Lola Amour will be the next OPM artist to take the world by storm after reigning in Manila.
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Lola Amour has made quite a splash with its latest hit, whose ripples have already caught international notice. Raining In Manila flooded the charts practically overnight with its timeless yet timely charm in tune with the local wet season. By now, everyone in the country has likely heard the opening hook “It’s been rainin’ in Manila/Hindi ka ba nilalamig.”
“Actually medyo shocked din kami, ‘cause as we were making the song, though we had good comments about it, hindi talaga kami sure kung papatok siya. Because it’s not really ‘yung pangkaraniwan na pop song. But thankfully it did and now we couldn’t be more happy,” Raymond (bass and backup vocals) tells NYLON Manila.
The wave of support has been overwhelming for them, as they didn’t expect their song to pick up so much traction the way it did on social media. And yes, they’ve seen the TikToks. “For me, natutuwa naman ako. People give you word of their flood stories. Usually pag umuulan o bumabagyo nang malakas, medyo nakakalungkot but people find a way to twist that and make it humorous,” Angelo (trumpet) says of the snippets of floodwaters posted for good vibes.
IN THEIR ELEMENT
This outpouring of attention only grew when K-pop idol Jake of global group ENHYPEN gave the track a listen upon a Filo ENGENE’s request. “We’re very speechless having known that he’s from a prominent K-pop band. I know how big they are. So having someone from their group listen or acknowledge our song is already a big milestone and big honor for us,” Angelo relates.
In fact, all the good news came thundering down at once during a big night for the boys. That is, when Lola Amour played for their mid-July celebration show “Celeb-Raining in Manila.” “Thank you guys for coming despite the heavy downpour…so many things happened during this show— We wanted to have a 1-month celebration for the track–but to our surprise, it became the #1 song in the Philippines!!” the band posted afterward. It likewise thanked ENGENEs for their thoughtful boost in time for the Spotify chart-topper.
“It’s always nice to have other musicians give their opinions on our songs. Whether good or bad, it’s always an honor for a fellow musician to receive comments. So kung good, eh di good. Thank you very much,” Raymond processes all the validation they’ve received. Whether it’s internal, with the scores of fans who have come and stayed for the good show, or external, with the curiosity now barreling abroad from Jake’s impact—it’s a lot to take in for the Filipino 7-piece band.
HEAD ABOVE WATER
Though it hasn’t always been clear skies for the group of back-to-back hitmakers. The guys admit to being unable to see too far ahead, relying on a compass of purely gut feeling. “As a band, we’ve never really had long-term set goals. More like it’s just playing what’s in front of us,” Raymond acknowledges.
Yet it’s this same tenacity that has kept them afloat all this time—and recently—put them on the global map. The weather somehow always comes through for Lola Amour, which time and again finds itself steering toward the right direction. “It’s more like doing it one day at a time. Or at least one gig at a time. We don’t really go that far, pero we try to do it together and see how it goes,” Angelo muses.
Having produced the likes of Pwede Ba and Maybe Maybe, only to further peak with Fallen, the guys at one point didn’t know anymore how they could keep topping their own work. And the material that has raised the bar again higher for them is none other than Raining In Manila, which was composed by David as the first song he wrote for Lola Amour. Everyone in the band is also pitching in ideas on potential music video plans for the song (on top of its official lyric video with over 7 million views), but nothing is set in stone just yet.
Anyway, the breakout hit is still going steady across the board. And as far as everyone is concerned, there’s no getting “sick” of Raining In Manila – unless you count the last song syndrome. Its continued success has neither daunted nor deterred the group from attempting to overcome its own feat. So they keep creating. “Namely, we’ve been recording songs. We’ve been working hard the past few weeks to try and come up with our first debut album. So you guys can just keep posted on our social media for updates regarding that,” Angelo teases.
As the members venture further toward maturity, their music is only bound to keep evolving. Only one thing’s for sure at this point. There is a big storm coming, named Lola Amour. And it’s in a category of its own.
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