Yeng Constantino weighs in on the audience’s changing musical preferences

Yeng Constantino in the behind-the-scenes shoot of her music video for her newest single, “Babala.” | Image: Instagram/@yeng

As she released her new single “Babala,” Filipina singer Yeng Constantino discussed how she approaches her musical uniqueness and creativity amid the changing trends and preferences of the audience.

During the official launch of her newest single, “Babala,” on Thursday, May 2, Constantino acknowledged the changes in the musical preferences of the current generation and the need to go along with them, but she affirmed that she will remain true to her musical uniqueness.

“Siguro prinocess ko siya during the pandemic syempre ‘di mo maiiwasan to think about ‘Oh no paano ako makikisabay sa mga bago.’ You’re still part sa bagong generation, you still want to connect kung ano ‘yung gusto ng mga tao,” she began.

(I processed that during the pandemic, of course you can’t avoid thinking about ‘Oh no how can I keep up with the new trends.’ You’re still part of the new generation and you still want to connect with what the people want.)

“Siguro ang naging conclusion ko doon kung pipilitin ko just to conform sa kung ano ‘yung hilig ng mga tao ngayon ‘yung trends tapos hindi siya natural sakin parang pilit. I-trade ko ba yung form ko for that? I’d rather just evolve naturally kung saan ako papunta kesa magconform ako kasi ito ‘yung gusto nila. I just want to be true to myself,” added the singer.

(Maybe my conclusion is that if I try to just conform to what people are interested in today, the trends, then it’s not natural to me, it’s like being forced. Should I trade my form for that? I’d rather just evolve naturally where I’m going than to conform because this is what they want.)

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Despite being in the industry for 17 years, the “Ikaw” singer admitted that she also experienced days when she could not create music. That’s why it took her a while to release her new single.

“There are times na para tayong halaman. Minsan hindi talaga fruiting season and it’s okay kung hindi fruiting season. Parang nag-aabsorb ka ng nutrients, preparation ‘yon kasi magkakaroon ka ulit ng fruiting season,” she explained.

(There are times when we are like plants. Sometimes it’s not really the fruiting season and it’s okay if it’s not the fruiting season. It’s like you’re absorbing nutrients, that’s preparation because you’ll have a fruiting season again.)

“May time po talaga na parang wala. Walang lumalabas na kanta. Wala kang ma-create. I’m so happy last year nagkaroon po ako ng creative flow so tuloy-tuloy po siya bukod sa ‘Babala’ ang dami ko po talagang nasulat na kanta last year,” she continued.

(There is a time whrn it seems nothing is coming out. No song appears. You can’t create anything. I’m so happy that last year I had a creative flow, so apart from ‘Babala’ I wrote a lot of songs last year.)

Unlike her other hits, where it only took her one hour or two to write, Constantino shared that it took her two days to write “Babala,” and the song is her reminder to her fans to acknowledge and learn from their negative emotions. 

“I was just having a bad day alam ko ‘yung mga fans ko kilala nila ako sa ‘Salamat,’ ‘Hawak Kamay,’ ‘Ikaw,’ parang inspirational very positive pero siguro part of my emotional growth is to process my negative emotions as well. Sa mga di nakakaalam four years na akong nagthe-therapy. And you’re not a bad person for having bad thoughts. ‘Yung bad energy isayaw niyo na lang,” she declared.

“Babala” is currently available for streaming on different music platforms.

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