How Janine Berdin learned to trust in her own artistry

• Janine Berdin, a Cebuana singer-songwriter, gained recognition for her powerful voice and unique sound, particularly with her debut album 'LAB SONGS NG MGA TANGA' and the viral hit 'What if I miss you for the rest of my life?'.
• Her songwriting is characterized by vulnerability and relatability, drawing from personal experiences to create emotionally resonant music that connects with listeners.
• Despite facing challenges and doubts, Janine remains committed to her artistic vision, believing in the power of her music and the importance of authenticity, as demonstrated by her recent success and upcoming concert.

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Cebuana singer-songwriter Janine Berdin has always been known for her iconic voice. From being the champion of Tawag ng Tanghalan in 2017 and a regular on ASAP Natin ‘To, her distinctive tone and vocal power has made her one of the most unique singers in OPM right now. 

But with her first self-written album, LAB SONGS NG MGA TANGA, and her viral worldwide hit, “What if I miss you for the rest of my life?” she is growing into an artist with a masterful command of not only her vocals, but also her own sound and lyricism. 

Her debut album is a sleeper hit full of grunge, pop punk, emo, and shoegaze influences, with the grit and intensity of the instrumentals perfectly matching Janine’s iconic vocals. However, it is the narratives contained in her album that make her an artist worth watching. 

Vulnerable, relatable, raw, witty, and weirdly specific, Janine’s biggest strength as a songwriter is her generosity and ability to share her rich inner world with her audience. 

Turning heartache into material 

“I think everything we experience is the same with other people, just dressed differently or in a different font,” she said. “I just like to write about the stuff that I don’t hear being talked about yet. I needed something that could relate to my feelings. So I make it my responsibility to write a song that makes me feel like this.”

This is how she described the writing process for fan-favorite track “Friendship Over” on her deluxe album, MORE LAB SONGS NG MGA TANGA. It’s a riff-heavy pop confessional that captures so specifically the universal pain of growing apart and mourning a lost connection. 

Janine’s songwriting is sincere and honest, as she usually gets material from her own personal experiences. But even if her lyrics come from very specific parts of her life (the line, “Di ka man lang nag-hi sa akin” was a real experience she had with an ex), her listeners can still deeply relate and connect with her songs. 

When asked, though, if she finds it difficult or embarrassing to go back to her painful experiences to make art, she readily answered that she doesn’t. 

“It’s okay, I got through it, that’s why I get to talk about it, and it might help someone out there who is going through the same things,” she said. “I am really okay with tapping into stuff I have moved on from, I’ve grown from, and it’s good writing material.” 

One beautiful song of hers borne from a painful experience is “PROMISE..!!!” a track that has solidified itself in Janine’s discography as one of her most emotionally vulnerable, fragile, and, in her own words, “pathetic.” It carries in both its lyrics and instrumentation the desperation and denial of trying to hold on to someone who no longer wants to stay. 

She shared that her painful past experiences have led her towards the life and identity she is grateful for today. “I learned how to respect myself. I love myself, I also met someone who takes good care of me. So thank you to the people who treated me like shit, I am now a grown woman.” 

Make what we like, everything else will follow 

This unapologetic sincerity and authenticity is what Janine and her team anchor themselves on as artists. 

“I wanted to be the number one fan of my own songs,” Janine shared. “When it came to making this record, me and my bandmates were like, we have to make this honest and make stuff we like and not think of anything else. If we like it, then someone else will have to like it as well.”

A track that encapsulates this attitude perfectly is “Mirisi,” a standout trilingual track with lyrics in English, Filipino, and Bisaya. The word mirisi is a Bisaya term that captures the expression, “serves you right.” 

“I built the song around the chorus, and for some reason I heard Bisaya in my head,” she said. 

Born and raised in Cebu, the word mirisi sparked Janine’s imagination, as she has never encountered a direct translation in any other language she speaks. “’Mirisi’ is something I’m super proud of. It’s the only track I have produced.” 

She shared that “Mirisi” is one of the songs that represents her growth as an artist who is now more confident in her choices, takes risks, and trusts her own vision. “I feel like I am most honest with my music, because I did grow up as a people pleaser.” 

From other people’s expectations to voices that planted doubts in her heart, Janine has had to overcome loneliness and uncertainty in order to commit to her vision and believe in her own art, especially when success felt slow or out of reach. 

“I was saying to people, ‘Okay lang naman talaga kung walang streams (it’s okay if there are no streams), cause what’s important is there are people who listen to me.’ But it came to a point where I thought, ‘What is my art for if no one else hears it?’ So I became very lonely for a time.” 

There is no song that represents this triumph better than her breakout hit, “What if I miss you for the rest of my life?” Many people’s first encounter with this song was by stumbling upon it on social media, when Janine posted a performance snippet with the simple caption, “I wrote this song while shitting on the toilet.”

No one could scroll away, however, when they were attacked by Janine’s powerful vocals, her band going all out on the instrumentals, and, most of all, the heartwrenching lyrics of someone refusing to move on from a past relationship. 

The song went viral all over the country and beyond, with international superstars like Demi Lovato, Lauren Jauregui, Doechii, and SZA praising Janine’s work. 

As the song that pushed her voice further than it has gone before, Janine has always had faith in this track. “I really worked hard for this song and when no one believed in it, I believed in it the most, so I am grateful that it got to where it is now.”  

All worth the wait 

From shooting her own videos to promote the song with her friends and bandmates, Janine always knew this song was special. Watching the flood of streams and reactions to her song in real time kept driving her to tears.

“When I saw the streams, when I saw real people making edits to the song, it was a super emotional experience. And I knew people would connect to this song! I never stopped believing in it.” 

Throughout the ups and downs of life, and the uncertainties that come with being a rising young artist in the Philippines, Janine’s greatest strength is her faith in her team and her vision. 

“I told my band all the time, ‘Someday, someone will get it.’ So again, I knew it was going to come, because I was a fan of my music. But when it came, I wasn’t prepared for how big it was going to get.” 

Her very first headline concert, “Concert ni Janine Berdin,” live at the New Frontier Theater on October 7, is a testament to just how much her music has finally reached the people who she knew would love it as much as she does. 

By being brave enough to be honest, strong enough to have faith in her artistry, and possessing the power of both her words and her voice, Janine Berdin is on her way to becoming one of OPM’s most exciting rising stars. The day she had been waiting for, the day that people would finally “get” her music, looks like it’s finally arrived. – Rappler.com

Elise Suarez is a Rappler intern from Puerto Princesa City and a Humanities student of the University of Asia & the Pacific.