This shy lad from Davao finds his shine
Kyle Raphael has always seen himself as an “outcast.” Naturally shy and introverted, he kept to himself at school—let alone shared his music. That may be a problem, he thought, should he finally decide to pursue his dreams of becoming a famous recording artist. Because that would mean leaving his hometown, Davao City, trying his luck in Manila, and potentially amplifying that nagging feeling of not belonging.
“I used to believe that it would be difficult to make a name if you live far away from the capital. Dapat andito ako para sumikat. Andito ang mga stars, ang mga opportunities,” Raphael says. “Ang hirap kasi shy ako and I felt like hindi ako bagay sa field na ‘to.”
A funny twist of fate
But then he realized there was a compromise. If he wasn’t confident enough yet to put his face in his songs, he could perhaps make it in the industry by writing songs for other people. And the idea wasn’t half bad at all.
In 2018, he joined the Himig Handog songwriting competition, where his entry, “Sa Mga Bituin na Lang Ibubulong”—interpreted by JM de Guzman—won the grand prize.
His talent eventually caught the attention of Viva Records, which signed him the following year to write songs for their stable of artists, including Ashley Diaz and Atasha Muhlach. He was still new to the industry, trying to figure out how things worked. But in a funny twist of fate, it was his naivete that unwittingly brought him closer to his dreams.
“I was asked to write songs, and I didn’t know that you had to create demos of them. On the day I had to present them, I was asked where they were. I hadn’t brought any, so I just asked if I could sing them. And then they were like, ‘Puwede ka pala kumanta,’” he says.
Needless to say, some of his friends and former classmates couldn’t believe it. And frankly, neither could he. “They didn’t expect me to be here since I rarely sang at school. My only performing experience was with a choir, and mostly I just made music at home and posted it on Facebook and YouTube,” he says.
Airy and melancholic
Raphael has been releasing his own songs since 2019, and several of them—including “Paraluman,” “Byahe (Hunyo),” and “Hanggang Tingin”—performed remarkably well. He started out doing ballads and dabbled in jazz, but it was the simplicity and earnestness of acoustic music that truly resonated with listeners.
By the time he released “Libu-Libong Buwan (Uuwian)” last year—a moving ballad inspired by his great-grandparents’ “everlasting love”—he had more or less fine-tuned his mellow, modern harana sound. Little did he know, he was holding a smash hit in his hands.
Last January, the song peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Philippines Top Philippine Songs and currently has more than 45 million streams on Spotify. With the song also chosen as the theme for Anne Curtis and Jericho Rosales’ new movie, “The Loved One,” it’s safe to say that it will only grow more popular.
“I’m so grateful and proud of my journey. I have been dreaming of having a hit since 2019. To think, this song wasn’t even meant to be a single,” says Raphael, who grew up listening to Paul Anka, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley, before getting into the pop rock resurgence of the mid-2000s, led by bands like Hale and Orange and Lemons.
His latest single, “Kung Para Sa ‘Yo,” builds on the acoustic foundation of “Libu-Libong Buwan,” but is markedly distinct in personality. While the previous release felt like a warm embrace, the new one is airy and melancholic. If the earlier song was about enduring love, this one was inspired by waking up the day after a breakup and realizing you can no longer greet them “good morning.”
Dealing with pressure
Whether the song ends up being just as successful, only time will tell. And while the pressure of sustaining his success is starting to get to him, the fulfillment of being able to sing his own songs far outweighs it. “Since I personally went through what I wrote about, each performance allows me to bring myself back in time. I guess that makes the listeners feel the pain more,” he points out.
Gigs have started to line up for him, and the more he performs, the more comfortable he becomes. But still, Raphael knows that he will never be as comfortable as his shyness allows. This is something he has learned not just to live with, but to turn into a strength.
“I’m no longer ashamed to be shy. People have always known that I’m shy, so I just owned it. Now, people actually find it endearing that I don’t have to force myself to be loud to stand out,” he says.
After all, his music already does that for him. “I had this chip on my shoulder—I needed to prove that I could write great songs and be an inspiration to my fellow Davaoeño artists,” he says. “I was just a hopeful from Davao, and now people want me to sing at schools, at events, or wherever. All of this is so humbling.”
