FMM: Oooh, Child!

It's often said that - at times - you don't have to win in order to achieve success.

That's true in the case of today's Friday Magic Madness song. A song that's still part of my series of the Metropop Music Festival.

In the maiden version of the competition in 1978, one of the entries is a heartfelt ballad about a parent and child. It's a song masterfully written and interpreted by Freddie Aguilar. Those factoids are enough to confirm what's on your mind.

That song is "Anak."

It didn't win the derby. It didn't even figure as one of the runners-up. It was just one of the finalists.

But it's the finalist that could. And did.

"Anak" became a worldwide phenomenon. A song that was wildly popular not just in the Philippines, but in countries both in the East and the West.

In Japan, people always say "Anak," when they find out I'm Filipino. And it's a staple song in Karaoke joints, being sung even by Japanese singers. Same goes in the US, and even in Germany when I visited there.

This song was even translated to English. That's how powerful it was. And it's now part of Philippine music history as one of the most widespread and most sung Filipino song in the world.

This finalist ended up being a winner.