On 'Magandang Dilag,' the fun song played during the Miss U Philippines finals swimwear romp

The Top 16 Miss Universe Philippines candidates were a sight to behold as they frolicked in their white Furne One-designed swimwear on Sunday.

But there was another element to the fun, sassy segment we simply could not ignore, and three days later, simply could not forget: The music.

As soon as the girls hit the stage, a fun, upbeat song started playing, adding to the relaxed and easygoing smiles of the ladies. "Magandang dilag..." the lyrics went. 

As it turns out, the song was written by songwriter Kiko Salazar and performed by singer JM Bales.

In an email interview with GMA News online, Kiko said he specifically wrote "Magandang Dilag" for the Miss Universe swimsuit segment. 

"I wrote both lyrics and music, as well as the music arrangement for the song," the 38-year-old songwriter said, adding the production "wanted a bubbly and light song so the girls can enjoy the moment and be more confident, as well." 

Influenced by the likes of Charlie Puth, Kiko — who partly works as a music consultant of Empire PH, Jonas Gaffud's production team, — said they were scouting for fresh singers they could introduce to the public.

"The song needed a guy with very Filipino features and that was what Mama J (Jonas Gaffud) was looking for," Kiko shared.

And on the live streaming app Kumu, he met JM Bales, a 27-year-old independent artist, who recently put out "My Everything," a song he co-wrote with a sister. 

Though they had a list of possible singers to take on "Magandang Dilag," Kiko said he "really loved JM's vocal quality and skills." He immediately referred JM's profile and YouTube videos to "Mama J."

Speaking to GMA News Online, JM shared he got a message from Kiko and Jonas on Instagram, asking for a Zoom meeting.

"They asked me to do a demo of 'Magandang Dilag' [to see] if it fits my voice, and they loved it," said the 27-year-old singer, who enlists Gary V. as among his favorite singers. 

They booked a studio music video shoot before the event — minus the candidates — and that was that.

In his email interview, Kiko shared that he wrote it that song in just two hours, two weeks before the coronation event. "A bit rushed" he admits "but I made sure I had all that I needed from JM Bales."

On Tuesday after the coronation event, Miss Universe Philippines released the video on social media, where it's been racking up views and exciting comments. As of writing, it has more than 23K view, over 6K shares and nearly 1.5K comments — not bad for a two hours' worth of writing, no? — LA, GMA News