Maine Mendoza’s debut single, the wistfully mellow pop song “Parang Kailan Lang,” has been sitting at the top spot of the Myx Hit Chart for the past five weeks now. And seeing her own music video on the said channel—and on various music streaming apps—will never not be a “wow moment” for the 25-year-old star.
“I’m happy I got to release a song in my time here in the industry. But I’m happier at how some people appreciate the song for what it is. I hope I get to release some more soon!” she told the Inquirer in an e-mail interview.
Composed by singer-songwriter Eunice Jorge of the pop-rock band Gracenote, the single tells of love’s fickle and unpredictable nature, coming into one’s own, and moving forward.
Maine Mendoza
“It’s about reminiscing and moving on from the past. To be more specific, it’s about a girl reminiscing about her past with someone—hence the title,” Maine said.
Though she didn’t have a direct hand in the songwriting’s more technical aspects, she made sure to give her creative input and expressed her vision on how to make the material suit her personality and achieve the mood she was hoping to give off.
“Eunice and I met a couple of times to talk about the collaboration, and I just told her what I wanted the song to be felt. I’m into chill-vibed songs. I’m more focused on the melody and the feeling the song can give to listeners,” said Maine, who gave the Gracenote lead vocalist full liberty with the lyrics.
“I told her the song may be about anything under the sun. She writes so well, and I trust her enough with basically everything. I am glad the song turned out well!” she said of Eunice, whose band also provided the song’s instrumentation.
Released by Universal Records, “Parang” has been streamed around 353,000 times since it was put up on Spotify last April 3. On YouTube, the music video has been seen 611,000 times and the lyrics video, 164,000.But despite the single’s success, Maine doesn’t really see herself becoming a full-fledged recording artist because, admittedly, she doesn’t think her voice is good enough for it.
“I’m happy I got to release a song in my own time.”
“To be honest, no. I don’t see myself pursuing it. I have never really dreamed of becoming one—I just wanted to have something new to offer to the people who have been supporting me from the beginning.”
But still, Maine intends to continue to release songs once in a while. In fact, given the opportunity, she would love to work with Juan Karlos and Ben&Ben someday.
“I have varied taste in music, and I would say that there are songs that have left an impact on me,” said Maine, who found it hard to pinpoint which artists have had the most profound effect on her life. “It depends more on the song, not the artist.”
Regardless of what she chooses to do after “Parang,” one thing’s for sure: Maine’s love for music.
“I love how I get to feel so many things just by listening to music. It’s amazing how it evokes a lot of memories and emotions. It also has the ability to change our moods, from sad to happy and vice versa,” explained Maine, who also loves attending concerts and festivals.
“I love how powerful a song can get, and how it can affect us deep within,” she said.