00:00 It's a drama.
00:01 Ugh, who wrote that?
00:03 I don't know.
00:04 [Laughs]
00:06 [Music]
00:34 Relationship song.
00:36 A rich woman and a poor man.
00:41 Angel on the ground and Hampas on the ground.
00:44 That's the story.
00:45 It's like a telenovela.
00:46 [Music]
00:56 That was our sophomore album.
00:58 The songs were still unfinished and we were under a tight schedule.
01:02 I got the inspiration from that.
01:04 In that other room, I locked up for a weekend.
01:08 I came up with seven songs in one session.
01:11 Angel was one of them.
01:13 As a band, we were super fans of Dharna.
01:16 [Music]
01:22 There are a lot of pop culture references.
01:26 One of which is the trilogy, Back to the Future.
01:30 There's a song called Earth Angel from the soundtrack.
01:34 [Music]
01:41 That's one of the songs, Angel on the ground.
01:44 And then Angel Locsin was our local superhero at the time, Dharna.
01:51 That's Angel again.
01:52 It's a personal experience.
01:55 It didn't reach the point where I would give you a lip pack.
01:58 "Lip pack on the lapel. Just leave my daughter alone."
02:00 [Laughs]
02:03 It didn't reach that point, but it was just a little while ago.
02:05 I was looked down upon by my family because they wanted a corporate dude for their daughter.
02:13 But I was just a band.
02:15 That's where the line was.
02:17 And then, a lot of telenovelas came out.
02:20 We're suckers for telenovelas.
02:22 I admit it.
02:23 [Music]
02:29 But you can't notice the song because of the line.
02:35 And then, it's like, you put the girl on the pedestal, that's why she's an angel.
02:41 There's also the City of Angels movie.
02:45 It's like, is it right that the angel committed suicide?
02:49 That's my version.
02:51 You can take your lip pack off.
02:54 You can put it on your lips so you'll look selfish.
02:58 Selfish stuff.
03:00 But you really want to be with her for the rest of her life.
03:04 So you won't take it off.
03:05 Take your lip pack off.
03:06 They say it's like the Boston drama of Typecast.
03:10 [Music]
03:14 We're from the same town.
03:16 On Typecast, we even share the same label.
03:19 But no, we didn't sample the intro of the Boston drama.
03:25 I just did my thing.
03:27 We have a saying, "When an angel passes by, an angel passes by."
03:31 So the intro part was really heavy.
03:33 [Music]
03:40 There's an acoustic guitar that comes in right before the verse.
03:44 Maybe an angel passed by, we'll be quiet, and we'll be a good example to the angel passing by.
03:49 The music video was directed by Sigfrid Barro Sanchez.
03:53 She's an acclaimed indie film director.
03:57 The main character is Esi Ong, the angel that many adults fantasize about in our music video.
04:05 It was shot in the familiar Saqueson City.
04:08 It's the building where Jollibee Pantranco is right now.
04:13 And there's a Sogo Hotel upstairs.
04:16 The concept was controversial.
04:20 Migdeo Cruz has artwork.
04:24 It was controversial.
04:25 Years after the video was shot, we were asked, "Why are the images behind you like that?"
04:31 We didn't know about it.
04:32 It's art for us.
04:33 It's a beautiful backdrop for us at that time.
04:36 Of course, it was expected that the label would pour everything to market the song.
04:42 Let it be heard on the radio.
04:44 But for us, it was a tough act to follow.
04:55 The songs that came out from the first album.
04:58 And then there's the sophomore album, "Curse," which was a hit.
05:04 You'll be the first one to finish the album.
05:08 There was a bit of pressure.
05:09 We didn't think about it.
05:11 We just performed the song whenever we can.
05:14 At gigs, concerts, small bars.
05:18 There were artists who would accompany us at noontime shows.
05:38 It was unexpected that we worked with them.
05:43 It was like an angel soaring.
05:47 It was like a flight to the band.
05:50 The song was a blockbuster.
06:06 We came up with that line because we really wanted to focus on the song.
06:14 That's the difference in our status.
06:18 It's a drama.
06:19 We wrote it.
06:22 The title "Angels on Earth" was chosen.
06:27 People are calling the song "Angels on Earth" when in fact it's "angel."
06:31 Probably because my phrasing in the chorus was "Angels on Earth."
06:37 But it's really, you talk to the angel, "Angel, you'll stay on Earth."
06:42 That's how it is in the chorus.
06:45 We just adjusted it.
06:47 Like in the banners, it's like a guest performer, Stone Free, with their hit song, "Angel,"
06:54 and then, "on Earth."
06:56 That's how it happened.
06:59 On the streets, people call me "Angel on Earth," not Miro Valera.
07:27 That's when I got the label "Angels on Earth."
07:31 We're the "Angels on Earth" of Pinoy rock.
07:34 Good image, right?
07:35 All throughout the years, people who upload our songs on YouTube
07:39 use our songs as tribute to their crushes, their crushes,
07:45 their significant others, they use it at weddings.
07:49 I actually got the chance to sing it at the Bridal March.
07:53 "Angels on Earth, I'm falling for you."
08:00 It's a different experience, right?
08:03 It's on the same page as the Bridal March songs.
08:07 You wouldn't have thought that I would reach that status.
08:11 Personally, my goal back then was to make a band.
08:14 I just wanted to include Platinum on the karaoke list.
08:19 I was okay with it, I was sold.
08:21 [Music]
08:26 But it's a blessing that we were able to touch the lives of those people
08:33 with one song, with those melodies.
08:37 It also reached a different purpose.
08:40 Initially, my purpose was therapy.
08:43 I was able to express my feelings, my love for that particular person.
08:50 It took on a whole new meaning then.
08:53 As time went by, our followers, as I said,
08:57 they got older, they got married,
08:59 so they were suddenly dedicating it to their future partners.
09:04 So it took on a whole new meaning in that aspect
09:09 that was really amazing.
09:11 Something amazing about music, about art,
09:14 that even now, it has reached a different level
09:17 because you can allay it to someone who departed,
09:22 to a loved one who was affected by the pandemic,
09:26 to frontliners.
09:29 You can also dedicate it to them because they are angels on earth
09:34 who help us, who also sacrifice.
09:37 It's different, it's a different song.
09:40 You wouldn't have thought that the importance of that song
09:44 was written in the other room.
09:46 Personal meaning, now in 2021,
09:49 the song "Angel" is for me.
09:51 I take care of my two senior citizens here,
09:54 so I'm the only grandchild who goes out.
09:57 Now I regard my aunt and my mom as my angels.
10:03 You'd see the worth of your loved ones
10:05 now that we're in this crisis.
10:08 Then on the other side, I'd offer them to our health workers,
10:12 our frontliners, the trash men,
10:14 those who provide us with essential needs.
10:17 Now, I allay it to them.
10:20 I allay the song to them.
10:23 Angels on earth,
10:26 we'll watch over you.
10:30 Hi guys, this is Mayro Valera of StoneTree
10:34 inviting you to like and subscribe to OG's YouTube channel.
10:38 (duck quacks)
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