Ito Rapadas joins fellow OPM hitmakers for love-filled night

After the successful virtual reunion concert titled Pagbabalik of Neocolours in 2021, its lead vocalist Ito Rapadas is coming back on stage for the Valentine showcase dubbed, All Heart, Love Songs + Love Stories + Love Notes. Joining him are fellow featured artists Boboy Garrovillo and Jim Paredes of the APO Hiking Society, Raymond Lauchengco, Wency Cornejo of Afterimage and Roselle Nava.

Ito granted The STAR a phone chat to talk about his upcoming show, what new recording and music artists must bear in mind and things that keep his band busy.

“Hindi naman talaga kami nawala (We have never left the performing scene). Only that we get to perform if there’s invitation,” said Ito, “pero hindi kami katulad nang ibang band kasi na alam mo yun na may regular na pwesto (but we’re not like other bands, you know, they have a regular place to perform). That’s why other people thought that we’re inactive, parang in reality, we regularly perform upon invitation, mostly corporate shows, homecoming and high school reunions. We always do that.”

Ito, who works at Universal Records, definitely still has the knack and passion for singing. His participation in All Heart, which happens at 8:30 p.m. of Feb. 14 at the PICC Plenary Hall, is proof to it.

“Sa palagay ko, halos na-co-cover lahat, di ba? The APO covers the ‘70s, Raymond (does) the early ‘80s, ako naman mid-‘80s, then, Wency (represents) early ‘90s, Roselle is late-‘90s, parang come to think of it, we cover different eras of Philippine music,” replied Ito when asked if he and fellow legacy artists represent different Original Pilipino Music (OPM) generations in the show. With that, one could simply infer the repertoire for the evening.

“(What will happen when it comes to song lineup) is mostly mga known songs namin,” shared he, “(we) will be singing known hits.” Some examples of the ditties, based on the piece of information given to this paper by the All Heart’s team, that will reverberate around the venue, are Roselle’s Bakit Nga Ba Mahal Kita?, the APO Hiking Society’s Ewan and Panalangin, Wency’s Magpakailanman, Neocolours’ Say You’ll Never Go and Raymond’s So It’s You. All Heart is a musical trip down memory lane, replete with tunes that evoke emotions one associate with love.

Away from the limelight, Ito, the label and music executive, has seen trends in the local music scene and has the wisdom on how to usher a singer’s promising career.

“Sa panahon ngayon (In this day and age), the new artists in particular, they’re very much reliant on social media platforms,” said Ito. “Nothing can still replace the direct human contact, that is to perform in front of an audience.”

He continued on by saying that sometimes these talents find posting performances on TikTok and YouTube, especially the latter during the pandemic times, their comfort zone. Since the new normal is upon us, established and newbie artists can share their music with fans and the music-loving public in concert places.

“I encourage all the new artists to perform live,” said Ito, “(because what you will learn from a live performance is different) instead of the pure content and production na ilalagay mo sa (that you put on a social media platform), (which is) also very important. I hope they will not forget the live performance aspect in their being an artist.”

Collaborating with experienced artists, newcomers can improve musicality- and work-wise, said Ito, and performing live may also help them gauge the extent of their following. It will avoid them having echo chambers.

“On social media, the tendency there… of course, it’s the fans that are there, right? You might get echo chambers,” he said and added that when an artist forays into a live performance, he or she will take the pulse of people. “Makikita mo kung ano yung nagugustuhan ng tao at hindi nagugustuhan… dun mo ma-re-realize na kailangan kong i-improve ito o ayusin yan (You’ll get to see what people like or do not like, and realize which aspect of singing or performing you need to improve or address).”

As for new talents who sing Neocolours songs as covers, Ito had this to say, “They can always post their renditions of the songs. I am happy because the young generation still remember our songs, and it prolongs the life span of our songs… ang importante sa akin ay ‘pag nabigyan ng buhay ang mga kanta namin (What’s important to me is our song is given a new life).”

These new interpretations will continue to make Neocolours part of Pinoy music consciousness, if one may add. “Hopefully, through the covers of the other artists, ma-i-invite pa rin kami sa mga shows because those shows, those opportunities are always blessings to us, to be able to perform live again,” Ito said.

Audiences will always have that soft spot in their heart for Pinoy artists who sing from the heart.

For ticket inquiries, visit Ticketworld at https://premier.ticketworld.com.ph, while for show updates, follow the All Heart Facebook page via https://www.facebook.com/ALL-HEART-100315379645540.