BONIFACIO GLOBAL CITY, Taguig — Ten years ago, singer-songwriter Odette Quesada decided to reignite her performing career and now 60, she is riding high on the wave of an instructive career resurgence armed only with a potent combination of self-penned original Pilipino music (OPM) hits, quick wit and idiosyncratic performing savvy.

Odette turned 60 last January 13 and looking back through the long years of giving entertainment through her music and songs, she has had her share of signature singles, among them 'Friend of Mine' and 'Dito Lang'.

But in truth, however, she’s even more prolific as a songwriter responsible for the hits of some of the country’s biggest recording artists, like megastar Sharon Cuneta (To Love Again, You’re the One), pop chanteuse Kuh Ledesma (Till I Met You, A Long, Long Time Ago) and even balladeers Ric Segreto (Give Me a Chance, Don’t Know What to Do, Don’t Know What to Say) and Gary Valenciano (Growing Up), Raymond Lauchengco (Farewell, I Need You Back).

Actually, many of Odette’s compositions were written about 40 years ago but they continue to serve her well because songs about romance and heartbreak have a way of resonating with hopeless romantics from different generations. They speak of universal truths and shared experiences that transcend time, gender, social status or personal circumstance.

Still, what makes her current reenergized popularity even more impressive is how Odette’s songs have kept her in the limelight even after she reluctantly decided to migrate to the United States in 2001 with her husband, fellow hitmaker of 'Sana Dalawa Ang Puso Mo' fame Bodgie Basig, who succumbed to cancer in 2012.

“When I was writing them, I didn’t have an inkling if anyone would like them at all. I thought they’d have a shelf life of probably 10 years . . . but the Pinoys’ penchant for love songs is keeping my songs alive. They’re my legacy. I can’t be any happier knowing they will live on long after I’m gone,” Odette enthused years back.

More notably, she has managed to make TJ Monterde’s monster Spotify hit 'Palagi' her own as she transposed its romantic narrative with what she calls her “love-hate relationship” with her home country.

As she explains, “I may be (based) in the US now, but my heart will always be in the Philippines.”