From Till I Met You, Friend of Mine to Farewell and To Love Again, Odette Quesada is responsible for hits that helped define Original Pilipino Music (OPM) in the ‘80s. The veteran singer-songwriter’s beloved songs have since become ageless after getting revived time and again in movies, commercials and recordings.
“When I was writing the songs, I didn’t have any inkling if anyone would like them. All of a sudden they’re recorded, then they become hits at that time and I thought, ‘Okay, they would probably have a shelf life of 10 years, then get revisited hopefully by the next generation,’” she recently said during a media interview with broadsheets.
“But to actually have my songs continuously being played and sung because of karaoke, videoke and YouTube, (the music is) staying alive as well. I can’t be any happier knowing that it’s gonna live on.
“They’re my legacy and hopefully, it will be around for another 40 years,” she said.
Odette’s music legacy — 40 years as a recording artist and 41 years as composer — will be celebrated via Odette Quesada All Hits: The 40th Anniversary Celebration concert on Sept. 1 (Friday) at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of the Newport World Resorts in Pasay. Among her special guests are Kuh Ledesma, Martin Nievera, Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Raymond Lauchengco, Bituin Escalante and Arman Ferrer, plus Nina Campos as front act.
As a singer, she was discovered by Vicor (now under Viva Communications) boss Vic del Rosario after he heard her demos.
“He asked, have you ever thought of singing your own songs? I said no. But I’ve heard your demos, sabi niya, you could be like a Carole King, writing and singing your songs. Sabi ko, sure, you want me to sing my songs, I’ll sing my songs. But wait until I buy a car because mag-popromote ako pero wala akong kotse,” Odette shared.
“But he doesn’t even remember talking to me about it (laughs),” she mused. “I mentioned it to him when I met with him in L.A. and sabi ko, remember? That’s why you had me singing Friend of Mine (first single as a singer)… He has the ear for music.”
Odette, however, entered the industry as a songwriter first via the amateur division of the 1982 Metropop. Her song Give Me A Chance, interpreted by Ric Segreto, won second place and became her first chart-topper.
She was still in her teens when she began composing songs, like Farewell, which she wrote for her high school graduation and has become a staple in graduations everywhere. It was popularized after the teen-oriented flick Bagets used it as a soundtrack.
Worth noting is that ever since, Odette has full control over her songwriting catalog, thanks to a bold move she made
early on in her career.
She recalled that for late Ric Segreto’s first album, she was informed that her song couldn’t be part of it if she didn’t sign up her publishing rights.
“After Give Me A Chance, I was asked to write more songs for Ric’s debut album. I wrote Don’t Know What To Do, and I gave him a couple of other songs, and then they recorded them,” she said.
“When I didn’t want to sign the publishing, they had a meeting with me, sabi ko, what are we meeting for? I’m not signing publishing for you, guys. ‘Because your songs cannot be part of Ric’s album if you don’t sign your publishing rights.’ I said, ‘Then, they won’t be part of Ric’s album.’”
Odette was only 17 at that time but she already knew what she wanted to do with her music. This was because “when I was 15, I asked my mom for my birthday a publishing book to read. And I read there, if you can hold off signing off your rights to publishers, self-publish or publish yourself, that would be a better thing to do.”
Vicor agreed with her decision. She said there was no bad blood or conflict after. “Pumayag sila,” she added.
Looking back, the biggest benefit of it all was “that I own all the songs that became hits.”
Asked if she’d advise the same thing to young singer-songwriters, Odette said, “Yeah, self-publish, publish (them) yourself, be your own… But you have to learn what publishing is all about.
“Know publishing. It’s important for every songwriter to understand what it is all about. A lot of them give up their rights.”
“But it’s not bad naman to sign up your songs for publishing or co-publishing,” she also clarified. “It’s just that sometimes there are underhanded deals in the contracts.”
Odette would be known for more songs like Growing Up, I Need You Back, Give Me A Chance, You’re My Home, Ayoko Na Sana, Hopeless Romantic, among others, many of which also immortalized by OPM icons like Sharon Cuneta, Gary Valenciano, Kuh, Raymond, etc.
Though still at the height of her career, Odette left the Philippines with husband and fellow songwriter Bodjie Dasig (Sana Dalawa Ang Puso Ko, Sakayan ng Jeep) and their son Darian in early 2000s.
“Because I had a baby already and we were starting a family, Bodjie decided that he wanted to move to the States. His sister had a company and he wanted to help his sister out… It was mostly my husband. You have to ask him but unfortunately, he’s not available,” she said of Bodjie who would pass away in 2012.
“I did have regrets, I felt that we shouldn’t have gone. But he was my husband and I needed to give him his time to figure things out. Kasi the only recourse naman is to come back.
“But I was already resigned to being a mom. Whether I was a mom in the Philippines, I still would have been out of the limelight. So, it didn’t matter.”
Nevertheless, Odette continued to write and even produced albums with Bodjie from abroad.
The songwriting never ends although she’s not as active as other people want her to be because her priority at the moment is being with her mom and taking care of her. All her growing-up years were spent with her grandmother because her mom was then working abroad as a singer and jazz pianist.
But one of these days, Odette would like to hear her songs — not the big hits — being performed, recorded or interpreted by new artists. One of the names being suggested is fellow singer-songwriter Moira dela Torre. There are also talks of a possible musical based around her songs.
Meantime, she’s excited to be home for her 40th-anniversary concert, sold out two weeks before schedule. It’s the follow-up to Hopeless Romantic: Odette Quesada Homecoming Concert in January 2020.
Her All Hits show is mounted by AIP (Anything is Possible) formed by talent manager Noel Ferer, actor-director Rowell Santiago and Crossover head Saripaz Villar. Producers teased that it may be “considered as the best OPM throwback gathering so far.”
Added Noel, “AIP Media Productions has other plans for Odette in concerts with songs of other singer-songwriters and All Hits collabs with Rey Valera, Jose Mari Chan, Martin Nievera and Gary Valenciano. Truly, there’s no stopping Odette and her music.”