Barbie Almalbis opens up on mental health

MANILA, Philippines — Barbie Almalbis continues to confront her inner struggles by releasing another song that openly addresses them in a musical way, following the release of her previous songs, Desperate Hours and Homeostasis.

In her new song, Happy Sad, she reflects on her own mental health and the stigma behind it, while helping her process her feelings through writing songs.

The alt-pop figure explains, “Sometimes, we have to let go of things, and there are just things beyond our control, and we just got to continue, walk in and through the ‘wilderness,’ but I’ve always found hope in God that even through the hard times, He is still doing something good.”

Nick Lazaro, who also assisted in arranging the instrumental parts, produced the emotionally vulnerable track. Eclectic Kiss artists such as Pikoy, Marika Laciste, Faye Yu, and Marj Rojas also contributed to the background vocals, adding subtle layers of intricacies to the mix.

“I recorded the acoustic guitar and vocal at home, and we did backing vocals with everyone in Nick’s studio,” says Barbie. “Nick also recorded the main instrumental track in his studio.”

Happy Sad will be part of her upcoming 2024 full-length album, which thematically brings her journey towards mental health, healing, and self-discovery into the conversation. She plans to release it sometime in November.

(Barbie’s Happy Sad is out now on all digital music platforms worldwide.)