Rising Filipino singer Cydel is back with her new song Durog na Durog, which also marks the young artist’s first foray into songwriting. A heart-aching ballad, Durog na Durog is about something you want to forget but can’t.
From the title itself, “Durog na durog ka na sa pabalik-balik na paalala ng isip mo about sa nangyari ng iyong nakaraan.” Whenever you relapse to that moment you were supposed to forget, but the feeling keeps coming back. You unconsciously break your heart until you can no longer explain how you truly feel.
Growing Pains
Durog na Durog also marks an important milestone in Cydel’s evolution as an artist. Hailing from Negros Occidental, Cydel first entered the public eye at age 11, through her cover of Celine Dion’s Power of Love posted on YouTube. This led her to mainstream media exposure, getting featured on the television show Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, and landing a role in Resorts World Manila’s revival of the musical, Annie. 2020 saw Cydel’s star shine even brighter when she joined Lea Salonga’s team in the second season of The Voice Philippines Teens and was crowned as one of the talent show’s grand champions.
But she is not done growing just yet. Whereas her previous releases speak of inspiration and falling in love, Durog na Durog also sees Cydel tackling a more mature topic with its theme of heartbreak. Now, she’s growing up, writing about heartache, and expanding her repertoire.
Reaching out to the Heartbroken Ones
“Writing this song is memorable for me since it’s my first single release that I wrote,” Cydel enthuses. “I made this for my brother when we were just casually hanging out, playing our family guitar. He requested for me to write a song, and at that time my brother was experiencing a tough heartbreak, so I decided to write a song about his journey of loving someone that turned into nothing. I showed it to my team, they loved it, and the rest is history.”
Expounding on her motivation for writing the song, Cydel shares: “I wrote this song to not just really target those people na nasaktan dahil iniwan sa pagmamahal pero sinulat ko din to para sa mga taong iniwan na at wala na sa kanilang buhay yung mga mahalaga sa kanila. Writing songs can be translated into many different understandings, it just depends on the person kung paano siya nasasaktan; in a way na siya lang yung nakaka-intindi.”
Performing and Feeling the Hugot
Primarily backed by a piano in its first few verses, Durog na Durog allows for Cydel’s voice to shine through, and for listeners to fully immerse in the somber mood of the song.
As the song progresses, Cydel proves her powerful voice through her belting, but she really shows her vocal prowess in the melodic runs that perfectly translate the emotions needed by the song. Though she cites the OPM songs that she frequently listens to as her inspiration for her vocal performance, Cydel emphasizes that she wants to inject her own style into her releases.
“I would describe the sound and style of Durog na Durog as similar to the heartbreak songs in the OPM industry, but I am mixing a flavor of my own into it, which includes belting and a little soft spoken type of delivery at the beginning of the song,” Cydel explains.
She cites her fellow The Voice of the Philippines alumna Moira Dela Torre as a notable influence on Durog na Durog, “We all know she creates hugot (heartbreak) songs that are well-known. I hear people’s reactions to my song that it sounds similar to Moira’s, but as much as possible, I try to infuse my own sound as well.”
Piecing Together Durog na Durog
Despite her young age, Cydel shows maturity beyond her years with how she wrote Durog na Durog. She makes masterful use of Tagalog to weave a tale of heartbreak (Iniwan mo lang nang husto ang puso kong durog na durog / You just left my heart in pieces) and longing (Sa bawat minutong lumilipas, ikaw pa rin ang laging hanap-hanap / With every minute passing, it’s still you that I look for).
When asked about her favorite line from the song, Cydel reveals that it’s “Ba’t sa libong tao, tayo ang biglang gumuho?” She explains, “For this part, it just doesn’t happen in love but in life as well. You know that feeling when you want to have something, pero hindi binigay ng tadhana? That’s what that part of the song meant for me.”
Another favorite line of hers is “Naniwala sa mga sinasabi-sabi.”
“Ang bilis nating maniwala sa mga bagay na hindi natin alam kung totoo ba o hindi,” Cydel shares her hatred of that mindset.
“That’s why I included this phrase in the song, to also remind people that we don’t have to listen to what other people are saying, especially if hindi kapani-paniwala.”
Healing From Hurt
To move forward, Cydel also advises her listeners to honor their hurt. “It might be funny to hear this, but we can’t push a person to heal that easily; it would take months or even years to heal from that kind of pain. Kaya i-iyak mo lang yan, pakiramdaman mo hanggang sa darating na yung araw na masabi mong “parang di na ako nasasaktan na isipin siya / ‘yung isang bagay. At the end of the day, only the person who experienced a broken heart knows how and when to heal themselves.”
In her musical career, Cydel is also looking to move upward and onward. “Hopefully, in the long run, people from around the world will be able to hear my work and appreciate my music,” she says. “For now, I am slowly rising to make myself and my music known.”