Puhon
| "Puhon" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by TJ Monterde | ||||
| Language | Cebuano | |||
| English title | Someday | |||
| Released | May 14, 2020 | |||
| Genre | Visayan pop | |||
| Length | 4:00 | |||
| Label | PolyEast | |||
| Songwriter(s) | TJ Monterde | |||
| Producer(s) | TJ Monterde | |||
| TJ Monterde singles chronology | ||||
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| Lyric video | ||||
| "Puhon" on YouTube | ||||
"Puhon" (transl. Someday) is a song recorded by the Filipino singer TJ Monterde. Monterde began writing "Puhon" three years prior to its release; he produced and completed "Puhon" in his bedroom in the middle of enhanced community quarantine. The song is a midtempo Visayan pop track featuring guitars and marimba. Its lyrics, written in Cebuano, are about a man who wishes to be with the woman he loves.
PolyEast Records released it as a non-album digital single on May 14, 2020; it was re-released on July 2, 2025 on vinyl as a track on Monterde's eponymous compilation album. It received acclaim from music critics, with most of them praising the lyrics. "Puhon" was nominated in the Pop Performance of the Year category at the 6th Wish 107.5 Music Awards, as well as Best Performance by a Male Recording Artist at the 34th Awit Awards. Monterde has performed the song at various concerts, including a duet version with Colet Vergara on February 2, 2025.
Background and release
[edit]Filipino singer and songwriter TJ Monterde wrote the chorus for "Puhon" in 2017, three years before the track's release.[1][2] He finished writing the song while staring at a "beautiful" sunset.[3] The song's entire recording process was completed in two weeks during the Philippines' enhanced community quarantine.[4]
Due to his lack of a "proper" studio, Monterde recorded the song in his bedroom, under a blanket, to prevent capturing outside noise. "Puhon" was recorded with a USB microphone.[2] He also surrounded his microphone with multiple pillows to further enhance the acoustics. In an interview with ABS-CBN Showbiz, he shared that he and his collaborators considered "Puhon" to be an "experiment", asking themselves if it was possible to create a "Spotify-quality" track that was recorded from home.[4]
He added that "Puhon" promoted his advocacy of bringing Visayan pop (Vispop) songs to a national scale. In an interview with The Philippine Star, Monterde shared that it was a "habit" and a part of his "vision" to release songs in his native language, Cebuano (Bisaya), every so often.[5] On May 14, 2020,[6] PolyEast Records released "Puhon" as a digital single, along with a lyric video.[3] On July 2, 2025, the song was re-released on vinyl, as a track on Monterde's eponymous compilation album.[7]
Composition and lyrics
[edit]"Puhon" is four minutes long.[6] It is a midtempo[8] Vispop song[9][10] that features "clean" guitars and a marimba accent in the chorus.[8] Monterde wrote and produced the song himself,[6] while Arnie Mendaros provided vocal coaching and back-up vocals. Chino David is credited for "Puhon"'s musical arrangement. Albert Tamayo mixed and mastered the song.[3]
Its lyrics are in Cebuano,[5] written from the perspective of a man who wishes to be with the woman he has loved for a long time. In an article published by the Manila Standard, Monterde further explained that no matter how much the narrator tries to forget about this woman, his romantic feelings for her persist. He added that the song is about waiting for "the perfect time".[3] The Cebuano word "puhon" roughly translates to "someday" or "God-willing". Monterde described the word as "very unique", explaining that it had the power to affect Cebuano speakers' outlook.[1]
PEP's Nikko Tuazon observed that Monterde could relate to the word on a personal level, because the COVID-19 pandemic delayed his wedding with his then-fiancée KZ Tandingan.[1] Julienne Loreto of Positively Filipino, an American magazine, observed that the language used in "Puhon" is "fairly deep".[10] The Philippine Star's Jerry Donato likened the song to a poem, adding that its use of the Cebuano language made listening "more pleasurable".[5] Shortly after the song's release, Monterde declined many fans' requests to translate "Puhon" into Filipino or English, explaining that no matter how hard he tried, the song's "magic" was lost in the process of translation.[8]
Reception
[edit]The song received acclaim from music critics. Jerry Donato of The Philippine Star praised "Puhon" for its catchiness, describing it as a contribution to Vispop that deserved mainstream attention.[5] Rappler included "Puhon" in their "OPM songs that marked and made 2020" listicle, with writer Amanda T. Lago praising the song for giving Filipino listeners a "much needed spot of kilig" during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] The Filipino Times' Kristine Erika Agustin said that the song is "heartfelt" and "conveys a sense of hope and optimism". The newspaper included the track in a list of four OPM songs written in Filipino languages other than Tagalog.[12]
