Rob Deniel is still floating on a cloud
Rob Deniel’s journey started with a folder of printed chords for Eraserheads and Rivermaya hits. He taught himself to play the guitar, and once he felt confident enough, he brought it to class—strumming while his friends sang during idle hours.
Toward the end of high school, he formed a group with a friend and competed in battle of the bands competitions. While it felt like things were starting to get serious, at the back of his mind lingered the thought that it was just a hobby—or that it should stay that way.
Not to say that his parents weren’t supportive of his love for music—they had bought him a guitar, after all—but they weren’t completely convinced it would be a viable career. It didn’t seem practical, and he had to think about his future, he was told. “Typical of parents,” he points out, “but also understandable.”
Deniel wasn’t about to resist. Still, he felt in his gut that he had what it took. “What if I just try? Malay mo,” he thought.
First major solo concert
He had been all set to take up engineering in 2020, but then the pandemic hit, unexpectedly giving him more time at home than he had anticipated. And so he spent it honing his writing and production skills and picking up other instruments, like the piano and drums.
Before long, with his bedroom as his studio and his phone as his mic, Deniel came up with a song titled “Ulap.” He first put it out independently on Facebook, YouTube, and SoundCloud. In its first month, it racked up around 3,000 streams—most likely from friends and family, he jokes—and he couldn’t have been happier.
When he heard that TikTok was quickly growing in popularity, he uploaded the song without much thought. “Bahala na.” The next day, he checked the post to see countless comments pouring in. Viva Records eventually took notice and, recognizing a potential hitmaker, signed him.
It’s crazy, he muses, how that little dreamy pop song he wrote out of boredom could amass tens of millions of streams and ultimately lead to his breakthrough. And it’s even crazier, he adds, that only five years in, he has gone from making music alone in his bedroom to the cusp of holding his first major solo concert.
On Feb. 27, he will take the stage for “The Rob Deniel Show”—not at a small venue, like he had once underestimated he could perform in—but at the Araneta Coliseum. The craziest.
“When I think about it, nakakabaliw talaga siya. I used to just imagine myself having a concert there, but I didn’t think it would come true,” he tells Lifestyle Inquirer. “Gumagawa lang ako ng mga kanta dati sa cellphone, so ‘di pa rin nagsi-sink in na, ‘Wow, maraming tao, possibly thousands, ang manonood sa ‘kin.”
More diverse audiences
When Viva’s top honcho, Vic del Rosario Jr., first told him he was headed for the Big Dome, he felt scared, he admits. But most of his doubts weren’t so much about whether he had the chops; he’s no stranger to the venue and has recently played there with Arthur Nery, Adie, and Amiel Sol. He knew how to hold his ground and not get overwhelmed by its sheer size.
But of course, a solo show is an entirely different animal than a co-headlining one. What he worried about was the amount of material. While he followed up “Ulap” with more hits like “Miss Miss,” “Ang Pag-ibig,” and “RomCom,” he wondered if he would have enough to fill a two-hour—or longer—show.
Thankfully, he took “a leap of faith” last year, singing Ogie Alcasid hits “Nandito Ako” and “Ikaw Sana” during a tribute for the OPM icon at the Wish Music Awards. Covering other artists’ songs used to make him anxious; figuring out how to sing them and worrying if the fans would enjoy his interpretation was a lot of pressure.
But at his backup band’s urging, Deniel went for it. The performances didn’t make much noise at first, but months later, they blew up, creating yet another viral moment for the 22-year-old singer. And because this showcased a different facet of his artistry—shifting from his retro-inspired, feel-good pop tunes to good ol’ powerful, soulful belting—he not only surprised his young fans but also captured the older demographic.
Now he can confidently add classic OPM hits into his repertoire. “I wasn’t comfortable with covers at first because I didn’t think I could do them justice,” he says. “But now I know I can, and I’m happy that it allowed me to expand my audience. Mas maraming nahikayat makinig. So ngayon nakaka-excite din talaga, knowing that at my age, I’m capable of performing for different crowds.”
Not counting steps
This steady public recognition means a lot to Daniel, considering that he started out in the industry with his music outpacing him as an artist. For a time, people knew the songs but didn’t know the face to associate with it. That’s no longer the case.
“More people are recognizing me in public now. But it’s not about me feeling I’m getting famous, but more of, ‘Wow, kahit papaano meron na palang nakikinig ng music ko. Alam na ng tao ang hitsura ko,” he says. “Nakakatuwa kasi isa ‘yon sa dahilan bakit ako tumutugtog. I want to touch people’s lives.”
And he intends to do that in his upcoming concert not only through music, but also through interaction. One thing he has learned so far about live performing is that what goes on in the lulls between songs is just as important as the songs themselves.
“Gusto ko iparamdam ’yong love and gratitude ko sa kanila by making them feel they’re part of the concert. I want to talk to them, laugh with them, or get near them,” says Deniel, who treats his listeners more like friends than fans.
Sure, Deniel will have more ground to cover this time—but who’s counting steps? “I’m the type who wants to reach out to people in every corner. I want to end the show tired, knowing that I was able to see everyone,” he says. “I just want to make sure na hindi sila uuwi na ‘di ko sila nakakausap at nangingitian man lang.”
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