Love is an art, and singer Rob Deniel has mastered it

Offstage, Rob Deniel is soft-spoken but carries with him an air of assurance.

It’s something that might take you by surprise after you listen to his music. Take “Miss Miss,” for example. You get a song that starts tame and mellow, and then it gradually progresses into a high-note-laden track that conveys a deep longing you can almost feel through the speakers. 

It all seems to come effortlessly for the 22-year-old artist, so it wouldn’t be unusual for one to assume that he’d bring the same kind of power to his normal life.  

But there could only be one thing driving the paradox of his strong demeanor behind the mic and his more reserved nature without it: love. 

From the classroom to the big stage

Rob grew up surrounded by love — from his family, his friends, and now, his fans. This was how love became so central to his music in the first place. 

“I grew up sa family na mafi-feel mo talaga ‘yung love, so malaking bahagi siya ng buhay ko. ‘Yun lagi ‘yung laman sa isip ko at sa puso ko tuwing nagsusulat ng songs: expressing love,” he told Rappler. 

(I grew up in a family where you can really feel the love, so it’s a big part of my life. That’s always what goes through my mind and remains in my heart every time I write songs: expressing love.) 

The “RomCom” singer was just in high school when he thought of trying his hand at music. In the classroom, when students aren’t preoccupied with their subjects, their crushes are all they seem to think about. 

“Uso ‘yung happy crush,“ Rob recalled of his high school days. “Effective talaga ‘yung haharanahin mo siya, kakantahan mo siya ng something.“

(Happy crushes were popular then. It was really effective to serenade your crush and sing something to them.) 

And when you have a talent for singing and an acoustic guitar in tow, you’re practically all set to win your special person over. Think of a teenage boy confidently making his way to the classroom of the girl he likes, and he starts singing to her despite the stares he might get from her curious classmates. 

It’s a silly trope every Filipino is familiar with, but it’s become an unlikely catalyst for Rob’s creative process. When he’s cooking up a new single, he asks himself, “P’wede ba siyang ikanta for someone? Or bagay ba siyang ipangsuyo for someone?” (Can it be sung for someone? Or can I use it to woo someone?) 

A yearner in the making

Rob is truly a yearner at heart. We all do it differently — but as Filipinos, perhaps we can all agree that longing for the person you love is best done with the right music playing in the background. Rob’s music happened to be just that for millions of listeners. 

As someone whose shyness often got the best of them when they were younger, Rob used music as a vessel to put out into the world his deepest thoughts that the use of words alone can’t convey. 

“Sa music ko nae-express ‘yung nararamdaman ko. Doon ko na-e-express ‘yung mga hangad ko sa pag-ibig, and siguro nakaka-relate ‘yung tao,” Rob said, reacting to the idea that he’s become one of the faces of yearning in the local music scene. 

(It’s through music that I get to express what I feel. I get to express my deepest desires when it comes to love, and I guess people can relate to that.) 

But despite the craze for it on social media, yearning isn’t a new thing to Filipinos, and Rob will be the first to attest that it runs deep in our culture. 

“It goes back all the way sa harana days. Talagang makikita mo ‘yung pag-yearn sa mga pagkanta nila ng mga kundiman. ‘Yung mga kumakanta sa labas ng bahay ng kasintahan nila…. Talagang all through generations, napapasa siya. Hanggang ngayon, lahat tayo nag-ye-yearn,” he explained. 

(It goes back all the way to the harana days. You will really feel yearning in the way people would sing the kundiman. Those who would sing outside their lover’s house…. It cuts across generations. Until now, we all yearn.) 

Longing in the modern age

While Rob has already made a name for himself from his expansive catalog of original hits, he’s garnered an all-new following from his more recent covers of classic Filipino love songs like “Nandito Ako” and “Ikaw Sana.”

Ogie Alcasid’s original renditions of these songs came out in 1989 and 2001, respectively — even before Rob was born. These songs were reflective of love in their time, when there was no social media, no dating apps, and when people did not have to chase after organic encounters that appear to have become elusive now. Still, Rob maintains the nuance of these songs and adds a layer to the intense pining you hear Alcasid convey in his own versions. 

Play Video

“Hindi naman namin talaga intention na ilayo ‘yung sound ni Sir Ogie sa sound namin. [Nilagyan] lang namin ng touch na makarinig ng ibang elements naman na kadalasan maririnig ngayon, tulad ng electric guitars,” he explained.

(It really wasn’t our intention to stray away from Sir Ogie’s sound. We just put a touch of new elements you’d often hear nowadays, like the electric guitars.) 

More than that, though, it’s Rob’s own experience with love in the modern age that allowed him to put a new spin on the song, perhaps without even trying. 

“Malaking bagay din na kinanta ko siya as a Gen Z. Mas naiintindihan ng tao ‘yung nararamdaman nila. So, masaya rin ako na nagkaroon ako ng opportunity to be that person na isa sa mga naging boses ng generation na ito on how to love someone,“ he shared. 

(It’s a big thing that I sang these songs as a Gen Z. People nowadays will be able to better understand how they feel. So, I’m also very happy that I got the opportunity to be one of the voices of our generation for loving someone.) 

Rob is thankful that these covers have propelled his artistry to even greater heights. He hopes that through this, people get to explore his original creations, too. He attests that new listeners are bound to enjoy his debut album, Wander Boy: a 13-track record that takes you on a tumultuous ride of wanting to dance, sing along, and cry. 

But clearly, Rob’s is a journey worth following. – Rappler.com