‘homebdy’ hitmaker DEMI defends Mariah Deborah amid ‘baduy’ criticism

DEMI spoke about the issue during an interview for her new single “Sinasabi Ng Iba,” a song about standing by the person you love despite what others say about your relationship.

The controversy began after Kaydee Sunchild, an independent singer-songwriter, reportedly said online that she was happy for Mariah’s success but found “Na Para Bang” baduy. She also reportedly asked why bands like UDD, Tom’s Story and Urbandub were not getting the same attention. Several netizens criticized her remarks, saying they were unfair to Mariah and to the many listeners who enjoy the song.

For DEMI, every artist should understand that each one has their own story to tell.

“Para sa akin, parang bilang artist ka rin, dapat alam mo na may sarili-sarili kayong lane,” DEMI said.

She said anyone is free to have an opinion about another artist’s music. But using that opinion to pull a fellow artist down is a different matter, and so is calling their work “baduy.”

“Free ka to feel anything towards somebody else’s art. But for you to bring your kapwa artist down, hindi siya okay sa akin kasi, if anything, kayo at kayo pa rin naman ‘yung magtutulungan, alam mo ‘yun?” she said.

“And hindi okay sa akin na tawagin mong baduy ‘yung ibang artist kasi may sarili-sarili kayong lane,” she added.

DEMI admitted she has not yet heard Kaydee’s music. She said the two singers may simply be working in different styles.

“Hindi ko napakinggan ‘yung music nung nagsabi nun, eh. Pero feeling ko, magkaiba lang kasi sila ng ginagawa at ng direksyon,” she said.

It is a different story with Mariah. DEMI said she was already a listener before “Na Para Bang” took off, and called Mariah a creative songwriter.

“For me, kasi hindi ‘yun ‘yung first song na napakinggan ko kay Mariah. Very creative siya mag-isip,” she said.

DEMI said she understands how Mariah writes because she works the same way, especially when it comes to concepts and lyrics.

“Kasi may mga concept siya na napapa-wow, ‘yun pala ‘yun. So, normal lang para sa akin na iba’t iba ‘yung naiintindihan ng tao sa mga lyrics, or art in general,” she said.

She used her own hit “Pakundangan” with rapper Hev Abi as an example. DEMI said she did not explain what the song meant when she first sent it to him.

“Kasi ‘yun din ‘yung ginagawa ko, eh. For example, ‘yung song ko na ‘Pakundangan.’ At the time na pinasa ko siya kay Hev, wala akong maipaliwanag na meaning ng song na, ‘O Hev, ganito ‘yung meaning ng kanta,’” she said.

“Kasi para sa akin, kung anong maintindihan mo, ‘yun na ‘yung maintindihan mo. Nung binalik na ni Hev sa akin ‘yung demo, sabi niya, ‘Demi, okay ba itong verse na nilagay ko?’ Kung titignan mo, hindi kami parehas ng pinaparating. Pero parehas siya ng feelings na nailabas,” she added.

For DEMI, that is what makes art what it is: each listener takes something different from it.

“So, for me, ang sabi ko, kung ‘yan ‘yung naiintindihan mo, sa kanya na ‘yun. Iba-iba naman tayo ng pagkakaintindi sa art ng ibang artist. So, open for interpretation,” she said.

She added that the many ways people have understood “Na Para Bang” only prove how talented Mariah is.

“Normal na sa akin na may iba’t ibang naiintindihan ‘yung mga tao sa kanta ni Mariah. Para sa akin, ‘yun na ‘yun, kasi sa sobrang creative niya, ang daming na-interpret ng tao doon sa kanta niya,” she said.

Mariah Deborah is not a stage name. The 24-year-old singer-songwriter, whose full name is Mariah Deborah Cabatbat, grew up in Calasiao, Pangasinan, and studied communication at UP Baguio. She has been releasing music on her own since 2020, starting with the single “Dangerous Dance.” “Na Para Bang,” which she released in February, tells the story of someone who starts to fall for a friend. The song climbed to the top of local charts in recent weeks. As of mid-October, chart tracker AllChartsPH listed Mariah as the top OPM female artist on Spotify Philippines.

DEMI broke through in 2023 with “homebdy,” a song she made with Madman Stan of Oside Mafia that started out on SoundCloud. She followed it with “Pakundangan,” her team-up with Hev Abi. As of writing, “homebdy” has over 220 million streams on Spotify, while “Pakundangan” has over 137 million.