Kai Del Rio (formerly known as Kai Honasan) has finally dropped her new single “Ang Nag-iisa” via Underdog Music.
Photo by Dee Cruz
The bluesy pop-rock anthem serves as the Filipino singer-songwriter’s comeback single, smashing her way out of her confines with unapologetic rage and grit.
A proof of Kai’s versatility as a solo star with so much potential, “Ang Nag-iisa” is a brash, sobering look at a woman coming to terms with her own pain and disappointments in life, carefully put together for the world to deservedly hear.
“Ang Nag-iisa was written from a need to find a place to put down my anger, shares Del Rio. “The past few years as a songwriter, I’ve had massive writer’s block and didn’t know who I was as a singer anymore. One day, I just asked myself, ‘What is the biggest emotion I am feeling right now,’ and the answer was rage. It was pain. It was disappointment. It was sadness. Then just like that, the words flowed.”
Kai adds, “It took me a few weeks to finish, because I kept second guessing myself and thinking, “maybe this is too real?” But to be quite honest, what we need more of is raw emotion. That, I feel, creates the best art. Whether it’s pure, shameless joy or the isolation of heartbreak, what is real will always feel the most authentic.”
“Ang Nag-iisa” is written and performed by Kai Del Rio, and produced by veteran musician Karel Honasan. Kai and Karel also gathered an all-star band to fully execute the ideas behind the drawing board into reality, recruiting the likes of Ira Cruz on guitars, Nikko Rivera on keys, and Rickson Ruiz on drums. With the help of Tower of Doom sound engineer Macoy Manuel, they took the song and turned chaos into art.”
“I don’t know how many times I cried in that session, but I could not have imagined a more amazing group of musicians to take hold of this song, and I will be forever grateful,” says the Liwanag act.
Next week, Kai Del Rio will drop the piano ballad “Storm Like Me” as part of her non-consecutive “double single” release. The stripped-down track, a stark contrast to Ang Nag-iisa's ferocious energy, delves into Del Rio's confessional vulnerability, a skill that she has expertly covered in her previous releases.
The former The Voice of the Philippines season 2 semi-finalist reveals, “As a way to balance out the fire of Ang Nag-iisa, I wanted the other side, a calm energy. A classic ballad. But still the same heart. I gathered the same team again to do lay on the drama for this song and they effortlessly killed it. Once these two songs were done, Gabi Na Naman Productions and Underdog Music came into the picture, and took on the task of making sure these songs were properly unleashed into the world.”
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