WITH Christmas just around the corner, fewer Yuletide songs are being played on the radio. Fewer recordings are being done, too. The music scene nowadays is dominated by revivals. An influence of the music trend abroad or could it be that we have a shortage of composers?

Among the top singers who favor revivals in their current albums are Pops Fernandez, Sharon Cuneta and Vina Morales.

Concert Queen Pops Fernandez is completely sold on revivals with the release of her 10th album, "Moments," which had a successful mall launch last Nov. 13 at the Activity Center of SM North Edsa. This is the first time Pops has done so since she debuted in the recording scene sometime in 1982.

All the songs contained in the album, 13 of them, were chosen by Pops herself and each one of them has a special meaning in her life.

"Moments" was born out of Pop's passion and love for her craft. No other album meant so much to the singer who also personally supervised the packaging of the merchandise. It comes with a photo album, the only CD to be packaged as such making it extremely different and special.

Asked why she opted for revivals, Pops replies: "Just like any other Filipino, I am a lover of sentimental music, especially the songs which touch the heart in a lot of ways. I love to reminisce and look back at fond memories. There are many warm and wonderful memories that I treasure and I want to share them with my children who have served as my inspiration all these years."

If most of the cuts in Sharon's new album, "When I Love" under her own label Mega Music, sound familiar, it is simply because they were top hits before and Sharon decided to give them a new touch.

An all-time favorite for Sharon is "Both Sides Now" and she feels blessed to have been given the opportunity of interpreting the Joni Mitchell original.

During her early teens, while everybody was crazy over Michael Johnson's "I'll Always Love You," Sharon went ga-ga with "Doors" also from Johnson. Her version has a new arrangement rendering the feel of the song. Another teen favorite of hers is "Almost Over You" which Sharon considers a classic love song.

For many years, Sharon wanted to record a song similar to "Starlight" which is light and breezy but no producer would allow her to record it. The audience prefers to hear Sharon always in the mold of "Sana'y Wala Nang Wakas."

There is no one to prevent Sharon now and with the help of her arranger Cesar Aguas, she decided to include "Starlight" a bonus cut with the special participation of her daughter KC jamming in the background. The major change she did was provide her own lyrics to the timeless melody of "Starlight." It's all for posterity, Sharon says, never intending to make KC the selling point of her album.

Call it revival but as far as Sharon is concerned, it is one where all her favorites are gathered.

The success of "When I Love" at the record bars prompted the megastar to produce a follow-up and fittingly, she titles the album "Retro."

In Vina Morales' "No Limits," the revival is focused on two cuts-Michael Johnson's "I'll Always Love You" and Allona's "Someone Always Saying Goodbye." Both songs feature Vina in a totally different light.

The singer sees her recent failed romance as a blessing in disguise since the pain it caused helped her give justice to the highly sentimental ditties included in the album.

"Dati kasi, hindi bagay sa akin ang kumanta ng mga awiting tungkol sa mga sawi or broken-hearted. I always have difficulty relating to them. I sound credible now in interpreting songs of this nature," she reveals.

How can one forget the Beatles "Yellow Submarine"? It has been relaunched as you've never heard it before.

It carries 15 original Beatles songs featured in the movie, a compilation that the fans have been clamoring for since 1969.

The entire songtrack has not only been digitally remastered but also remixed, a first for the music of the Beatles.