2025 Awit Awards showcase a strong year for OPM
MANILA, Philippines — OPM bands Ben&Ben, Lola Amour and Cup of Joe won big during the 38th Awit Awards recently held at the Meralco Theater in Pasig.
The Awit Awards honored music icons and rising stars to celebrate their valuable contributions to the music industry. In partnership with Vibe, MQuest Ventures’ (MQV) youth-driven platform, cthe event spotlighted the beauty of original Filipino songs.
The event started with a classy entrance as guests strutted along the violet carpet leading to the theater for performances. Artists across genres and generations lit up the night with looks inspired by the Pinoy glam rock theme.
Leading P-pop groups SB19 and BINI bagged multiple awards. The Kings of P-pop shone not only as a group but also as individual musicians. Their song Moonlight won Best Global Collaboration.
It also seemed like Kalakal took their famous verse “Lapag ang ipon, ‘pag kami nagtitinda” literally, as they swept the Best Rap/Hip-Hop Recording, Best Cover Art, People’s Voice Awards Favorite Collaboration and Best Music Video awards.
“Collaborating with Gloc-9 on this track was an incredible experience — a true meaning of passion, artistry and storytelling,” the group said in a recorded message.
Kaibigan by Justin, SB19’s bunso, won Favorite Record of the Year. His song Surreal was named Favorite Music Video of the Year. Meanwhile, Stell took home Favorite New Solo Artist for the People’s Voice Awards and the People’s Voice Category’s Breakthrough Artist for Room. Felip received the Favorite Solo Artist award in the People’s Voice Category. He also won Best Vocal Arrangement.
BINI, dressed in matching black, pink and red outfits, won Best Dance/Electronic Recording for Salamin, Salamin, while their album “Talaarawan” was recognized as the People’s Voice Category’s Favorite Album of the Year. “The Nation’s Girl Group” was also named the People’s Voice Favorite Group Artist. Their fanbase, Blooms, received the Vibe Stan Award.
“Kami pong BINI, we’ve been trying to experiment, to explore. Alam po namin na bawat bagong tunog o direksyon na tinitriny namin, may mga nagugulat, may mga naninibago, but that’s the heart of being artists — exploring, growing and trusting that music will always find the people it’s meant to reach,” the group’s leader, Jhoanna Robles, said.
Jhoanna also expressed gratitude for the awards, calling them a validation of their hard work. She acknowledged fellow P-pop and OPM artists who continue to uplift Filipino music on global stages.
“Alam namin hindi tayo kumpleto tonight dahil dinadala ang OPM sa global stage. Napakarami pong artists na nagwo-world tour ngayon. Patunay lang ‘yon na hindi lang tayo basta sumasabay sa global stage, dahil tayo mismo ang tunog na hinahanap ng mundo,” she added.
BINI is set to perform at the Coachella stage on April 10 and 17, 2026, at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. They will be joining pop superstars Sabrina Carpenter and Justin Bieber, as well as the international girl group KATSEYE, among others.
Hey June! and BINI delighted the crowd with their collaboration performance of Lasik and Salamin, Salamin.
Meanwhile, Ben&Ben took home the Album of the Year award for “The Traveller Across Dimensions.” The band also won Best Performance by a Group for Triumph.
“I-secelebrate po muna namin ‘to, kasi dugo’t pawis ang inalay namin para sa album na ‘to. But also, at the same time, we have new music that we’re working on. January next year, we will be coming out with a new song,” the band said.
Ben&Ben also teased that their next songs would be about the band’s stories and celebrate the amazing years they’ve shared.
Lola Amour, on the other hand, bagged the Record of the Year and Best Alternative Recording awards for Namimiss Ko Na. Aside from receiving their accolades, the Raining in Manila singers also serenaded the crowd.
“We’re shocked. We didn’t expect this. We’re very grateful, pleasantly surprised and honored to be recognized by this community,” vocalist Pio Dumayas shared.
The seven-piece band, known for their modern funk, pop and rock music, has been touring globally for their “Around the World” tour.
“Basically, it feels like nag-ga-grassroots program kami in other countries. We’re starting from the bottom again. But we know there is that small fanbase in those other countries, and we’re looking to tap into that just to show that OPM is the music that the world has been looking for,” the band’s Manu Dumayas added.
On the other hand, Cup of Joe’s Misteryoso was named Song of the Year. Maki’s Dilaw won Best Pop Recording. Other notable recognitions included Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia receiving the Dangal ng Musikang Pilipino award, and Viva Films CEO Vic del Rosario accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Given his long career and multiple hit songs, Buendia shared that Pare Ko from their “Ultraelectromagneticpop!” album is the one song that changed the trajectory of his life.
Dionela received the Solo Artist recognition and his hit song Sining with Jay-R won Best R&B Recording and Best Collaboration. He also shared about how he’s been handling criticism amid his commercial success.
“I think ang daling maging humble ‘pag mahal ka ng lahat, pero mapra-practice mo ‘yung pagka-humble mo ‘pag ‘yung iba ayaw sa’yo,” he said.
His viral post about donating the earnings from his “Grace Tour” concert also sparked conversations online and earned praise from supporters. The Marilag hitmaker explained the intention behind it.
“The title of the concert is ‘The Grace Tour,’ and I’ve been dealing with this for a long time. And I guess ‘yung naging devotion ko nung araw na ‘yun ay… I guess that’s grace. The meaning of grace is to help out those in need. One hundred percent ng sales mapupunta sa typhoon victims,” he added.
OPM fans were instrumental in this year’s awards as they went all out to support their favorite artists by voting for them in the People’s Voice Awards: Favorite Song of the Year, Favorite Group Artist and Favorite New Group Artist categories.
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