After tasting sweet love with a girl in their single “honey” to getting their songs featured in the iWantTFC series Sleep With Me and performing in mall shows this year, rienne is back to empower their listeners with their new single “Hindi Kita Kailangan' under indie record label Off The Record. Said track is produced by Ygo Ferraz of YSNAYGO and mix and mastered by Ean Aguila of Ang Bandang Shirley.
“Hindi Kita Kailangan' is your go-to Tagalog indie pop song that speaks about getting one’s power back and knowing your worth after a frustrating unreciprocated love. rienne’s storytelling prowess matched by their powerful youthful voice, made this upbeat song feel so much like a celebration of regaining self-worth.
Listening to this song’s quirky beats will certainly get you to bop your head and sway your body especially when you sing along to the song that empowers those who want to let go of their old, naive selves. "Hindi Kita Kailangan" proves how music transcends heartbreak and can be self-empowerment in music form. “I got ghosted after dating someone for a week. She literally just stopped talking to me.” rienne shared. Through the continuous rise of social media and several dating apps, ghosting became a norm to avoid emotional attachment and accountability over a situationship. Like any other people out there, rienne experienced the pain of ghosting, firsthand.
However, instead of dwelling on the ugly feelings of a post-breakup scenario, rienne wrote “Hindi Kita Kailangan" in just one night to channel the hurt and frustration that they felt, giving everyone a feel-good music that one can always listen to – especially on days where a reminder of self-worth is duly needed whenever that pain from that person, memory, or situation, keeps coming back.
“I did have feelings for her but it felt like she never really tried to be there for me. I would always try to be understanding but she never replied at all. I did myself a favor and I stopped waiting. I ended it myself. I never got a response back but I’m happier than ever.” was rienne’s quick answer when asked how they got over it.
rienne truly captured the frustration of being unreciprocated and ghosted and made this their leverage into making a song that could serve as a reminder of how to persevere despite the hang-ups. At the end of the day, songs that help us get through the heartbreak are important to our healing process.
Certainly, choosing yourself and getting yourself out of a bad situation is not easy for everyone; it takes a lot of courage and determination to do so. In rienne’s case, writing a song based on their feelings helps them cope and get their power back.
“After being ghosted, I remembered a particular post from 2014 in my old Instagram account. I made a post with the words ‘hindi kita kailangan para maging masaya’. I made that the basis for the song and the rest was just my frustration and my hurt talking.”
If you ask us, we can only imagine “Hindi Kita Kailangan" as a song that is a staple in everyone’s playlist, much like their previously released single “Sinagtala”, “Just Friends”, “Try Again”, and “honey”. As for rienne, we can only expect more great music from a queer Filipinx artist who lives in the US. Gaining more listeners from their home country encouraged rienne to continuously create music. “I hope people who will listen to 'Hindi Kita Kailangan' will feel empowered. I want them to know that their worth isn’t based on how people treat them. You need to choose yourself all the time. I want them to listen to this track and I want them to think that they’re much more than what they’re made to feel.” rienne said.
rienne is a queer alt-indie pop artist who’s born and raised in Pasig City, Philippines but is currently residing in West Virginia, USA. rienne’s music and lyricism are mainly taken from their personal experiences as a Gen Z who’s part of the LGBTQ+ community.