Pop-rock band Agsunta announced on YouTube that they are “signing off” citing criticisms from colleagues in the music industry.
“Masakit man at mahirap man, kailangan na muna namin itigil ‘to. Kami naman muna. It was four years of solid OPM, ilang taon ng pagsasama, at pagpapadama sa inyo ng pagmamahal naming apat, pagmamahal nating lahat sa OPM,” vocalist Jireh Singson said.
He acknowledged in their six-minute video that there have been harsh and angry comments against them from followers and colleagues in the industry but they chose not to respond.
“Wala kaming sinabi, wala kaming ginawa, tumahimik lang kami. Hindi dahil sa tama ang mga galit, ang mga panlalait at comments, kundi dahil sa respeto namin sa boses ng bawat isa,” Singson said.
The band, composed of Singson, Mikel Arevalo (lead/rhythm guitars), Stephen Arevalo (drums), and Josh Planas (bass), called out to those who do not appreciate what they do and asked them to just be respectful.
Singson made a promise to their 600,000 YouTube subscribers that they will continue making music. The group took down all their videos in their channel and left only the sign off video.
“Patuloy kaming gagawa ng musika para sa inyo, hangga’t mayroong mga taong nakikinig, hangga’t mayroong mga taong naniniwala sa amin, hangga’t mayroong mga taong napapasaya at nagbabago ang buhay dahil sa’min. We will always make music for you guys,” he said.
The rising four-member band was known mostly for their own renditions of hits from other popular OPM groups Soapdish, Sugarfree and December Avenue on YouTube.
In 2018, they won second place at the Himig Handog Awards when for their performance of “Wakasan,” a song written by Philip Arvin Jarilla.
That year, they also released their first self-titled album with original tracks.
Speculations
While the real reason behind Agsunta’s “sign off” is not certain, some people speculated that Zel Bautista, vocalist of December Avenue, may have something to do with it.
In December 2018, Bautista ranted on Twitter about musicians copying other people’s work.
If you want instant Fame, copy other people's work and suck from it. You get the money but not the glory and respect. You dont have a voice, you dont even belong. ❌
— Zel Bautista (@zelbautista) December 18, 2018
He later added that the previous tweet was his perspective as an artist.
“This is my perspective as an artist. I did not mention any names nor anything about covers. This is for people who uses someone else’s work for money and that they don’t belong in this creative world. Read it again,” he said.
