In the midst of a local congested highway, Ruel sings his heart out to a heartbreaking ballad.
Considered to be one of the worst in the world, the Manila traffic is a hellish place you can be stuck in for hours. But it’s a different story for Australian pop star Ruel, who saw something about the Philippine thoroughfares that inspired him to use it as the backdrop for one of his latest music visualizers.
Related: Australian Pop Star Ruel Makes His Comeback To Manila—And It’s More Special Than Ever
SITTING IN TRAFFIC MANILA VERSION
Back in February, Ruel revealed in an exclusive interview with NYLON Manila that he had shot a visualizer for one of his new songs. At that time, he was preparing for a special and free show at the Venice Grand Canal Mall in Taguig City, where the Painkiller hitmaker was warmly welcomed by his passionate supporters.
Shortly before his return to Manila, Ruel posted the visualizer, which turned out to be for his romantic pop ballad Sitting in Traffic from his debut album, 4th Wall. It was fitting for Ruel to film the video amidst the notorious Manila traffic, although he wasn’t just sitting; he was lying on a pickup truck, gazing up at the sunlit sky, and pouring his heart into the heartbreaking piece. As the drone camera zoomed out, it revealed the “depressing” situation he was in.
sitting in traffic visualizer out now on yt!! somehow stopped traffic in manila to record this… u know what happened next. coming back to the phillipines next week & im very excited to see u all ❤️https://t.co/QXF2bwUI73
— RUEL (@oneruel) May 20, 2023
A congested Philippine highway is not the most ideal location for Ruel’s romantic song. But if you think about it, the feelings of rejection and loneliness in Sitting in Traffic just parallel the same painful feelings a local commuter suffers when stuck in traffic. It’s the perfect Ruel music to get sentimental to, so to say. In a way, it’s the perfect Ruel song for Filipinos to get in their feels while looking at the stillness that surrounds them.
And not only do the visuals of Ruel’s newest video drop resonate with a lot of his Filipino fans (a UV Express in an international music visualizer is noteworthy), the video also has a Tagalog translation of the song’s lyrics that adds another emotional layer to this entire Ruel creation. “The Tagalog lyrics are hitting different,” one Pinoy Ruel stan comments while mentioning the translated chorus that goes like: “Pakiusap lang, ‘wag mo kong sisihin kung ‘di mo naman ako mahal.” Other fans consider shooting in the midst of Manila traffic “peak comedy” and praised Ruel’s creative team for this “cinematic piece.”
As part of his 4th Wall World Tour, Ruel will return to the country this weekend to perform a series of shows. On Friday, May 26, Ruel will be at the Samsung Hall in SM Aura Premier, Taguig City. Following that, he will serenade his fans in Cebu and Davao on May 27 and May 28, respectively, and the best part is these shows are free. Considering Ruel’s knack for surprising his Filipino fans, just like with his recent visualizer, it is expected that his shows will be packed with excitement.
If you’re interested in attending Ruel’s Manila concert, you can still purchase tickets through this link and for more information about Ruel’s future events, you can visit his website.
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