Perhaps what makes hugot songs relatable stems from their ability to explore every corner of the status "it's complicated."
We have seen them all: flowers, chocolates, and teddy bears surfacing like flags to announce the arrival of the Valentine’s season. Various businesses are constantly playing along with the rage as well, seeing as we now have limited edition cakes, jewelry, food bouquets, and matching everything一whatever may satisfy our significant other. It takes two to tango, they say, but for our fellows without a partner (or partners) to celebrate with, what then could keep them company for this year’s Hearts Day?
Love songs, of course! In these instances, the saying,“when you’re sad, you understand the lyrics”holds true. There is almost nothing more validating than to have someone who fully understands your feelings, and listening to music does just that. Being an art form in itself, music allows people to express their emotions and experiences, so it is no wonder that it would invoke varying degrees of sentimentality from its listeners. Once a song hits you, it hits you hard.
Hugot As An OPM Culture
As Filipinos, we are no strangers to love songs ourselves. Since pre-colonial times, we have already been singing about it in courtship and wedding rituals. In the Spanish colonization period, the culture of harana proliferated. Now, as if the local love song scene is way beyond the courtship stage as well, Filipinos are singing about a single common theme: “hugot” or in other words, heartbreak.
Truly, people just love talking about love, even those who claim to be aversive to it. We all have stories to tell, especially on concepts as personal as love. Perhaps what makes hugot songs relatable stems from their ability to explore every corner of the status "it's complicated." There are some stuck in the friend zone, in nagging fear of rejection, and in the technological age, traumatized by ghosting, among many others. There also is this term referred to as “TOTGA” derived from the well-loved Katy Perry song “The One That Got Away”, which takes on the regret from missed opportunities on romance.
This is the exact sentiment of respondent "Torpe Trope" in the Frontliner Valentine’s Feature Questionnaire conducted within UPDEPPO, whose song choice of Paano Na Kayaby Bugoy Drilon "represents my [their] 'missed opportunity' with my first ever crush way back then.”
Though even before the “hugot” connotation was first popularized in 2015一defined as the figurative “drawing out” of otherwise deep-seated sentiments一Filipinos have already long been singing about it. This is evident in the top videoke picks in family reunions such as Halik by Aegis, Remember Me by Renz Verano, and ‘Di Ko Kayang Tanggapin by April Boy Regino. Interestingly enough, these are mostly sung by our dear titos and titas who are older by a generation or two, usually in inuman sessions as well to complete the heartbroken image. Somehow, songwriters never ran out of ways to grieve a broken heart.
Prior to the heart-rending Grenade by Bruno Mars, we already had its far more brutal Pinoy counterpart: Sinaktan Mo Ang Puso Ko as interpreted by comedian Michael V, which enumerated every metaphor possible for crushed affection. Years later, another comedian, Vice Ganda, sang the more verbally straightforward Manhid Ka.
As for the 90s and 00s kids, numerous bands graced their childhood with jam-worthy hits. What were merely head-bangers from Eraserheads, Rivermaya, Moonstar88, and Silent Sanctuary, among others, turned out to be songs to cry to years later.
Another form respondent actually settled with a Rivermaya song as well. True to the previous statement, the song “Balisong” apparently was a one of the “classicsthat just exclaims the rawest form of love.” Despite being released almost a decade ago enough to warrant the term “gasgas”, the respondent, who identified as “maris racal”, claimed to feel as though they were serenaded by singer Rico Blanco every single time.
The Hugot Movement in Contemporary OPM
Now that OPM songs are making a comeback to the local music charts (as can be seen in the Spotify Top 50 Philippines), it is observable how artists have stuck to the hugot concept so much that it has become a staple. One of the most prominent among them would be Moira Dela Torre whose name is almost synonymous to “hugot”. As of writing, she has already surpassed 1 billion Spotify streams across all songs in the platform.
What probably streamlined this hugot popularity is the resurgence of the renowned songwriting competition Himig Handog in 2013, of which Dela Torre competed in quite a number of times. As a result, this movement inspired the recognition of more artists like December Avenue, I Belong To The Zoo, and Ben&Ben, who all later took part in collaborations with the aforementioned singer. The University of the Philippines also partook in such contests; a notable participation being the music video production of Pare, Mahal Mo Raw Ako in 2016, filmed onsite the Diliman campus.
In just about a couple of years and onward, Filipinos witnessed the rise of a new era of musicians. Along with the previously mentioned ones, soloists like Juan Karlos, TJ Monterde, and Patch Quiwa started to be more recognized among listeners. Not only that, but bands such as The Juans, This Band, Magnus Haven, and Munimuni broke through with music still loyal to their “hugot” brand.
Yet another respondent who went by “Nocent” found a special connection with “Bawat Piyesa”, a song by the band Munimuni whose formation came about in UP Diliman. Their response read, “The song really describe myself to someone who I loved [sic], ‘Anong gagawin kung wala ka’ ‘Dito ka na lang, habang buhay’”.
It is also worth noting that despite the inclination of some towards Western music, a lot of these are still rather sentimentally motivated. Why else would a 10-minute re-recording of Taylor Swift’s All Too Well remain in the local charts after almost three months? Songs from Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour album known for their breakup-inspired lyrics were also a mainstay for 2021, as well as the rather upfront Heartbreak Anniversary by Giveon.
Moreover, even in the current pandemic situation, there is almost no reason not to give these kinds of songs a casual listen. With the rise of the TikTok era, more and more local artists are becoming known for their heartfelt and relatable lyrics. Among the Top 10 in the repeatedly mentioned Spotify chart were Zack Tabudlo, Arthur Nery, NOBITA, and Adie, whose music catapulted with relationship-themed TikTok trends that became popular in the past couple of years in quarantine.
A Unique Filipino Experience
This gradual increase to positive local reception may be attributed to the fact that there is nothing quite like the familiarity of Filipino hugot songs. It is amazing how people would agree with the pain elicited by the mere lyric, “Pinapaubaya ko na sa kanya.” Something far more unspoken is present, and this is those indescribable emotions that go beyond shared language. This in itself becomes the primary driving factor for us to keep writing, singing, and listening to hugot songs.
Still, no matter the kind of love, whether it be for family, friends, or a special someone, there will always be something to listen and to cry to this Valentine’s day. As we Filipinos have our unique definitions of love as well, until we stop loving, our very own love songs will be here to stay.
