P-pop boy group Yes My Love is coming into their own—personally, musically, and collectively—and they’re letting love lead the way.
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Yes My Love lives up to their name (even if they do agree with everyone saying they didn’t take the naming-of-the-band part of their career seriously). The members of the P-pop group may hit notes higher than you thought possible, and weave vocal harmonies into sonical tapestries, but beyond all that, they’re five fun-loving hopeless romantics with golden retriever vibes (their words, and I concur) and a deep, sincere love for Filipino music.
Niko, Joshua, Brian, Jeff, and RZ, the “Vocal Heartstoppers” of P-pop, debuted as a group alongside former member Eli back in 2023, sporting quite a different look and vibe from what they have today. It’s a signifier of their growth and how they’ve come into their own, not following a formula, but rather maximizing their skills to deliver their best. It takes a lot of heart to do what they do, and they’re still discovering how to speak their own language of love through their music.
Fresh from releasing their newest single b(their first since signing with Star Music), a reimagining of an original Filipino track popularized by Vhong Navarro, Yes My Love sits down with NYLON Manila to talk about their sound, their friendship, and what they’ve learned about the big, beautiful thing that is love. Let the swooning commence.
COMING INTO THEIR OWN
Primarily known for their covers of beloved Filipino love songs, like Jaya’s Laging Naroon Ka, which they say basically changed the trajectory of their career due to its streaming popularity, Yes My Love continues to find their footing in a time where OPM is flourishing and P-pop groups are growing in number. Following the world-changing wave of K-pop, P-pop also seems to have its own formula, one that often works. But it doesn’t work for everyone.
“When P-pop was emerging, there seemed to be a mold,” Joshua remarks. “When we were starting out, there was a certain standard or expectation—you had to dance, for instance. Every now and then, we like to experiment, and it depends on the demands of the audience, but right now, we’re getting in touch with vocal-heavy ballads.”
Joshua
It’s a niche they’re finding success in, becoming more recognized for their vocals, their emotionality, and group harmony. At debut, they were marketed as fierce, hot, and cool. But as time passed by, it was clear that they were actually more “golden retriever vibes.” And for their latest single, those vibes were out in full force.
“[Don Romantiko] is a bit cheeky, but at the same time it’s romantic,” Joshua explains, comparing it to their previous releases from their first EP. “Sonically, it’s different from what we’ve done in the past. Coming from You, Me & Love, it was a lot of power ballads and serious vibes.”
Changing up one’s style and sound isn’t unheard of when it comes to music groups—P-pop groups in particular. “We like exploring different sounds,” Brian says.
Niko
Doing something different from one comeback to the next is par for the course. But for Yes My Love, it’s not just about a strategy for success. It’s about building the core of who they are by discovering what they’re excellent at and holding on to what feels right.
“There are other groups who are excellent at other things, like SB19 are excellent dancers, and we’d like to be inspired by them as opposed to being exactly like them,” Joshua points out. “We’re inspired by their heart, their discipline, how they treat their fans and the people around them. If anything, we’d like to be at the same caliber of hard work and talent that they have.”
Rather than trying to fit into a mold, Yes My Love is leaning into the freedom of figuring out what makes their voice distinct. As they continue to explore the kind of group they want to become, they’re clearly more focused on what they can do rather than what everyone else is doing.
“Everyone has their own niche,” he concludes. “And us as a group, I feel like we’re finding ours, as well.”
SOUNDING IT OUT
Jeff
Like with any other artist, Yes My Love’s journey towards artistic, creative, personal, and collective growth and excellence takes a lot of learning, unlearning, letting go of ego, toughing out the technical stuff, and adjusting to working with a team of people who all want to craft something exceptional.
When you watch Yes My Love perform, there’s a very real possibility of you being enchanted by their voices and their charm, the glint in their eye as they live out their dreams. On that stage, whatever stage it may be, whichever city they’re at, they’re the idols they trained to be. But, they reveal, it’s not easy to get to where they are. For Jeff, for instance, the recording booth was the bane of his existence.
“Grabe yung anxiety ko sa loob ng [studio],” he reveals. “Parang lagi kong nafefeel na ‘di ko nabibigay yung best ko lagi. Na-overcome ko siya during You, Me & Love—”
“Sixteen hours ka ba naman ‘dun!” His members jokingly interject. “Kung di ka pa na-immerse dun, ewan ko na lang!”
Brian
He continues, “‘Dun ko na-realize na I can take it lightly and na pwede palang i-enjoy yung time sa booth. I always trust my kuyas din. I always questioned myself sa booth, kaya nai-insecure ako palagi, pero na-overcome ko na siya.”
His members add that on stage, Jeff is a beast, with no ounce of nerves showing whatsoever. On stage, they agree, they’re free to move around and interact, to brush off a mistake. But it’s different in a recording booth, where every mistake is amplified, and every note, every second, every little thing is picked apart. It’s a tough but necessary part of the process. For any creative, receiving criticism is often a jab to our ego. But we all have to learn to accept that, for the most part, it’s a chance to improve, to grow, and to create something even better. The boys have come to learn that, too.
“Before, pag matagal kami nagrerecord, feeling namin walang magandang take, which I think is a misconception now,” Niko adds. “It just means na the more time you have, the more chances there are for you to create different ‘attacks’ or ways to deliver your lines. When I realized that, medyo nawala na rin yung fright ko.” It’s a small but meaningful mindset change, and reminds them they’re artists who are still learning, still growing, and still finding their voice.
