The Juans and Alamat’s collab single is more than a breakup anthem

The newly-dropped collab single of pop rock band The Juans and P-pop group Alamat is unlike their previous releases. Called Gupit, it goes beyond being a heartbreak song and it delves into “the complexities of moving on and the courage to overcome it.” Sound-wise, it is more upbeat, given that it’s infused with rap verses, as compared to The Juan’s hugot, pensive tunes.

The Juans consists of Carl Guevarra, Japs Mendoza, Chael Adriano and RJ Cruz while Alamat is composed of Taneo, Mo, Jao, Tomas, R-Ji, and Alas.

“This is different from other The Juans songs maybe because of the sound,” articulated Chael at a recent media event. “Because we try to turn a melancholic story into an upbeat song. So there’s contrast. Unlike The Juans’ typical hugot songs na maluluha ka na lang, this one, medyo may luha but (still) party-party (in terms of beat).”

“It’s also different because it talks about one characteristic somehow of the Filipino culture where after a heartbreak, we cut our hair and (others will think), ‘Maybe this person is going through something.’ It’s like we show it to other people that this is my new hair, this (is) the new me,” he added.

The rock band and the P-pop group share the stage during the launch of their new song.

Japs echoed Chael, pointing out that the track is outside of their comfort zone. “There’s a touch of hip-hop. We thought of trying to merge the band’s sound and hip-hop. So for me, it’s a bit experimental. We thought that Alamat is the perfect (collaborator) for this song. And we put out a good outcome.”

RJ further shared how one’s hair affects the confidence of a person. He is also thrilled for the fans to see the music video because it conveys the sentiment of the song as well as their brotherhood. “It also talks about moving forward like, ‘Will I do the haircut for myself or for the person who caused me pain?’”

Alamat rapper Alas, on the other hand, emphasized the song’s message about new beginnings. “We want to remind everyone that every end brings a new beginning, even though it can sometimes be hard to understand because you don’t know where to start. We want to hug our fans through this song, letting them know that they are not alone.”

Alamat leader Mo further expressed, “We’re so excited about this collaboration because it symbolizes brotherhood and shared experiences. With Gupit, we want to show the importance of having support to overcome difficult times, letting go, and finding strength within.”

Since they are under one management, Viva Records, and having witnessed how the Alamat has started out and progressed as a band, The Juans thought of the former as the best group to collaborate on with the ditty.

Carl revealed that they were “silently and secretly” involved in the audition process in forming Alamat.

He explained, “When Alamat was finally formed, I remember we had a Zoom call because it was pandemic (at that time). (We did) quick mentoring and quick encouragement. The people are unaware that we witnessed first hand the birth pains of Alamat and we became part of their beginnings in a way.”

“So when Chael wrote Gupit, I said Alamat is perfect for this,” continued Carl. “And because we are from one house, we are under Viva, we took this opportunity to ask them, parang nanliligaw, ‘Guys, do you want to collab with us because we have a song and we imagined that you guys will be performing with us?’”

Alamat gladly accepted the offer and the rest is history.

On how they felt about being tapped by The Juans for the song, Jao quipped, “Nanginig po (We felt nervous).”

For the P-pop group, collaborating with the rock band is part of their learning experiences.

R-Ji added, “For our part, (it’s) more on curiosity because we are (considered) young in the industry. So we seek to learn more and under Kuya Carl’s leadership, we were able to learn a lot of things not just about our craft but also like the interpersonal aspect of it and how we should navigate (things) in this industry. So we definitely learned a lot from them because they are so professional.”

“We have a solid bond. Grabe yung pag-welcome nila sa amin. They were very warm and you can really feel the brotherhood,” chimed in Mo.

The Juans are behind the tracks pwede ba kitang ligawan?, Napagod Na, Hindi Tayo Pwede and Dulo.

Alamat’s songs include Maharani, Dagundong, Day and Night, to name a few.