From Olivia to Bruno to H.E.R., Filipino American artists enjoy a breakout year at Grammys

Growing up as a biracial Black and Filipina musician, singer-songwriter H.E.R. “Within the last couple of years, there’s been a groundswell of Filipino American artists who’ve talked about or embraced their Filipino background more than predecessors like Enrique Iglesias or Nicole Scherzinger,” said James Zarsadiaz, director of the Yuchengco Philippine Studies program at the University of San Francisco. Broadway performer Lea Salonga was the singing voice for Disney’s Jasmine and Mulan; the Black Eyed Peas’ Apl.De.Ap performed on some of the biggest hits of the 2000s, and the actor Darren Criss was a heartthrob on “Glee.” Mars, born Peter Gene Hernandez in Hawaii to a Puerto Rican father and Filipina mother, gave $100,000 to a hurricane relief fund during a 2013 tour stop in Manila, and said onstage, “I’m so proud and so happy to be Filipino.” “Filipino Americans listen to everything, but culturally are major consumers of hip-hop and R&B. “I don’t really see any of those Grammy-nominated artists doing a Tagalog album anytime soon, but it’s not tied to embarrassment — it’s about having a wide enough consciousness of what it means to be Filipino in America.” For this year’s Grammy crop, that might mean a Tagalog shout-out in an acceptance speech, or other ways to demonstrate “kababayan” while navigating broader trends in American pop music. added that, especially for Black and Filipino young people, “Color-ist beauty standards could make you not proud of where you’re from,” she said.