Earl Agustin races to the top to the beat of ‘Tibok’

April 14 ------ The name Earl Agustin may not ring a bell right now, but the sound of his hit single probably will. That’s “Tibok,” the young artist’s record-setting song that currently occupies the No. 1 spot on three major local music charts: the Official Philippine Chart, Billboard’s Philippines Hot 100, and Spotify’s Top Songs-Philippines. Last month, it amassed 2.09 million streams in a single day on Spotify—the most of any OPM song. And so, after almost five years of making music under the radar, the unassuming singer-songwriter from Ozamiz City is now feeling his way into the limelight. 

“It feels surreal … I was happy the song was gaining traction on streaming platforms, but I didn’t expect any of this at all,” Agustin said in an interview with a group of reporters. “When I was just starting out, my dream, as a small-time musician, was just to write as many songs as I could and play them in different places.” 

While the song’s ubiquity can come off as something that happened overnight, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. “Tibok” (Vicor Records) was actually released in 2023, coasting along quietly on music apps, before finally hitting it big earlier this year and racking up 61.4 million streams. 

Sleeper hits 

Because a song’s success and chart performance these days revolve largely around streaming, the occurrence of sleeper hits has become increasingly more common. And sometimes, all it takes to awaken a potential hit lying dormant is a random viral moment, concerted fanbase engagement, or—in “Tibok’s” case—an impactful feature in other media like movie or television. 

While the song had been already gaining traction for quite a while, its inclusion in the soundtrack of the popular teen romantic comedy series “Ang Mutya ng Section E” only hastened its journey to the top, with fans finding parallels between the song’s message and the situations some of the characters find themselves in. And as anticipated, “Tibok’s” rising renown rubbed off on Agustin’s previous releases like “Dalangin,” “Aya,” and “Dito sa ‘Kin.” “It’s a big thing for me because the series is successful,” he said. “Of course, social media has been a big help as well. These past few weeks, whenever I hop on social media, I hear my song everywhere. I see people dancing to it and using it for content.” 

Does he think fame is now within reach? “Not really,” he said, shying away from the compliment. But it’s heartening, he admitted, whenever he sees other people covering “Tibok.” After all, that used to be him only a heartbeat ago. “I also cover other artists’ songs. I used to do that a lot, so it’s like coming full circle,” he said. 

Source: inquirer.net