TikTok star Mona Gonzales recently released her debut single, "Always Remember," on Sony Music Entertainment. The young singer is a talent of ShowBT Philippines, which also handles top P-pop group SB19.
"Always Remember" — an upbeat track that combines elements of K-pop and J-pop — is "a reminder to keep going when we feel down," Gonzales said at the media launch.
Gonzales has a flair for covering Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Kazakh, Portuguese, and Arabic tunes on TikTok. She admitted to watching to a lot of anime and listening to Japanese pop: It started noon pa, mga 'Slum Dunk'… Naging hobby ko ang panggagaya sa kanila…"
But it was her cover of Dominican Republic rap star El Alfa's "Suave" which gained her worldwide attention. Her video of the track, which drew a stupendous 267.3 million views, is the sixth most liked video on the platform — where the Filipino artist has 17 million followers.
Gonzales won Livestreamer of the Year at the TikTok Awards Philippines last August.
"Always Remember," which uses minimal instruments, was produced by Oh Won Lee, an industry veteran identified with K-Pop acts Stay Kids, SHINee's Taemin, and Wanna One.
"Pinoy pop doesn't really have a specific style and sound… I want to add a new flavor (to it) … We will prove that P-pop can expand," Gonzales said in a statement released at the media meet.
Recording bilingual songs is also in her plans.
A surprise at the media launch of "Always Remember" was the unannounced arrival of Gonzales' parents, who came all the way from Mindanao.
Teary-eyed, Gonzales said they are her inspiration — and that she wants to succeed so she can help give them a better life.
"Always Remember" is available on digital music platforms.
