In the eyes of music artist Joey Ynion

Joey Ynion, like many of us, is a just regular college student. Currently on his third year in De La Salle University majoring in Advertising Management, he’s also an officer in AdCreate Society, actively promoting and assisting in many of the organization’s activities and events.

Similar to us, Joey is trying to be the best student and org officer he can be; but a newcomer in the Philippine Music industry, he’s also trying to live out his dream being an independent artist—even though this was not his initial dream.

On humble beginnings and inspiration

For Joey, it was something that was unplanned and unanticipated. It just started with his curiosity to try song writing. “Before, na-inspire lang ako sa mga nakita ko sa TV na gumagawa ng songs. So ni-try ko gumawa ng songs before. And then, siguro umabot ng one year before malaman ng dad ko,” he explains.

It wasn’t an easy task for Joey to let others read or listen to something he wrote. “One day sinabi na lang ng dad ko, ‘Can I hear your songs?’ Nagulat ako kasi sobrang di ko intention to share my songs with other people,” he recalls. It was only until his father heard the songs he wrote that his father saw Joey’s potential in making it big as both a singer and songwriter in the Philippine music industry. Five years later, Joey still continues his singing and craft in songwriting, and has even gone on to release his first single entitled Gumising Ka.

Joey finds inspiration for his songwriting through his surroundings and experiences, particularly through his family. “Siguro, one inspiration is yung [mga] parents ko din, especially my dad, ‘cause I saw just how [much] he supported me – as in sobra ko siyang nakita mag support sa something na gusto ko talaga.” Without his father’s help and encouragement, Joey wouldn’t be where he is now in his music career.

Other than his parents, Joey also finds inspiration in the OPM genre itself. He tells us how much beauty and variety came from the classics of Filipino music, and it saddened him that most Filipinos think lowly of it. As an upcoming Filipino artist himself, this desire to change the negative perception of OPM music drives him to better himself as a singer-songwriter.

There’s so much more to expect from this Lasallian’s music career and with the right guidance and motivation, his first album may just become the stepping stone for more to come. Similar to us, Joey is trying to be the best student and org officer he can be; but a newcomer in the Philippine music industry, he’s also trying to live out his dream of being an independent artist—even though this was not his initial dream.

On humble beginnings and inspiration

For Joey, it was something that was unplanned and unanticipated. It just started with his curiosity to try songwriting. “Before, na-inspire lang ako sa mga nakita ko sa TV na gumagawa ng songs. So ni-try ko gumawa ng songs before. And then, siguro umabot ng one year before malaman ng dad ko,” he explains.

It wasn’t an easy task for Joey to let others read or listen to something he wrote. “One day sinabi na lang ng dad ko, ‘Can I hear your songs?’ Nagulat ako kasi sobrang ‘di ko intention to share my songs with other people,” he recalls. It was only until his father heard the songs he wrote that his father saw Joey’s potential in making it big as both a singer and songwriter in the Philippine music industry. Five years later, Joey still continues his singing and craft in songwriting, and has even gone on to release his first single entitled Gumising Ka.

Joey finds inspiration for his songwriting through his surroundings and experiences, particularly through his family. “Siguro, one inspiration is yung parents ko din, especially my dad, ‘cause I saw just how [much] he supported me – as in sobra ko siyang nakita mag-support sa something na gusto ko talaga.” Without his father’s help and encouragement, Joey wouldn’t be where he is now in his music career.

Other than his parents, Joey also finds inspiration in the OPM genre itself. He tells us how much beauty and variety came from the classics of Filipino music, and it saddened him that most Filipinos think lowly of it. As an upcoming Filipino artist himself, this desire to change the negative perception of OPM music drives him to better himself as a singer-songwriter.

There’s so much more to expect from this Lasallian’s music career and with the right guidance and motivation, his first album may just become the stepping stone for more to come.

Maintaining balance

How does he manage it all?

With a lot on his plate, Joey, has had to struggle with dividing his time among making music, school work, and org work. He shares that having to juggle with everything keeps him from giving his one hundred percent in either his studies or his music, leaving him wondering about the possibilities—would he have excelled in his academics had he not pursued music, or would he have been more successful in the industry now had it not been for school work? Nonetheless, he makes it a point to give his best in everything that he does in school, in his organization, and in his music.

On the other hand, there are perks with having everything going for him while in college. “The best part is ‘yung experience that you get from it,” he explains, saying that college made him realize that it’s not just all about grades. He’s realized that once you get out into the industry, other factors are also taken into consideration, such as extracurricular activities. “For me, that’s the best thing about it; it’s that you get to have that experience of juggling studies with other things and trying to excel in every field na ginagawa ko,” he confides.

The Original Pilipino Music

Joey’s journey to musical success, however, started out differently than most. “Sabi ng mga tao, sobrang backwards ‘yung nangyari sa akin,” he says. Unlike the conventional path where artists start out in small gigs here and there, he started out singing in a soundproof booth. Joey began by recording some of his songs in the studio, before the appearances and promotions came along. Getting signed with a record label also came after he laid down some tracks.

Fortunately, he has someone guiding him into the music business, and that someone is no other than South Border’s frontman Jay Durias. He and Jay crossed paths through his parents. Since Joey had the same music genre with that of the Rainbow singer’s, his mom’s college friend thought that they would work well together. “…Ganun din ‘yung genre ng music niya and sobrang bait niya na person na mas mag-iimprove pa ‘yung skills ko, so ‘dun ako napunta sa kanya,” Joey explained. He furthers that Durias had recently signed with a record label, one that was more than welcome to also have Joey under their wing.

Apparently, getting signed is only one of the many struggles budding artists nowadays have to go through to make a name for themselves in the music industry. A big hurdle as well is the way people perceive OPM music today. “I realized people saw OPM as low-class or ‘jejemon’,” Joey says.

This perception of OPM became one of his inspirations to sing. He wanted to change it and make them realize the beauty of Filipino music the same way he did after working with mentor Jay Durias. “Na-realize ko na, ‘Uy, ang ganda pala ng OPM. Like, ‘yung mga old classic OPM songs, so ‘yun din ‘yung naging inspiration ko, na gusto kong gumawa ng ganun para ma change ‘yung perception ng tao,” he shared.

Just keep writing

When we ask Joey what advice he’d give fellow aspiring songwriters, he only has this to say: “Keep writing lang.” To him, writing music is more than just about making money and getting his name in the spotlight. “Basta write music because it does something to you,” he says. Music is what he turns to when life gets too stressful and overwhelming for him. He shares that writing keeps him sane and that his problems are somehow lessened and that he feels lighter as soon as he starts writing songs. Music is Joey’s comfort, and everything that happened because of it, he feels blessed to have.

He also believes that with talent and fate on your side, you can go far in the music industry. “…If it’s meant for you, it’s going to happen,” he says, adding that when opportunity presents itself, you must not hesitate to seize it. After all, not everyone is given the chance to share their music to the world.