Awit Awards 2025: A night of legends, lineage, and the future of OPM

At the 38th Awit Awards, the past and present of Filipino music finally felt like one long, continuous song… the kind you don’t want to end.

The 38th Awit Awards powered by Vibe unfolded like a reunion of eras, a gathering where the architects of OPM shared the same stage as the artists shaping its next chapter. It was a night heavy with history yet humming with forward motion, the kind of ceremony where every tribute, every performance, and every award seemed to echo a bigger story about where Filipino music has been and where it’s bravely heading.

Held at the Meralco Theater, the venue itself felt charged… violet carpets, soft beams of light, and a quiet grandeur that never overpowered the warmth in the room. Fans, icons, and newcomers moved in the same space, shoulder to shoulder, creating an atmosphere that was both electric and reverent. It felt like home.

‘The numbers have flipped’

That feeling was punctuated when Vic del Rosario received the Lifetime Achievement Award. With the ease of someone who has lived through the industry’s most turbulent shifts, he looked back at where it began: 1965, armed with just ₱2,000 in a market where “95 percent of the music was foreign, and only 5 percent was ours.” 

Today, he added, the numbers have flipped. OPM now floods the playlists, the airwaves, the cultural bloodstream. His speech was more than gratitude, it was a quiet affirmation of the long, stubborn climb.

Throughout the evening, the stage became a tapestry of eras. Icons like Regine Velasquez and Basil Valdez shared moments with younger talents like Zack Tabudlo, Adie, and December Avenue, their songs weaving across time, softening the edges between generations.

Fandom and artistry coexist 

 A tribute medley gave way to full-throated crowd singalongs, while artists like SB19, BINI, and Ben&Ben proved that fandom and artistry can coexist in spectacular harmony.

No category felt stale or obligatory; every recognition felt like a nod to something living, growing. Lola Amour’s “Namimiss Ko Na” earned Record of the Year, Ben&Ben’s “The Traveller Across Dimensions” took Album of the Year, and Cup of Joe’s “Misteryoso” captured Song of the Year, each one a landmark in a different corner of OPM’s expanding map.

That sense of lineage continued when Vehnee Saturno, whose songs soundtracked decades of Filipino life, walked onstage as a presenter, another quiet nod to the elders who built the ground beneath the new wave. And when Ely Buendia was honored with the Dangal ng Musikang Pilipino Award, his speech felt like a distillation of what every songwriter knows: “It takes more than talent and ambition to make it… it also takes luck, collaboration, the love of family and friends, the support of fans, and the kindness of strangers. That’s why I will never take my career and this award for granted.”

A new chapter being written

Still, the night refused to collapse into nostalgia. Every time a newcomer stepped onto the stage, you could feel it: a new chapter being written. Genres have evolved, production styles have sharpened, music platforms have shifted, and yet OPM’s emotional core remains unwaveringly intact.

Somewhere between tribute and torch-passing, between classic and cutting edge, the room seemed to understand that this music—our music—is no longer defending its place. It’s claiming new ground and bringing everyone with it.

The 38th Awit Awards didn’t just celebrate winners. It celebrated continuity, the way OPM has reinvented itself without losing its soul.

These newer voices might be standing on the shoulders of giants, but if this night proved anything, it’s that OPM’s future is not just secure… it’s alive and in very, very good hands.

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