MANILA — With thousands to even millions of views on social media platform TikTok, content creator Vongivson Samonte from South Cotabato, also known online as "Vonny", has mastered the art of making people laugh—one pair of lyric mashup and dance move at a time.

Watch on TikTok

Known for his witty humor and creatively unexpected twists, Vonny has gained significant attention on social media for his popular TikTok series, where he humorously reimagines song covers by blending unexpected melodies and lyrics to random OPM and international songs.

More recently, he has taken the platform by storm with dance routines that comically mismatch upbeat moves with emotional songs—a playful contrast that has resonated with millions of viewers.

For instance, one of his videos dancing to OPM singer Earl Agustin's "Tibok" gained almost 3 million views, while his mashup of Luther Vandross’ “Dance with my Father” and Billie Eilish’ “Birds of a Feather” got 8.7 million views, as of writing.

Watch on TikTok

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Vonny shared that he had always wanted to become a content creator but only started his journey in June 2024.

Kursong content creation inaalok ng TESDA

“[Ang] ginagawa ko, nagbabasa ako ng comments. And then, pag may lyrics na pumapasok sa utak ko, bini-video ko siya agad at ipino-post. Kapag ‘ito, pwedeng i-connect sa another song, oh pwede ito. Random ito, pwede ito’. And then go na, record, and then post na agad,” said Vonny.

However, the 22-year-old admitted that he did not expect his videos to gather attention on the platform.

“Noong umpisa, na-shock talaga ako kasi usually ang mga views ko is 200, 300 gano'n. And then nung naka-reach na ng 1,000, nagulat ako. Noong nag-100,000 na, and then unti-unti na siyang nag-million [views]… na-shock talaga ako kasi sabi ko, ‘pwede pala ‘to?’ Na-amaze ako kasi… ‘yun nga, the power of social media. Pwede [pala] talagang mag-reach ng maraming tao ‘yung videos mo as long as napapasaya mo talaga sila," he explained.

COMEDY CENTERING ON RELAPSE

One of the witty gimmicks that put Vonny in the online spotlight is his latest dance-pun series “Relapse ka lang, dancer ako”, where he exaggerates his moves and pairs these witty dance steps with ballads and breakup anthems Gen Zs usually call "relapse" songs. The result? A hilarious combination that has quickly gone viral on TikTok.

So imagine trying to emotionally immerse yourself in an emotion-heavy song only to stumble upon someone on your For You Page dancing to these songs with lively, upbeat moves—a complete turnaround of emotions.

“Hindi [kasi] sila sumasayaw sa mga sad songs na positive ang dance. Usually, puro mga positive songs na and mga pop songs, or mga upbeat na mga songs ang sinasayaw sa TikTok, and then sobrang hirap na ng mga dance. Kaya naisipan kong mag-create ng mga videos na hindi pa nagagawa ng iba.”

According to Vonny, the choreography incorporated to the songs come from random steps that he thinks of out of the blue.

“As a feeling dancer, gusto ko namang mag-explore [ng] another, ano naman… talents. Sa dancing ko, may background akong konti pero ‘yung mga songs na pinipili ko,’yung pang-relapse na talaga, and then yung sinasayaw ko yung parang pang-energetic-energetic, ganyan. Para meron kang something to offer on the table na different compared sa other content creators,” said Vonny.

But what the content creator is definitely prepared for is his playlist—a personal collection of songs he usually listens to that he now uses as a reference for his videos. Vonny, who also is an avid fan of Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI, admitted that the singer’s heartbreak anthems inspired his series.

NIKI serenades Filipino fans and takes them ‘around the world’ in sold-out ‘Buzz’ concert in Manila

“Pang-relapse kasi, eh,” Vonny quipped. “Kaya [naisip ko], try ko naman na gawin itong comedy, para iba siya sa usual,” he added.

But Vonny’s comedic twist on heartbreak songs did not just capture the humor of Filipino viewers.

Because of many’s familiarity with NIKI’s songs, the content creator’s videos also recently gained traction from Indonesian viewers online, with numerous Indonesian TikTok users requesting their own song and dance combinations in the comments section.

“So last week lang ‘yun, nag-boom ‘yung TikTok ko, ‘yung NIKI—Backburner. Nag-boom siya sa Indonesia and then hindi ko siya in-expect kasi noong una, dalawa tatlo lang ‘yung hindi ko maintindihan na comment, and then [biglang] nag-thousand na ‘yung comments na hindi ko naiintindihan.”

According to Vonny, he could not help but be surprised upon seeing the influx of comments from Indonesian viewers. As such, the content creator had to sometimes rely on using a translator to understand their requests.

“Kaya ayun, sa mga requests nila, pinagbibigyan ko. Minsan kasi ‘yung iba, hindi ko kasi maintindihan. Pero okay naman sila. It's good kasi ‘yun nga, na-achieve ko na ‘yung another goal ko which is to expand,” Vonny shared.

While most viewers appreciate Vonny’s content, he acknowledged that not all reactions have been positive. Despite this, he shared that he had mentally prepared himself for criticisms and explained that he instead prefers focusing on being positive and enjoying doing the thing he is most passionate about—giving entertainment.

“Wala lang, I just do me. And then pag may nababasa akong mga ganito, mga hurtful comments, syempre I reply in a positive way kasi hindi ko gusto mag-spread ng hate sa account ko,” Vonny explained.

With his growing presence online, Vonny continues to embrace his newfound platform to showcase his wits, humor, and creativity.

And may it be from his home province South Cotabato, to Indonesia, or beyond, one thing is for sure, the content creator said he aspires to remain dedicated to spreading joy to people one lyric mashup and dance move at a time.

“Kapag may gusto ka talaga, you should do it. Kasi [maraming] alam nila kung paano gawin, pero hindi nila ginagawa. Kaya sa mga aspiring or gusto mag-create ng contents, just do you and don't let other people stop you from doing what you love," he said.