Marc Ordonez is a Filipino singer-songwriter based in Melbourne, Victoria. Born and raised in the Philippines, he migrated to Australia with his family in 2012. Being part of a musically-inclined family first sparked his interest in music. At seven years old, he started playing the guitar. And as he grew older, he began to learn other instruments and also developed a love for singing that he continues to nurture until now.
Growing up, bands like Parokya ni Edgar, Silent Sanctuary and Rivermaya were constants on his playlist, which led to his love for Original Pilipino Music (OPM). It was their music that influenced him to write Tagalog songs. “Although I have also written English songs, I always seem to be drawn back to the beauty of our Filipino language. I find that there are certain emotions that are best expressed and felt in Tagalog,” Marc says. These emotions were the ones for which he poured out his heart as he wrote his debut single, ‘Sa’yo’.
The song dives into Marc’s perspective of the fateful day when he proposed to his now fiancée. Marc reflects, “It is a glimpse into the moment when I was both the most afraid but also the happiest in my life so far. Not only does this song transport my fianceé and I back to that memory, but it captures my emotions and the words I wanted to share with her through the proposal.”
‘Sa’yo’ was initially written only to be a gift for Marc’s fianceé for their first year of engagement. It was only when he collaborated with Lianne Bernardo that he felt he could release the song as his debut single. “Ate Lianne is a musical inspiration and a very good friend of mine. When she added her own piano track to the acoustic set-up of the song, I knew it was going to be something special,” Marc says, “I always thought that I’d only be posting song covers online. But the amount of love and support that everyone has given me in the lead-up to and after the song’s release has reassured me that I can connect and relate to people with my own music.”
Marc is grateful to a lot of people for helping build his confidence to finally start his music career. From his parents, his sister and his fiancée who have believed in him from the start, to his close friends who have always been supportive, he has encountered God and His love through all of them. He plans to continue sharing that same encounter with other people through his music.
With this as his purpose, he looks forward to producing and releasing more songs, performing live at events, and building his reach, “I want to let everyone know how great God’s love is in me.”
‘Sa’yo’ is out now on Spotify and all streaming platforms.
You can also follow his social media accounts on Facebook (@marcordonezmusic), Instagram (@marcordonez) and YouTube (Marc Ordonez) for more of his music.
