EXCLUSIVE: One Music PH Asks: JAY R and LIL EDDIE
When you give a listen to the new “Bakit Pa Ba? (Empty)”, a Taglish retelling of the Pinoy R&B touchstone classic by Jay R aided by Fil-Am singer-songwriter producer Lil’ Eddie, one gets the same story, butwith a globval feel that tranasceneds language barriers more, with a fiery electric guitar interlude.
The Filipino R&B king reenvisions his most legendary classic hit song with multi-awarded Filipino-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter and producer Lil’ Eddie, whose impressive resume includes Kylie Minogue, Usher, and Jennifer Lopez, among many other international artists. The reconcocted slowie partners traditional Filipino R&B kundiman with global songwriting and production savvy.
The new version recalls the emotional, polished atmosphere that made “Bakit Pa Ba” the most essential entry in Jay R’s discography while inserting new English lyrics that accompany its Tagalog lines. Instead of relying too heavily on convoluted production, the song remains cozy, intimate and less verbose, allowing the vulnerability and refined delivery to be front and center.
For Lil’ Eddie, the song is so beautiful whatever language it is because it’s Jay-R’s voice and the emotional, relatable story that carry the song.
Jay R adds, “We actually tried out three different producers before hitting the sound we loved,” Jay R adds. “We aimed for the production to be straightforward, intimate, and enduring. Rather than overproducing the track, we kept the background vocal arrangements minimal and let our organic voices, feelings, and trademark vocal runs do the heavy lifting. Lil Eddie also suggested keeping the initial parts acoustic and drum-less to maintain the soul of the original. Sometimes, less really is more.”
The collab was borne out of the two artists touring the Philippines in promotion of their duet “Statue (Taglish Version),” which has almost 2.8 million streams on Spotify.
“I’ve been meaning to come up with a Taglish version of ‘Bakit Pa Ba’ for years, and fans have been clamoring for it too,” Jay R shares. “Lil’ Eddie’s talent and musicality made him the right dude to work with to make this vision a reality.”
The two used almost seven hours writing and recording the track. They labored on the finer intricacies of the English lyrics until each verse came off naturally honest, safeguarding the new version stayed true to the original version’s thematic tone.
“We wanted to create something fresh that the younger generation could connect with while preserving the nostalgia and soul of the original,” Jay R says. “I translated the Tagalog lyrics for him, and we went back and forth refining the English lyrics until every word felt genuine and heartfelt.”
“’Bakit Pa Ba’ is one of my biggest hits. I perform it at every concert around the world, and no fail the audience sings along word for word, each and every single time,” Jay R beamingly shares. “But I wanted to give listeners something new to experience, especially those who’ve seen me perform a number of times already. This version brings new life into a classic while keeping the emotion that made people fall in love with it.
Lil’ Eddie brings extensive international songwriting experience to the project, with credits that include work with relevant recording artists such as Robbie Williams, Paula Abdul, Jessie J, JoJo, and Fifth Harmony. His vocal flexibility and collaborative impluses complement Jay R’s well-known R&B aesthetic, ending up with a performance molded by mutual artistic resepect.
“Lil Eddie and I have astounding creative chemistry that’s off the charts, so collaborating felt effortless,” Jay R testifies. But the real magic happened when we started recording. Hearing his smooth voice motivated me to step up my own game. He’s an incredible singer, and we kept challenging each other, trading powerful vocal runs tit for that and trying out different takes. Then something exceptional happened. A few girls in the studio started crying because they were so moved by our performance. That’s when we knew we got it right.”