Iniibig Kita

In 2000, Philippine male artist Chino Romero released Iniibig Kita (I Love You). The music is dominated by passionate easy listening love songs, a style of music quite popular in the Philippines. Three of the 11 songs are remakes of American songs, but use lyrics written in Tagalog, the Philippines' national language. Chino Romero has a tuneful, pleasing voice and puts depth and passion into his performances. Nine of the album's 11 songs are slow, which doesn't make for much diversity, but the songs are distinct enough to avoid being redundant. One American song covered here is a remake of David Pomeranz' "Born for You," called "Ako'y Para Sa 'Yo" (I'm for You) here. "Born for You" was a massive hit in the Philippines in 1999. The Philippine-composed ballads are pretty. "Maling Akala" (Wrong Thought) opens on a dramatic minor-key instrumental line before Chino Romero sings the tender melody. The song's chorus is very nice. The style and depth of the songwriting here reminds one of respected Philippine singer/songwriter Freddie Aguilar. Chino Romero's vocal style here also reminds one of Freddie Aguilar. "Tulad Mo" (Like You), "Why (Do I Love You)," and "Patawad" (Forgive) are three other pretty, Philippine-composed easy listening love songs. The upbeat "Darling I Love You" has a charming, lighthearted ambience. The easy listening "Kailan Pa?" (When?) contains a searing, rock-styled electric guitar solo. One of the best songs is "Pusong Wasak" (Broken Heart), which has an enticing, Filipino folk-styled melody performed in a hypnotic minor key and moves at a moderate pace. For easy listening music, this album has a number of good moments.