By July 2020, the song's lyric video on YouTube had already garnered more than one million views.[3] Positively Filipino's Julienne Loreto believed that this indicated an "appetite" for Vispop.[10] The Philippine Daily Inquirer's Allan Policarpio also reported that it had also accumulated more than a million streams on Spotify by July. Monterde said it was "encouraging" to see even non-speakers of Cebuano enjoy the song.[8] The song was nominated for Pop Performance of the Year at the 6th Wish 107.5 Music Awards,[13] as well as Best Performance by a Male Recording Artist at the 34th Awit Awards.[14] In 2024, Isulat et al. included "Puhon" in a research paper that examines how Vispop songs reflect Filipino culture. They explained that "Puhon" shows the value of hope.[15]
Live performances
[edit]
"Puhon" was one of the songs that Monterde performed at his 2024 concert, Sariling Mundo (transl. Own World). The concert took place on May 5 and 6, at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City. Onstage, he recounted the origin of "Puhon", relating the song to his anxieties about holding a concert.[16] On February 2, 2025, he performed "Puhon" as a duet with surprise guest Colet Vergara of Bini on the second day of his three-night Sarili Nating Mundo (transl. Our Own World) concert, staged at the Araneta Coliseum.[9] The screen behind the two displayed the song's Cebuano lyrics as they sang, paired with Tagalog subtitles.[10]
Personnel
[edit]Credits are adapted from Apple Music[6] and a Manila Standard article.[3]
- TJ Monterde – lead vocals, lyrics, production
- Chino David – musical arrangement
- Arnie Mendaros – vocal coaching, back-up vocals
- Albert Tamayo – mixing and mastering
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Award | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6th Wish 107.5 Music Awards | 2021 | Pop Performance of the Year | Nominated | [13] |
| 34th Awit Awards | Best Performance by a Male Recording Artist | Nominated | [14] |
Listicles
[edit]| Publisher | Year | Listicle | Placement | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rappler | 2020 | The OPM songs that marked and made 2020 | Placed | [11] |
| The Filipino Times | 2024 | OPM hits beyond Tagalog? Listen to these songs in various Philippine languages | Placed | [12] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Tuazon, Nikko (July 8, 2020). "After 3 years, TJ Monterde finally finishes song, thanks to K-drama and quarantine". Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP). Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b Eusebio, Aaron Brent (June 25, 2020). "TJ Monterde shares challenges of recording a song amid COVID-19 pandemic". GMA Network. Archived from the original on July 31, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Wang, Nickie (July 6, 2020). "A song TJ Monterde composed while watching the sunset". Manila Standard. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b Santos, Rhea Manila (July 4, 2020). "EXCLUSIVE: TJ Monterde reveals plans to study music in the US with KZ Tandingan". ABS-CBN Showbiz. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Donato, Jerry (June 27, 2020). "Look on the bright side of love, life with TJ's Puhon". The Philippine Star. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Puhon — Song by TJ Monterde". Apple Music. May 14, 2020. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ Saulog, Gabriel (July 1, 2025). "Polyeast Records Is Releasing A TJ Monterde Compilation Album On Vinyl". Billboard Philippines. Archived from the original on July 1, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Policarpio, Allan (July 3, 2020). "KZ and fiancé TJ set to introduce 'magic' of Vispop regional music". The Philippine Daily Inquirer. Archived from the original on December 16, 2024.
- ^ a b Deala, Joanna (February 3, 2025). "Different types of love felt on Day 2 of Tj Monterde's 'Sarili Nating Mundo' concert". Republic Asia. Archived from the original on February 4, 2025.
This is the message Monterde wants to convey through his Visayan pop track 'Puhon,' which he performed with Colet Vergara of the Nation's Girl Group BINI during the concert.
- ^ a b c d Loreto, Julienne (March 19, 2025). "Visayan Pop Music's Rise and Stall". Positively Filipino. Archived from the original on April 30, 2025.
- ^ a b Lago, Amanda T. (December 31, 2020). "The OPM songs that marked and made 2020". Rappler. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b Agustin, Kristine Erika (August 12, 2024). "OPM hits beyond Tagalog? Listen to these songs in various Philippine languages". The Filipino Times. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b Idris, A. Azim (January 18, 2021). "Gloc-9, Zild Benitez, Ben&Ben, SB19 win big at sixth Wish Music Awards". NME. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ a b "LIST: Awit Awards 2021 winners". ABS-CBN News. November 29, 2021. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.
- ^ Isulat, Mitzi Riva M.; Orcullo, Catherine B. (September 30, 2024). "Awiting Bisaya sa Musika ng Pilipinas (Vispop): Isang Mapanghamon na Paglalakbay sa Larangan ng Komunikasyon at Pananaliksik sa Wika at Kulturang Pilipino" [Visayan Songs in Philippine Music (Vispop): a Challenging Journey in the Field of Communication and Study of the (Cebuano) Language and Filipino Culture]. Advancing Filipino Research Journal (in Tagalog). 2 (1). University of Bohol: 85–86. doi:10.15631/ubafrj.v2i1.210. Archived from the original on June 5, 2025.
- ^ Espino, Reisha (May 9, 2024). "TJ Monterde elated to share the stage with Korean singer 10CM". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Archived from the original on June 9, 2025.