In the emotional send-off to his breakthrough of a year, Zack Tabudlo enlists the help of Natalia Guerrero in this magical story of memory told in six acts.
In a world inundated with loose threads, hang-ups, and truncated attention spans, closure can be quite the novel, if not elusive concept. When things just come and go, often without the human decency of a conversation or at the very least, fair warning, letting go, especially for those consumed by romance, becomes a privilege in the process. So, often, we find ourselves exasperating, how do you close a chapter and move on from something that meant the world to you? Well, Zack Tabudlo has ideas.
The answer, unfortunately, is not as clear-cut, as it has and will continue to riddle relationships for generations to come. While others would wallow in the moment, drawing it out until it no longer feels like much, Zack Tabudlo chose to encapsulate his breakthrough of a year with the era-defining release of Give Me Your Forever. Oh, and he punctuated it with a drastic change in hairstyle, too.
“Here we are. the end of Episode,” wrote Zack Tabudlo on Instagram detailing the retrospective of Give Me Your Forever, the final single for the compelling and charming album. “I remember writing this song a few years ago when iI saw an old couple. the old woman was pushing the old man’s wheel chair while he had an IV inserted on the back of his hand. They both had smiles and gave each other kisses. The moment I got home, I had this vision and idea to write a song based on their love story. Seeing them at a young age made me realize that true love does exist.”
Introducing: Natalia Guerrero
“People around me don’t believe that there is forever in love. but I do believe in it, and I do believe that forever lies on the person you would give it to. To wrap it all up, these music videos from the very first episode up until the last were very well thought of and have connections with each one of them,” Zack Tabudlo continued, before finally introducing the music video for Give Me Your Forever.
In the tender and touching tale of love, which eventually reveals a subtle complication of memory and an allusion to loss, we are treated to a story that honors time in its most essential. Essayed in an adorable exposition of six theatrical acts, as manifested in a pure and precious child’s play, the journey is resonant as it cuts through years. At the center of this simple yet stirring sepia-toned narrative of Zack Tabudlo is Natalia Guerrero, who stars in her first solo outing. Here, she doesn’t only steal the scene, but of hearts as well, as she effortlessly fills the screen with her warmth and surprisingly graceful vulnerability.
Together with Zack Tabudlo, Eugene Fabregas, and Hedy Acayan, Natalia Guerrero sits us down through the milestones of How We Met, The First Date, The Prom, Time Apart, The First Dance, and The Start Of Forever. Passionate and painful, these fragments are quite the journey, which is a captivating contrast to the overarching simplicity of playtime. Here, we become voyeurs in an intimate reminiscing that is reveals to be a celebration of memory in the captivating big picture. Of course, the endearing words are not lost in the haze of the moment, as it certainly cuts through in cathartic progressions from beginning to end, what with Zack Tabudlo’s vocal clarity and confidence as well.
For Forever
“This means the world to me,” says Enzo Valdez, the visionary behind Give Me Your Forever starring Zack Tabudlo and Natalia Guerrero. In his long-awaited comeback to fine form as a director, the Managing Director of Universal Music Philippines, he revealed how this was deeply personal, recalling his own inspiration behind the music video. “Our time is fleeting and we’re only looking for someone to love,” he continued, which moved people to tears even more than Give Me Your Forever already did.
“Kuya we did it,” continued Zack Tabudlo in his chapter send-off to the emotional trip that was Episode. “14 music videos and ending it with your amazing vision. Thank you for being one of the few people who believed in me from the very start. [You] gave me so much love, support, and everything I needed to pursue a passion I never thought I’d succeed in. Thank you for being my kuya and for being my family. Ilysm. [You] know the rest.”
From his own in the beginning to the eventual the end, at least for this passion project, Give Me Your Forever couldn’t have been any more perfect than it is. Raw and real as it expands musically, lyrically, and even visually, this aching appreciation is an honest to goodness love letter to whatever connection one appropriates to, as soundtracks are well intended to function.
Now, that is how you honor a memory, forever.
CONTINUE READING: ALL THE TIMES NATALIA GUERRERO STOLE THE SPOTLIGHT FROM RANZ AND NIANA
