Jikamarie, a singer and songwriter, made a major hit with the release of her debut single “Lutang” under Warner Music Philippines (WMP) garnering a whopping 10 million consolidated streams on Spotify.
“Lutang” was well-received when it came out two months ago, and since then, it has garnered consistent attention as a growing fan base streamed jikamarie's song over two million times on Spotify and YouTube; the former showed further interest when she added it to Spotify-curated playlists. “I believe it’s one of the reasons why I think people love it—they relate to it so much. I’ve gotten a lot of comments saying that I’ve voiced out their sentiments that they couldn’t put into words, which I’m half glad and half sad that my frustration is shared with so many young people like me."
Talking more about the success of “Lutang” jikamarie says, “I honestly did not think it would gain this much attention. I posted a demo of this song on my TikTok, and my followers loved it, to the point of them begging me in all my comment sections to release the song. And that was my main reason for releasing it—so that my followers would be able to listen to it conveniently.”
Blending electronic elements and dream pop, the new WMP signee floats into an air of disquiet on "Lutang." Speaking about the new single, jikamarie shares, "I wrote 'Lutang' at 5am, after I just finished a major architectural plate, and I was so exhausted – physically, emotionally, and mentally. I felt so defeated, like I had no choice but to do my tasks because I simply needed to – not because they made me happy doing them. This tiredness escalated into fatigue combined with anxiety because aside from the academic career that demanded so much of my time and energy, I also wanted to pursue music – my childhood dream. Really badly. I was deciding whether I would continue with architecture or shift to a music-related career, maybe even drop out completely to work on my music." she said
Thus far, “Lutang” was #1 on Viral 50 Philippines and held the 22nd spot on the Philippines’ Top 200 on Spotify – and the song’s success paved the way for a special mixed tape, that was recently launched last Dec.10, featuring producers such as Timothy Run, Squid 9, DJ Young, and LUSTBASS as well as a special version of the single by another WMP recording artist and fellow viral sensation Paul Pablo who first collaborated with jikamarie on TikTok where they exchanged hit songs to the delight of their fans.
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Congratulations to Prime Events Production Philippines Foundation Inc, PEPPs president Carlo Morris Galang, who officially introduced Ray Casa Group of Companies as the producer of the Man of the World Competition. “We are very proud with our partnership with Ray Casa Group of Companies because we shared the same vision of providing education and helping people find better opportunities."
Now on its 4th edition, Man of the World enjoyed a status as one of the much-awaited worldwide events and welcomes new participating countries with more competitive advocacy-driven candidates. Man of the World Executive producer Jianlin Delos Santos-Floresca officially announced that Baguio City will be the venue of this year’s pageant. (Jeff Fernando)