Go to Sleep

The concept for the music video of "Tulog Na (Go to Sleep)" was born directly from my childhood memories of holidays spent on the island beaches of the Philippines. My vision was to create a deeply nostalgic piece that celebrates our identity through the setting, costume, language, sounds, and song. I wanted to transport the audience back to those specific, idyllic days: to make them feel the fresh air, visualise the empty, beautiful beaches, and experience an overwhelming sense of love, care, and pride in our Filipino heritage.

The blessing of this project was the invaluable opportunity to learn the song directly from its composer, my mentor Maestro Michael Dadap. It is a rare and wonderful gift to be a student of a living composer. Furthermore, he welcomed the ideas I had for the English lyrics. Getting to sing my own words was very special indeed and added an incredibly personal and authentic layer to my performance.

The biggest problem I had in this production was learning the music itself. Although it is essentially an easy lullabye, I kept trying to sing it - or rather learn it - in the original key but technically I just could not. I finally decided that I simply needed to transpose the song. Because of this delay, the visual footage of me is actually two years old! In the end, everything worked so well. I couldn't believe how perfectly the two-year-old footage worked with the new set designs and my a cappella singing underscored only by the natural sounds of the waves. The setting, the timing and the emotion just clicked. It was a beautiful reminder that sometimes a logistical challenge can become the project's greatest asset.

The ultimate reward of "Tulog Na (Go to Sleep)" has been the audience feedback; viewers have shared that the video truly succeeds in recreating a deep, nostalgic longing for the Philippines. Through "Tulog Na," I was able to merge my love for music, writing, singing, performing, and visual storytelling into a single, cohesive celebration of Filipino heritage.