Filipino singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo gives a sneak peek of his upcoming third studio album, 3rd Time’s A Charm, with new track Victim, out now on all music streaming platforms.
In his new track, the critically acclaimed singer tackles a different perspective on love: one that is toxic, showing us that love is not always seen through rose-tinted glasses.
“Victim is about toxic love and is a heavier topic than what I usually create. With this era, the topics and themes I write about are more on the honest and vulnerable side, from different perspectives and situations of love,” shared Tabudlo.
Known for his tracks about the beauty of falling in love, such as Pano and Binibini, Tabudlo made a radical departure from this path as Victim reveals the singer’s more mature and honest take on love.
The song begins with the persona trying to set boundaries in a relationship, only to get himself lost again in toxic love at the end of the first verse.
When the second verse comes in, the persona finally realizes the bad impacts of toxic love, yet is unable to leave due to the love he feels.
As the chorus constantly repeats like a mantra, love dominates over logic in the persona, a testament that self-awareness is not enough to get out of a toxic relationship.
A new era for Zack
A radical departure from his romantic wordplay in many of his songs, Victim shows Tabudlo ushering in a new era—one that does not hesitate to show the vulnerabilities and pain of a heartbreak.
“Heartbreak is a very heavy feeling that you always think about. When you’re inspired to write a song about heartbreak, the pain just comes out naturally from you since being sad feels really heavy,” he said.
“So, in terms of writing lyrics, it gives you more inspiration to open different topics about that heartbreak. With falling in love, you’re happy, and being at the peak of happiness, there is a bit of inspiration but it’s different and lighter than going through heartbreak,” he added.
The intentional use of more mature language in his new track might shock many fans. However, this move only shows Tabudlo’s excellent songwriting skills as he tries to embody frustration and hopelessness in the lyrics.
Taking his cue from his inspirations, Tabudlo is using Victim to claim and create the sound he has always wanted to make.
“Victim is a new era in terms of a genuine sound that I have always wanted to release ever since I started making music. This is pop and R&B, and I’ve always wanted to release an English track in these genres,” he shared.
His most personal album yet
In a statement he made on Instagram, Tabudlo shared that his upcoming album, 3rd Time’s A Charm, is so far the ‘most personal, honest, and vulnerable’ among his works.
“My upcoming album is my honest era and what I really want to do in terms of music style,” he said.
Consisting of 17 songs, each track in the album tells a story that made the singer the person that he is today.
For Tabudlo, he considered it as his magnum opus yet that tackles every aspect of himself in a bold, honest, vulnerable way.
3rd Time’s A Charm comes out on all music streaming platforms on November 17.
