Miguel Escueta kicks off the year with a rockin’ start with the release of his latest single — an edgier, rock-tinged remake of the OPM classic, Bakit Ba Ganyan, released in 1981 and popularized by Dina Bonnevie.

The follow-up effort was partly inspired by the positive feedback on his 2025 releases, Summer Dream and Pangako ng Bukas, which marked his musical comeback after a brief hiatus from the music scene.

With its raunchier makeover of overdriven guitars and a propulsive backbeat, Bakit Ba Ganyan still sounds like the perfect anthem for a younger generation of millennials yearning for love and romance.

Despite being an ‘80s baby, Miguel admits the song had always been on his radar during his youth.

He admits, “Yes, of course! I’ve always loved that song.”

It was Miguel’s manager, Arnold Vegafria, who broached the idea for the reboot.

Miguel shares, “Since the previous two singles were songs I wrote, ALV recommended that we do a revival for the next. We made a shortlist of possible options, and Bakit Ba Ganyan was one of them.”

He also shares an interesting backstory involving the song’s composer.

Miguel adds, “I found out that the writer of Bakit Ba Ganyan (Ruben ‘Boyet’ Palisoc) is actually the dad of my friend from college: King Palisoc. King and I were in the same batch. He is currently a filmmaker and director. And incidentally, he also wrote Handa, one of my singles released in 2008.”

Produced by his good friend and musical colleague David Lina, Bakit Ba Ganyan’s basic tracks were recorded at Sunny Side Sound Studios, while the vocals were laid down at Banana Rising Studios and Sound Weavers. Mixing, mastering, and the final touches were done at Big House Studios by Juni Devecais.

“David did most of it — guitars, drums, bass, keys. I chipped in with some guitars, and Juni helped me out as well for vocal harmonies,” Miguel elaborates.

In hindsight, Miguel admits there haven’t been any radical stylistic changes in his sound compared with his earlier works.

He says, “To be honest, I don’t think it’s too far off from my older stuff. Still guitar-driven with pop sensibilities. Our workflow is now much more efficient. And I think recording- and production-wise, it’s much cleaner, which is expected because we all evolve as time goes by.”

Despite the stark changes in the music industry, Miguel consistently sees the silver lining, particularly in the rise of music streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and others.

He muses, “We’re pretty happy with the reception of Summer Dream and Pangako ng Bukas, considering we’ve been away for quite some time. But what was more surprising is that people started listening to the older stuff again.”

“When we were releasing music from 2007-2012, Spotify wasn’t prominent yet. We were on the radio, and people had to buy the CDs. So, I think our listeners from back then did a deep dive into Spotify when the new releases came out last year.”

As a fitting soft launch, Miguel performed Bakit Ba Ganyan live during the Miss World Philippines 2026 Coronation Night last Feb. 3 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, much to the delight of his newfound fans and followers. The live performance music video from that event is available on Miguel’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

Aside from caring for his growing family and managing his growing coffee business (Frank & Dean Coffee), Miguel is currently working on an album.

He beams excitedly, “It’ll be released in two parts. The first part comes out this summer.” Miguel is currently managed by ALV Talent Circuit. (Contributed by Tinnie Esguerra)