Julius Cawaling

Julius Cawaling, Tawag Ng Tanghalan Season 3 finalist, released a heart-warming song called "Babalikan" last April 14. It was written by "Akin Ka Na Lang" songwriter, Kiko Salazar.

During a media conference at Coffee Project in Quezon City recently, Julius said: "Bittersweet itong song na ito. Gusto mong balikan yung mga panahon na malulungkot ka and at the same time, magiging masaya ka rin kasi andun yung mga happy memories ninyo together - with your loved ones, your family, friends and special someone. Kiko was in Hong Kong noong sinusulat niya ang 'Babalikan.'

(This song is bittersweet. You want to go back to the times when you will be sad and at the same time, you will also be happy because there are your happy memories together - with your loved ones, your family, friends and special someone. Kiko was in Hong Kong when he was writing 'Babalikan.')

"Noong younger years niya, lagi silang  pumupunta doon ng family niya. Years ago nawala yung dad niya. Ang ginawa nbiya binalikan niya yung mga lugar kung saan pumupunta sila ng daddy niya para maalala niya yung memories nila together pero nalulungkot din siya dahil nawala na nga yung daddy niya," said Julius.

(During his younger years, he and his family always went there. Years ago, his dad passed on. What he did was go back to the places where he and his dad used to go so that he could remember the memories they had together, but he is also sad because he is gone.)

Julius launches into a new highlight of his career under RJA Productions LLC following the success of his first single "Ikaw Pa Rin" which has more than 100K streams on Spotify. He also released a holiday track entitled "Tuwing Pasko Lang."

His birthday almost coincided with the release of "Babalikan" this year, so he considered it a blessing.

Julius said that he's thankful to Rosabella Jao Arribas, founder and CEO of RJA Productions LLC, for giving him yet another song.

"Babalikan" is now available on your favorite streaming platforms.

If he could reverse it, Julius said he wanted to revisit three life events.

"Gusto kong balikan yung days na hindi pa ako nagbabayad ng bills. Yung kahit buong araw ka manood ng TV hindi mo aalalahanin yung kuryente.

(I want to go back to the days when I didn't pay bills. Even if you watch TV all day, you won't be worried about the electricity.)

"Isa pang gusto kong balikan ay yung mga competition na sinalihan ko. Never ako nag-aim na gusto kong maging grand champion. Lagi kong sinasabi maging grand finalist lang ako. It took time pero natutupad lahat. Pero pagdating doon, sabi ko okay na ako. Ayokong mag-hope masyado kasi paghindi natupad, masakit. So sabi ko dapat pala sineryoso ko. Dapat pala nagdouble time ako.

(Another thing I want to look back on is the competitions I participated in. I never aimed to be a grand champion. I always said I would be okay if I become a grand finalist. It took time but everything came true. I don't want to hope too much because if it doesn't come true, it hurts. So I said I should have taken it seriously. I should have done double time.)

"Siguro gusto ko rin balikan yung kabataan ko. Eighteen years old po ako noong naging OFW ako. Walang tropa nun. So gusto kong balikan na sila ang gusto kong makasama. Na-realize ko yun noong pandemic na napaka-importante pala ng oras."

(Maybe I also want to go back to my youth. I was 18 years old when I became an OFW. There were no close friends. So I want to go back to the ones I want to be with. I realized during the pandemic that time is very important.)