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After captivating fans with her enchanting voice, Dwta is now ready to show a different side of herself in her new single titled “Nasusunog (Pants on Fire).”

The rising Bikolana music artist, who is known for her viral songs “Padaba Taka” and “Sampung mga Daliri,” said her new song was a result of the trauma dumping she did with fellow music artists Tiana Kocher, Ashley Mehta, and Martin Estrada during the Sony x Monostereo Groove songwriting session earlier this year.

“Sinabi ko sa kanila na, 'Magsusulat tayo ng song na ibang side naman ni dwta. Darker side, fiercer side ni Dwta.' So, nagkaroon kami ng parang trauma dumping habang sinusulat namin yun. 'Tapoos, naisip namin yung 'liar, liar, pants on fire,' which is a Western phrase when someone is obviously lying. Doon na nag-revolve yung pagsusulat namin ng 'Nasusunog (Pants on Fire).'

“Nagto-trauma dump sa mga sinungaling na tao, manipulative na tao. Lumabas siya sa song na 'Nasusunog' like, kung paano kami nagagalit. It's like a graceful wrath. It's not as explosive, but it's like burning, burning gracefully,” the singer-songwriter excitedly described her new release to GMANetwork.com in a recent interview.

She added, “Actually, iba talaga siya sa mga nasulat ko before and mga kinakanta ko before na soft side ko na Dwta, very cutesy-cutesy. Pero ito rin naman talaga, binagay ko sa kanta na galit, merong maririnig din sa boses ko yung nagka-crack ang boses ko na medyo raspy. Ayun, binabagay ko lang din sa emotion na ipinaparating ng song.”

Is Dwta also expecting this song to become viral like her previous releases under Sony Philippines?

“Wala naman akong ine-expect dito,” she answered.

“Gusto ko lang talagang ilabas ang song na 'to. This is actually experimental din kasi may Tagalog and Bicolano yung song. And it's the darker side of Dwta. Siguro, gusto ko lang din maglabas ng Dwta na from sad songs, love songs, hopeful songs, mayroon naman tayong para sa mga nagagalit. Wala naman talaga akong ine-expect kasi kung ano lang talaga ang gusto ko, pinu-put out ko. Kasi, kapag nag-e-expect, mas lalong hindi nangyayari.”

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A post shared by dwta (@akoaydwta)

Breaking into the mainstream

Dwta admitted that she never thought she could make her mark in OPM scene as a Bikolana singer-songwriter.

During her childhood, Dwta, whose real name is Jhasmine Villanueva, confessed that she had no interest in writing songs. It was only until she joined a music camp attended by popular artists.

She recalled, “Ang dami ko ring pinagdaanan fields. Like, napunta ako sa dancing, nagpunta ako sa pagdo-drawing, napunta ako sa pagtugtog ng instruments. Kumakanta ako pero hindi ako nagsusulat. Until napasama ako sa isang songwriting workshop sa Bikol. First time kong magsulat ng song doon dahil na-inspire din ako sa mga artist na nandoon.

“Noong napasama ako sa songwriting workshop sa Bikol, sabi ko, grabe ganito pala kalaki yung OPM. Ang dami ko pang songs na hindi nadi-discover at napakikinggan.”

Her interest was further fueled by Ben&Ben's performance at the music camp.

“Parang ang sarap sa feeling na kinakanta ng crowd yung songs mo. Kaya sabi ko, parang gusto ko rin ng ganung feeling, na what if ako yung nandun sa stage na yun, 'tapos kinakanta nila yung songs ko. Para akong may anak, 'tapos, isinilang ko yung songs. Kaya ayun, pinag-igihan ko talaga yung pagsusulat ng songs.”

Dwta said she initially planned to release Tagalog songs, “Kasi parang yun ang madaling way, di ba? Parang lahat naman ng tao nakakaintindi ng Tagalog, I mean, dito sa Pilipinas, yung pang-masa.”

But this changed when she joined a songwriting competition in Bicol, which inspired her to incorporate her first language whenever possible.

Dwta explained, “Parang iba yung feeling kapag nagsusulat ako ng Bikol songs. It's also my first language, so the way na magsulat ako ng Bikol songs, sobrang pure ang pakiramdam. Para akong nakikipag-usap lang, sobrang soft ko, na sincere din ang feeling. Kaya ipinagpatuloy ko rin sa pagsusulat ng songs. Okay lang kahit hindi n'yo ako maintindihan, pero ito talaga ang nararamdaman ko, natutuwa ako sa nararamdaman ko. Ayaw ko rin mag-release ng songs na parang napipilitan lang ako.”

Then came her hit song “Padaba Taka” meaning “I Love You,” which was well-loved by many content creators. In fact, there were about 80,000 posts on TikTok that used this song as a background audio and numerous covers in different social media platforms.

It was followed by another hit titled “Sampung mga Daliri,” which was a collaboration with SB19 Justin. The song was also viral in different social media platforms.

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A post shared by dwta (@akoaydwta)

For Dwta, her breaking into the mainstream was very unexpected.

“Actually, sobrang… what?!” she exclaimed with amazement.

“Hindi ko rin kasi ine-expect na magpapatuloy ako sa music. Parang ine-expect ko lang, since nag-start ako noong pandemic, gusto ko lang din maglabas ng songs.”

What was her first impression when she officially stepped into the music industry?

“Noong una talaga, nakaka-pressure talaga, siyempre, as a probinsyana 'tapos, pupunta ka ng Manila. Sa sarili ko, iniisip ko na ang liit-liit kong tao, kaya ko bang makipagsabayan sa kanila. Until natutunan ko na lang din mag-adapt, with the help of my friends and, siyempre, yung label. Ngayon, sobrang okay na siya. Pero sobrang hirap din, lalo na noong nag-uumpisa.”

She also admitted to feeling pressured to produce another hit song.

“Well, noong una, yes. Di ba, yung 'Padaba Taka' parang nagkaroon ng madaming engagement. Parang nagkaroon lang ng pressure na, 'Ano pa yung puwede kong magawa? Puwede ko bang matapatan, kaya ko bang malagpasan yun?'

“Pero ngayon, ang iniisip ko na lang din is ayaw ko na lang mag-expect. Basta gusto ko na lang magsulat nang magsulat, mag-release nang mag-release. Basta alam kong may makikinig sa akin, doon ako masaya.”

In conclusion, Dwta left a message to other aspiring music artists who want to make their mark in the industry.

“It's not that scary. Huwag ka lang talaga mag-self-doubt. Huwag mong pangunahan ang sarili mo. May iba talaga na parang maggi-give up na lang, parang hindi muna nila tina-try. Natatakot silang subukan kasi hindi nila alam kung ano ang mangyayari. Pero yun lang, i-try mong gawin,” she ended.