she will not mince words na kapag hindi pa okay sa kanya, hindi pa talaga okay. The pain that she caused was not intended to hurt but to strengthen. Kumbaga, kailangan mong pagdaanan ‘yun to step up. And when she finally gives her approval, the feeling is different, parang, ‘Ahh, yes!’”
I wanted to go into your journey. What are the most memorable yeses and nos in your life?
“There were so many rejections, Tito Boy, that I couldn’t remember them anymore. But because of those rejections, I’ve learned to cope. They also served as fuel for me to be better next time.”
Going to the yeses of your career.
“The most recent was particularly challenging because it required many levels of approval. It was the time when Ang Probinsyano was about to enter its second season and the production team was looking for a new theme song. It was also the time when Sir Gary had a health scare.
“When Sir Deo (Endrinal) and Coco (Martin) visited Sir Gary, they were requesting him to write a song that will talk about his journey, yung pinagdaanan n’ya sa health scare n’ya and at the same time, pwedeng i-relate sa show. But Sir Gary said it’s been a long time since he last composed a song and he felt that he couldn’t meet the deadline. ‘But please ask Jonathan to write it for me,’ he said.
“So, nag-usap kami ni Sir Gary, nag-kwentuhan kami. I told him I needed to hear his story, what he went through. Ang tumatak sa akin ‘yung sinabi n’ya na, ‘There are many questions going on in my mind while it’s happening. Bakit? Bakit? Bakit Mo binigay ito sa akin?’ At sabi nya pa, ang daming questions but no answers. So, that’s the first line of the song that I wrote (titled) Ililigtas Ka N’ya. It goes, ‘Kay daming tanong, walang sagot/ nasasaktan, hindi alam ang dahilan.’ The song, along with the show, it became iconic at nakakatuwa na kinakanta s’ya ng maraming tao.”
What is your biggest hit?
“Sa dami ng taong na-reach at na-touch ng kanta at nagkaroon ng connection, I would say Pinoy Ako (theme song of Pinoy Big Brother) kasi mula sa bata, matanda hanggang foreigner at lahat ng klaseng events.”
At this point in your career, are you afraid of anything?
“I’m afraid of time. It scares me that the time will come when I can no longer remember everything because of so many happy memories to treasure. It also scares me that the time will come that even I no longer have access to my own memory. I know pwede rin na hindi mangyari pero yung element na ‘yun ng time, that’s what scares me.”
What’s next?
“More songs, Tito Boy. I will never stop creating songs. Hangga’t kaya ko s’yang gawin, gagawin ko s’ya. So, expect more music from me.”
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