LA Music Review | Art, stories and advice
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Hi Tj, welcome to LA Music Review! Tell us a little bit about you and your music.
Hi! I am TJ Juganas, an aspiring Filipino singer-songwriter who dreams of creating and sharing my music with everyone. I am also very much interested in covering other artists’ music. I have a YouTube Channel under the name TJ Juganas. It’s my first time releasing an original record, but I’ve been writing lyrics and poems since high school.
I bought my first guitar when I was in college, so I can write music and compose songs. For the past few years, I have regularly joined competitions such as Himig Handog, PhilPop, Vehnee Saturno Music, and Viva Entertainment (to name a few), hoping maybe I’d win and have my songs heard in the country. During the Himig Handog 2020 P-Pop Love Songs Songwriting Competition, I made it to the Top 818 ranking.
Start streaming “Tayo” here:
Congrats on the release! What was your inspiration when you were writing this project?
This song is one of the very first songs I wrote eight years ago.
Released on March 24, 2023. It revolves around the story of my friend, who got into a no-label relationship. According to my friend, they agreed not to enter into an official relationship because they were both afraid of commitment. Just like playing with fire, they both got burned in the end, with both of them falling harder for each other. One wanted to make their relationship official, but the other only wanted a romantic escapade with no label.
So when my friend shared her struggles and heartbreak, I decided to write a song about her experience and also for people who can relate to the same scenario. The story is something a lot of people experience, may it be unrequited love or vice versa.
I wrote this story from a gender-neutral perspective so everyone can sing their hearts out, especially those who are experiencing this situation or have experienced being in a no-label relationship. Para sa mga taong patuloy na umaasa, naghihintay, at nasasaktan.
What is your vision for this song? What lessons would you like to impart with your audience?
My vision would be to create and share music that everyone can sing to.
I want this song to be their go-to soundtrack when they want an outlet to release their frustrations, when they want to move on from heartbreaks, or whenever they want to sing out loud with their friends during trips or late-night drives.
I want my audience or anyone who might stumble upon this song through recommendations to know that unrequited love happens to most of us. Being afraid of commitments is perfectly normal. All our feelings are valid. It is okay to feel the pain and misery sometimes but don’t be stuck there forever. You have to keep going and move forward.
What is your favorite part of this body of work?
Aside from the Chorus, my favorite part of this song is probably the Bridge. I love the buildup we did during the production, which was quite intense. It’s like I want to sing it out loud like I was at a concert.
Anything else we should know about it? Future releases?
Right now, I’m more into promoting this song and have more social media presence through my YouTube Channel, Spotify, Facebook page, Instagram, TikTok, etc. With my limited resources as an independent artist, I don’t have many connections right now. I’m still trying to figure out things on how to connect with fellow artists and writers, and of course, my audience.
But I will definitely release more original music this year. I still have nine months!
