March 28 ------ What was written out of heartbreak will turn out to be an anthem expressing their love on social media. For rising OPM star Earl Agustin, it was a surprise that his song "Tibok," written after being "ghosted," is being used to celebrate love and catapult him to stardom. Released in 2023, his single "Tibok" gained resurgence after being a part of the Wattpad adaptation series "Ang Mutya ng Section E" this year.
Topping multiple Philippine charts such as Spotify Philippines, Apple Music, Billboard, YouTube, iTunes among others, Earl's rise to fame was not an overnight success. Earl shares with GMA News Online his journey from releasing an independently produced song to giving music a chance in the streets of Manila and new-found success with "Tibok."
A 'Fish Out of Water' Experience
Born and raised in Ozamiz, Misamis Occidental, Earl found his love for music at the age of 14, having a fun time with his friends playing slow rock songs by Eric Clapton and Scorpions. He also served as a member of their acapella group in Ozamiz City National High School and La Salle University - Ozamiz. "I started to play instruments, doon talaga ako na-hook sa whole music thing at that time talaga 'yung mga tinutugtog namin ng mga tropa ko more on slow rock," Earl said. "Nung senior high school and college nagmu-music-music na rin ako sa school, part ako ng official acapella group ng school namin before," he added.
Pursuing his love for music since the pandemic, Earl recalled how they pushed through with the release of his independently-produced song "Tapos Na" in 2021 amid a typhoon. "That time, around sa 'min sa Mindanao, walang ka-signal-signal as in zero talaga. Medyo funny lang 'yung experience kasi ni-push through pa rin namin 'yung release, ni-push through pa rin namin na magkaroon ng release party kung sakali," the singer said. "Masaya rin naman siya kasi nga independent namin siyang ni-release nu'n and para lang siyang passion project with friends," he added.
After graduating in 2022, Earl relocated to Luzon and gave music a shot. He admitted it was hard to adjust with the travel and culture in Manila compared to what he was used to in Mindanao. "Wala akong relatives dito sa Luzon so when I got here, I lived under the roof of my churchmate lang. Hindi naman siya super duper problem pero rough experience lang kasi para akong fish out of water," the singer said. "Growing up in Mindanao for 21 years and then biglang transition to this big city, Luzon in general. Siguro, culture wise — sa Laguna ako naka-base ngayon and minsan kapag may mga gigs I have to go here and there," he added.
Earl signed with Vicor Music in 2023 and eventually solidified his passion for music. "Starting off as a small musician, mahirap din siya for me na given the fact na bago lang ako rito sa Luzon, it's only been a couple of years, basically the transition to moving here," the artist said. "Hindi ko talaga nakita 'yung music as a career before kasi nga may iba akong stuff na gustong gawin so having music now as my career is a big thing for me and mas over the years mas nag-grow din 'yung love ko for music, for original music, for OPM in general," he added.
From Pouring Out his Heartbreak to Celebrating Love
Earl considers himself as an old soul. He gets inspirations from OPM icons VST & Company and Apo Hiking Society along with the collective Silk Sonic composed of Filipino-American singer Bruno Mars and American singer Anderson .Paak. "Mas nag-resonate lang ako sa medyo makalumang tunog na tugtugan kasi 'yung mga influences ko sa music ko talaga is aside sa Silk Sonic, which is composed of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, nakikinig din ako ng VST & Company and then we have Apo Hiking Society din," the singer said. "More on the Manila sound, more on the 70s, 80s type na tugtugan 'yung mga trip ko," he added.
With this sound in mind, the rising OPM star recalled how he was filled with emotions after being ghosted and just poured it out by writing music. It resulted to "Tibok" in 2023. "Inspired siya sa personal experience that I had before. Many years ago nagkaroon lang ako ng crush and we had this situation na nag-uusap-usap kami everyday hanggang sa biglang nawala, the typical ghosting situation talaga," Earl said. "Hindi lang siya nagpo-focus doon sa ghosting na part but more on the iba-ibang feelings, emotions na dinaanan ko throughout the situation, the whole relationship," he added.
Earl was just being honest and thought that other people would also have a lot of emotions after being ghosted. "When I was writing the song, I didn't really have a goal in mind na 'dapat ito 'yung mabaon ng tao when they listened to this song.' It was more like pouring my heart lang sa song na 'to kasi parang raw lang din siya, parang pure, I was just being honest in the song," the singer said. "If there was any goal in that song, siguro kung may maka-relate man. If there are people na maka-relate sa song na they could not find the words to explain the emotions and itong song na ito 'yung magagamit nila. Siguro 'yun 'yung pinakamagiging goal na lang ng song," he added.
As of writing, "Tibok" already has 2.4M views on YouTube, which really comes as a surprise for Earl. Because of all his songs, Earl did not expect "Tibok" to blow up on social media. "The other songs that I wrote, sinulat ko siya with a thought in my mind na magugustuhan kaya 'to ng mga tao, what can I do, what can I write na relatable siya, na mas magta-tap ako roon sa shared human experience pagdating sa pag-ibig na it becomes relatable to everybody kasi 'yung 'Tibok' when I wrote it was just really personal to me," Earl said. "I did not care if may makaka-relate ba, parang 'di ko iniisip na kung it would sell. I was just focusing on being honest with myself and trying to be creative lang din at the same time," he added. "Siyempre nagulat ako kasi nga amongst all of the songs (that I have) 'yun 'yung least na I'd expected to blow up." "Tibok" went viral on TikTok as part of the OST of the series "Ang Mutya ng Section E," with netizens using the songs to share their fleeting moments with love.
For Earl, the song's relatability along with the shared human experience in love made the song a hit, topping multiple Philippine charts. Aside from topping the Spotify Philippines, Apple Music, Billboard, YouTube, iTunes charts, the rising OPM singer has reached 6 million monthly listeners on Spotify with "Tibok" having more than 2 million streams in a day. "May mga trends on TikTok using 'Tibok' tinitignan ko siya, pinapanood ko 'yung mga thoughts ng mga tao, binabasa ko siya kung paano nila tine-take 'yung song, most of these contents, videos na pino-post nila they focus more on relatability din," the singer said. "And 'yung talaga 'yung goal ng mga songs na sinusulat ko ... it's solely on the experience ng mga tao sa pag-ibig. Kasi I believe talaga na mayroon talagang similarities when it comes to the experience on love. Siguro, iba-ibang story pero very universal siya," he added.
Earl also realized how it's really true that it will be a hit when you are just honest in your songs. "Nung nag-blow up siya, nung nag-gain siya ng traction, sobrang nagulat ako kasi I was not expecting it at all pero masaya naman. Sobrang saya nung experience na na-learn ko rin na grabe talaga 'yung when your honest to yourself as an artist, as a songwriter, 'yun pa talaga 'yung mga makakapag-bring ng mga tao na makikinig sa 'yo," he said. With the retro sound of "Tibok," Earl was also glad that he was able to establish his sound, hoping to create more music in the future. "I don't think that you hear it everyday these days sa mga ganoong tunog. Isa rin sa mga naging happy din ako is na-establish na ganoong sound para sa tunog ko as Earl Agustin."
Source: gmanetwork.com
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