When you meet Dia Maté for the first time, your first impression will be that she is a beautiful, confident, and talented woman who is in full control of her life.  

And why would you think otherwise? At 22, Dia’s accomplishments are admirable. She is a singer, songwriter, and music producer in a male-dominated industry, signed to Island Records Philippines, a division of Universal Music Group, the international record label. She was a Spotify RADAR artist in 2022. Dia is also an influencer and freelance model who has appeared on the cover of Parcinq magazine and is featured in articles by various media outlets. She has a growing organic following on TikTok and Instagram.

But underneath Dia’s confident and glamorous persona is an anxious woman with flaws. When Dia was 13 years old, at her most awkward stage, she was bullied, causing mental health issues and insecurities that she carries to this day.

This prompted her to put her feelings down on paper and compose melodies to accompany the lyrics that she would write and sing. Dia shared: “This process became my outlet for dealing with negative and sharing positive experiences. Given my gifts of being able to write, produce, and sing my songs, I wanted to become a recording artist. Through this and my advocacy of using music as therapy, I want to help others like myself cope with their challenges or even inspire and affect the emotions of my listeners.”

A strong advocate for mental health awareness and preventing violence against women and children, Dia’s ultimate goal is to make a positive change in the lives of people through the use of music as therapy, which has helped her deal with her mental stress.

Dia grew up around volunteer work and community service. At the age of eight, she started going to CRIBS Foundation Inc., an orphanage and rehabilitation center for abandoned babies and abused teenage girls. To this day, Dia regularly visits CRIBS and now teaches music to the abused girls.

Throughout high school, she frequented Chosen Children in Silang, Cavite, an orphanage for physically and mentally challenged children. Around the same time, Dia was also a featured performer at many fundraising and awareness events of non-profit organizations such as TAKBO, UNICEF, and KAMALAYAN. She also took part in disaster relief activities in Cavite.

Dia didn’t always want to become a beauty queen. However, from a very young age, she already knew that she wanted to effect positive change in society in her small way. She shared, “ My grandparents are a big influence in my life. On my mother’s side, they are sincere public servants and are pillars of change in the community. On my father’s side, my grandparents, for as long as I can remember, have been involved in community service. This solidified my goal to inspire and effect change in my own way.”

She continued, “I have always admired Miss Universe as such an influential platform. Not only to empower women, but to bring light to advocacies and causes we fight for. As someone who has experienced anxiety and depression, I have found music to be an effective tool in helping me manage and improve my mental health. As a musician, I would love to be able to bring awareness to how music can be used as a form of therapy for decreasing the symptoms of mental health illnesses. I have started doing this at CRIBS Foundation, where I teach music to abused teenage girls to help them cope with their trauma.”

In 2019, Dia was accepted in prestigious universities abroad, such as the University of Southern California in the United States of America, King's College London in the U.K., and the like. However, to pursue her music career here, she opted to study Communications Technology at Ateneo De Manila University. Dia enjoys surfing, going to the gym, and making fashion content in her free time.

Dia has released several songs under Island Records Philippines in the past three years. She has collaborated with notable producers and artists such as Crwn, Fern, Blaster, Quest and Gab Tagadtad. Dia has performed alongside Zack Tabudlo and Fern and is working on some collaborations with other talented musicians.

Her music is available on all streaming platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.