New Single of Papa Obet “Regalo” Better Than 11.11 Sale

Many people in the Philippines are into online shopping. It is not an understatement though, that not all these people would just buy it for themselves. Some would purchase them in advance as a gift, or as a “regalo” to the people they care about. Of course, one could save quite much if one were to go on ahead and be on high alert for an 11.11 sale.

That is why the release of Regalo, the second Christmas song of Papa Obet, the same time as the 11.11 sale madness, is just apt.

“Baka kailangan ko na talagang gumawa every Christmas,” he stated. He shared that the feedback for his first Chritmas song, Una Kong Pasko, was good. Of course, comparison to the Philippine King of Christmas Songs, Jose Mari Chan, is unavoidable. “Sana maabot natin si Jose Mari Chan,” he said.

The Barangay LS FM 97.1 DJ believes that the Generation Z (Gen Z), or those born in the late 1990s to the early 2010s, don’t listen to radios anymore and instead would opt to get the latest news and songs via social media. That is why the promotion of Regalo will not just be focused on mainstream media, but on Gen Z friendly platforms such as Tiktok, Facebook, Youtube, etc.

Papa Obet chose to release his new song under GMA Music because he believes that they can reach audiences worldwide. The song will be available via iTunes, Spotify, and other digital music streaming platforms.

He came up with this particular title because he noticed the trend of single word titles.  “Kahit pagawin mo ako ng kanta ngayon, makakasulat ako kasi yung experience ko nung bata, malawak,” he said with confidence, when asked about how much of a songwriter he is.

As a toy collector, whenever he wants to reward himself and brighten up his day, he buys toys, more of action figures, to be precise. However, the most memorable, and also the weirdest, gift he received was a bag of condoms. “Hindi ko alam kung paano ko iuwwi,” he quipped.

However, he confessed that he is too busy to attend toy conferences (toycons). “Natatapat na may duty ako lagi,” he stated. He does make time once in a while to “toy hunt” in the malls using his trusty Gopro, so his social media followers know which newly released toys to buy.

His adea of the perfect gift to himself and his loved ones is house and lot.

When it comes to songwriting, he prefers a quiet place, that is why he usually goes out of town just to finish a piece.  For Regalo, he started with the chorus part. His patter of songwriting though is that he usually created the melody and the lyrics side-by-side.

He thinks the new generation is lucky because of the gadgets available to them so they should strive harder if they want to start writing songs as well.

If you can’t wait till 11.11 and want to get an idea what the song is about, here is Papa Obet’s inspiration in writing the Christmas ballad Regalo: “Kung ano ‘yung tumatakbo sa isip ng mga tao, kung ano ‘yung nararamdaman nila kapag sumasapit ‘yung Pasko at ano ‘yung feels pag Pasko. Kung ididikit ko ito sa isang specific situation, para ito sa mga OFW. Hindi lang ito for romantic relationship, pwede rin itong relasyon sa pamilya, sa kaibigan, o sa mahalagang bagay na ating tini-treasure. ‘Yung parang last Christmas kasama kita pero ngayon bakit wala ka na, eh ayaw kong makatanggap ng materyal na bagay, ang gusto kong ma-receive ay ikaw, ‘yung presence mo. So ‘yun ang gusto kong ihatid, na importante ‘yung presensya this Christmas kumpara sa materyal na bagay na mare-receive natin.”