OPENING THEMSELVES UP TO LOVE
RZ
It’s difficult not to pick up a few things about love when you’re working with love songs and living your life surrounded by people who have so much love to give. Spending time with other artists and their work, interacting with their fans, and developing their relationship not just as bandmates but also as friends has given the boys of Yes My Love a whole new perspective on the whole aforementioned big, beautiful thing.
“Love is everywhere,” Joshua says of what he’s learned about love since being in the group. “Love isn’t just about a significant other. We often forget to focus on ourselves and reflect on what it means to truly love ourselves. I think the truth of love is getting a full grasp of who you are, because paano ka magbibigay ng pagmamahal sa iba if you don’t know how to be there for yourself?”
Jeff shares a sentiment that relates to expanding our perspective on love. When we think of love, relationships immediately come to mind. However, as he’s learned as an artist whose life will always be about expressing love and being loved, it can take many forms beyond what we initially think, shaped by the people and experiences we encounter in everyday life. These different forms of love can change us just as profoundly as any relationship ever could.
“What I learned about love is that love transforms,” he says, “Ang dami palang perspective [about] love. I learn it from strangers, when I’m in my comfort zone, when I’m struggling—lagi kong nakikita at nakakareceive ng pagmamahal, pero iba ang nabibigay ko [every] time, because yung perspectives and experiences ng ibang tao, na-aabsorb ko.”
“Most people think love should be perfect,” Brian adds his two cents, referencing the love they receive from fans, specifically. A unique, warm, and sentimental kind of love that can be as fleeting as it is exciting. “Love can be loving the ‘worst’ in someone. Ang dami nang dumaan na batches ng fans, but makikita mo talaga ang love sa mga tumagal at naging loyal over the years.”
Building on that idea of what it means to truly love, Niko’s sentiment reminds us that love also requires honesty—with yourself and whoever else is involved—and boundaries. “If you can say ‘yes’ to love, it’s also not a bad thing to say ‘no’ to it. If hindi mo kayang mapanindigan, it’s better to not start anything at all.”
And the quiet but heartfelt RZ, whose production of Don Romantiko sold their label on the track being their next single, speaks up with a profound and insightful take that’s personally my favorite: “Love can be genuine. Take your time with it.”
It’s a comment about how jaded we can get about love, how much we can overcomplicate it, how often we feel the need to rush it, and how simple things can really be. File that away for future reference.
GROWING AND LEARNING THROUGH IT ALL
It’s those shifting, melding, and ever-evolving perspectives on love that have driven Niko, Joshua, Brian, Jeff, and RZ closer to their work, closer to each other, and closer to the people that support them.
“We’re grateful for those who have tested time with us,” Joshua acknowledges their fans, their 143s. “We respect if it’s time for you to go [as a fan], but thank you to those who have stayed. You guys are the ones that keep us going.”
Their sense of gratitude also extends beyond their loving fans to the bonds within the group and the people behind the scenes.
“We’re blessed to have this relationship with each other, me and the boys, and with the people we work with, even artists like Ate Yeng [Constantino],” Niko shares. They recount how lucky they are to work with legends and get the chance to put their own spin on classic love songs, and how they’re even luckier to do all this with members who have truly become good friends.
“We picked up each other’s hobbies,” Brian says about the relationship the five of them have. “Like Jeff’s climbing…and Niko and I are drinking buddies! Josh and the gym, RZ and basketball. Marami akong natutunan sa kanila, and they’ve brought out the best in me.”
Love often inspires people to bring out the best in each other (it’s one of the most wonderful things about it!), but as we know—as Brian himself said—love also involves seeing each other at their worst, and powering through it, if it’s worth it, together. Whether that’s seeing people at their lowest or at their most stressed, most angry, or most upset, it’s about opening ourselves up to understanding and standing with each other through it all.
“Before I got into Yes My Love, I thought I already knew who I was,” Josh says. “But meeting the other boys, I learned a lot of different perspectives from them.” He laughingly says that they’ve brought out the worst in him sometimes, having to run the group like the Navy and take control like a kuya in order to stay on top of things. (He’s the eldest of the bunch, BTW.)
“There are times where I have to go, ‘it’s not play time,’” he says. “There’s someone who has to stand their ground, or else kung saan saan kami mapupunta.”
They’ve learned that love isn’t always perfect, that it can be found in loyalty, in the small gestures, and even in the challenges they face together. It’s about understanding themselves, absorbing the experiences of others, and showing up for one another in ways both big and small.
“We’ve seen the worst of one another, but we still love each other,” Brian says.
In that simple truth lies the heart of Yes My Love—through it all, through the identity crises and the endless hours at the recording booth, through the lineup changes and the periods of doubt and hopelessness, through the ever-changing perspectives on love in all its forms, their voices have remained in harmony, fine-tuned by their love for what they do. And they channel all that love into something bigger than themselves, something that resonates long after the final note fades.
Photos courtesy of Cornerstone Entertainment. Special thanks to Star Music and Jonald Helito.
Photography by ULYSES MARTIN
Creative Direction by JONALD HELITO
Styling by URIEL MATTHEW
Production Design ROCKET SETS
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