Making a name on the music scene in Norway, 18-year-old Filipino-Norwegian multi-instrumentalist singer Hillari is on her way to creating more music with Filipino artists. 

In an exclusive Zoom with Manila Bulletin Entertainment last Oct. 17, Hillari shared that she likes to work with well-known Pinoy artists like KZ Tandingan, Moira Dela Torre, and JK Labajo. 

"Genuinely, I really want to collaborate with KZ Tandingan, Moira, and Juan Karlos because they are so amazing, and their music is something else," she said. 

But before heading to her dream collaborations, Hillari released a new song entitled "Loyal" featuring a fellow Pinoy artist, Jolianne. According to her, making the song happened very quickly. 

"Working with Jollianne was such a genuine vibe and connection. I sent her the first verse; she was so effective and quick with it. She sent me her verse a week after that, and so when I heard it, I was like, let's go with this. So, it was a very fast and genuine connection," Hillari said. 

The singer also mentioned the inspiration behind her song came from the experience of young people being in love and having trust issues. 

"I got really inspired by the romantic relationships of my generation. I'm eighteen years old, and young people around me have trust issues. And you know, by observing my friend's romantic relationships, I got really inspired and made this song because I wanted to encourage and remind myself and the people around me that we actually have a choice to trust other people," Hillari said. 

Hillari's journey from an aspiring artist to a celebrated sensation has been nothing short of remarkable, and her collaboration with Jolianne in reimagining "Loyal" is set to be the next chapter in her burgeoning career. Music enthusiasts and fans can expect a harmonious and evocative experience when the new version of "Loyal" is unveiled.

With a church vocalist background, the young but soulful artist and musician committed to her musical career in late 2021 and quickly attracted attention from the start of 2022.

Over the past year, Hillari has also received praise from the likes of Timberland, Keyshia Cole, and Savannah Ré. Her debut single "Desperate Soul" was released in March 2023 and was named "Song of the Month" by Future Soul with Victoria Jane on BBC Radio 1 in London.

Coming home to the Philippines

Although Hillari was born in Oslo, she spent half of her childhood days on her mother's side in Bacolod. Hillari also mentioned that some of her fondest memories with her relatives are of singing for them. 

"I remember my grandmother giving me money just to entertain and sing in front of all my titos and titas. It was just a fun childhood for me because I always love entertaining people since I was young, and another fondest memory of my childhood is just playing in the sun, out on the street with the kids because it's different in the Philippines than in Oslo," she said. 

Coming back to her roots, Hillari feels the love from her Pinoy fans after having her first intimate gig in Makati last Oct. 14. 

"It was such a milestone for me, to be honest. Although it was a very small venue, I wanted to make sure that this show I was doing is very intimate because I wanted to connect with my audience here in the Philippines because they've given so much love online, and I just wanted to give it back to them, " she said. 

Aside from doing gigs, Hillari also went food crawling with homemade Filipino dishes when she first arrived in the Philippines. 

"I went to a lot of restaurants that serves homemade Filipino foods because I really miss the Philippines, so the first that I did is to eat sisig," she added.