Justin delivers another track with an unfiltered creative pulse.
The promising P-Pop star releases “kaibigan,” an anthemic track that finds the sweet spot most solo artists only dream of: staying true to their roots while harnessing their fully realized potential.
The song channels the agony and frustration of expressing one’s true feelings to a friend—a familiar premise that ends with an intriguing twist to its own brand of storytelling.
“To be honest, there’s no actual or specific inspiration behind the song,” Justin reveals. “I wrote this tune from the perspective of an observer and wanderer: a person who enjoys movies with coming-of-age slant.”
Radkidz collab
Layered with sonic complexities and refreshing builds, “kaibigan” simply defies expectations by giving Justin more room to experiment. Credit goes to Filipino production duo Radkidz (SB19’s Pablo and his brother, Josue), who reconciled Justin’s pop sensibilities with their envelope-pushing ideas. Both Pablo and Josue worked with Justin on his previously released solo tracks, “surreal” and “sunday morning.”
“Similar to surreal, I let them hear my demo in its ukulele version,” Justin shares the production process behind his new track. “At first, it was more of a solemn and calm song, but as we navigated deeper through the collaboration and explored the material and its story, we came up with something that ripped out the emotional layers in the latter part.”
The charismatic member of SB19 specifically praised Radkidz for guiding him towards honing his sonic instincts while sticking to the brief.
“They added some interesting builds on the bridge, and made me even scream towards the end. I personally don’t see myself doing that, but there’s always total payoff in accepting the challenge without giving in to your sense of inhibition. I’m actually thrilled with the final output.”
About the music video
SB19’s Justin himself conceptualized the visual narrative that accompanies the track’s release. While he is responsible for the flow, the talented multi-hyphenate doesn’t want to take all the credit for the MV, as he takes pride in the collaborative nature of filmmaking. He shares captainship with his team, particularly in coming up with the storyboard and the shot list.
“For the direction of the MV, other than the rough storyboard, we make sure the producer knows the story behind it and what feeling we want to convey. I even sent movies and not just music video pegs for them to really understand what we wanted to achieve,” the 1Z Entertainment act adds.
The music video for “kaibigan” stars theater actress Nicole Omillio, who recently made headlines as Basha on the stage adaptation of the hit movie One More Chance, and RJ Cruz of alternative pop band The Juans.
The concept of the MV captures the complexities of human connection. As the team puts it, the newest single from justin is a reminder that some things are better left unsaid: “kaibigan is an embrace for the unrequited.”
Justin admits, “To be honest, the music video is very easy to digest. And that’s what I want: for people to relate to it and feel the story of the music and the music video.”
Justin’s “kaibigan” is out now on all digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music Entertainment. Watch the music video here.
