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Zack Tabudlo

Josh Mercado

<div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754524057407image0 (13).jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-dragging" style="width:633px"/></div><div><br/></div><p>Zack Tabudlo has quickly risen to superstardom in the music industry, thanks to mega hits such as “Habang Buhay&quot; (187 million streams), &quot;Give Me Your Forever&quot; (239 million streams), and &quot;Binibini&quot; (216 million streams), which was named Spotify&#x27;s most streamed song of 2021.</p><p>His popularity did not end there; he proceeded to earn millions of streams from 2022 to 2023 with &quot;Asan Ka Na Ba&quot; (89 million streams), &quot;Gusto&quot; (179 million streams), and &quot;Pano&quot; (320 million streams), which was the most listened-to song in 2022.</p><p>Given these accomplishments in such a short period of time, and while the spotlight can be blinding for stars like himself, Tabudlo insists that he has not changed since being famous.</p><p>“I’m still the same kid po,” he told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>He went on to say that the only changes he&#x27;s had since becoming popular were his lifestyle and physical appearance. “I don&#x27;t think it changed naman po a lot. Medyo tumanda lang, tumangkad lang, nagka-muscle lang, pero ganoon pa rin naman.”</p><p>Being more self-aware now as a public figure, he added, “In my case, I know I did some changes po when it comes to how I lived my life. So, for example po, before kasi I was outgoing. When I was young, I was a bit outgoing. I would always hang out with people. Parang nung nagkaroon po ng time — na sunud-sunod ‘yung songs na a lot of people know — medyo kinontrol ko rin po ‘yung sarili ko when it comes to going out in a way na I wanted to enjoy my peace lang din, and a lot of people might misunderstand it as ‘suplado’ at ‘hindi nakikipag-hang out with other people.’</p><p>Choosing a “peaceful life” and ignoring noise, he continued, “But I feel like it&#x27;s a very personal choice where I would rather choose just my normal life and peaceful life na hindi too outgoing. I do go out naman, pero it really depends din po who I&#x27;m going out with. So if you&#x27;re family to me and if you&#x27;re really close to my heart, then I would hang out.”</p><p>The young hitmaker then highlighted that having a famous life is &quot;fulfilling&quot; not because of being worshipped as a celebrity, but because of the songs that are applauded.</p><p>“I think the main change lang po talaga was the photos lang minsan. Kunwari, kakain kami sa resto, may mga makakakilala, may magpapa-picture. But other than that po, parang wala naman. It&#x27;s more of like people just really recognize the songs lang. And it&#x27;s a very fulfilling thing also,” he shared with ABS-CBN News.</p><p>“I think it&#x27;s more than 10 years now, before the hit songs came in. Parang, it&#x27;s really nice rin po [to be] recognized [for] the hard work that I&#x27;ve done,” he added. </p><div><br/></div><div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1754524092729image1 (9).jpeg" style="width:633px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>‘Naguguluhan’ </strong></div><p>Meanwhile, Tabudlo, who also hinted at an upcoming show for his devoted fans, recently released his latest single, &quot;Naguguluhan,&quot; which is on its way to becoming a success, via Republic Records Philippines, a division of UMG Philippines.</p><p>&quot;Naguguluhan,&quot; according to the record-breaking artist, is a summary of a lot of just &quot;unrequited love&quot; and a song honoring his Filipino sound after signing with an American label.</p><p>“It kind of like sums up lahat ng emotions. It’s also perfect at the time right now where I&#x27;m kind of like messing around with different sounds po kasi. So it&#x27;s like, the sound of this song sounds a bit familiar with my current listeners. Pero at the same time, it&#x27;s different. So, nandoon po siya. Nandoon ‘yung bigat. Kaya mas napi-feel niyo rin ‘yung words. It&#x27;s because of the music production I did also,” he said.</p><p>He added, “A song to also go back to my roots, which is the Filipino audience. It&#x27;s always going to be there. I kind of need to go back to my Filipino audience but at the same time, kind of balance po ‘yung new sound direction na ginagawa namin for myself. So, in terms of music production, it&#x27;s very different, like I said, but it&#x27;s very familiar din po with a lot of people.“</p><div><strong>Formula </strong></div><p>When asked if there is a formula for producing hit songs, Tabudlo told ABS-CBN News: “The real formula of writing a song — but I don&#x27;t think it&#x27;s a formula — it’s how you know how to adapt to people. You know how to adapt to listeners. I think that&#x27;s the real deal when it comes to writing hit songs.”</p><p>Highlighting the significance of “authenticity” in music, he continued, “But that&#x27;s the thing also. Writing hit songs is not just like, ‘Okay, people listen to this, so I&#x27;ll write this song and then it&#x27;ll become a hit.’ It doesn&#x27;t work that way. It&#x27;s authenticity. What I learned for all over the years of making music, a lot of people know if you&#x27;re faking it or you&#x27;re not. So if you&#x27;re making real music and you&#x27;re being authentic to yourself and your music — that&#x27;s when people are actually investing in the product that you&#x27;re doing.“</p><p>The first Filipino artist to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify concluded that “being a musician isn’t always about the hit songs.”</p><p>“When you make songs, people are going to find [them] talaga if [they’re] good. It&#x27;s not about writing a hit song. It&#x27;s more of like putting out songs that you really believe in and you really love. If you&#x27;re a real musician, you make the songs because you love making music, and then you&#x27;re happy because you&#x27;ve released them. Music is music, so if you&#x27;re an artist, just enjoy making music,” he ended.</p><p>&quot;Naguguluhan&quot; is now available on Spotify and other digital music platforms, with a music video available on Zack Tabudlo&#x27;s YouTube channel.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/74GDGcviuQY?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V3WKJcwWmu4?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YvsUC0KWfLI?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wWJ66v1viC0?autoplay=1&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>With billions of streams and record-breaking hits like “Pano” and “Give Me Your Forever,” Zack Tabudlo remains grounded. Now signed under an American label, he honors his Filipino sound in his latest emotional anthem, “Naguguluhan.” 💔🇵🇭</p>

With billions of streams and record-breaking hits like “Pano” and “Give Me Your Forever,” Zack Tabudlo remains grounded. Now signed under an American label, he honors his Filipino sound in his latest emotional anthem, “Naguguluhan.” 💔🇵🇭

Zack Tabudlo says fame hasn’t changed him: ‘I’m still the same kid’

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Zack Tabudlo says fame hasn’t changed him: ‘I’m still the same kid’

Josh Mercado

Published Aug 07, 2025 11:58 AM PHT

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