Dom Guyot has never been one to follow the rules.
Whether in songwriting or in his well-renowned live performance prowess, the Cebuano singer-songwriter delivers above and beyond. Breaking into the pop/R&B scene with a vengeance, the artist continues to empower fellow queer artists in the Original Pinoy Music (OPM) soundscape by creating safe spaces within his sound.
With his downbeat and comforting R&B tracks, Guyot has been marked as one of the trailblazers of queer representation in the Filipino music scene. In his debut album, Unbeloved, he challenges typical love songwriting as he unravels the inner turmoil of falling for someone who doesn’t reciprocate the same feelings. On the other hand, his recent collaboration with Adie, “balik,” trails back to the loss of a significant someone, and yearns for them to return to one’s side.
On that note, Billboard Philippines caught up with Dom Guyot on the sentiments circulating this year’s Pride Month, the success following his massive hit, “balik,” and more.
Billboard Philippines: First off, congratulations on “balik” reaching 18 million streams. That’s a huge milestone. How do you feel now that the song has received so much love?
Dom Guyot: I just feel beautiful. (Laughs) I’m kidding. I feel really good actually, because it’s my first song to hit that many streams. It’s kind of crazy, to be honest. Everything happened so fast — we released it around November, and it hasn’t even been a year, but I’m very, very grateful for the support and the love from everybody.
“balik” was written by you, Janine Berdin, and Adie. How did that collaboration come together? What was the vibe like in the room?
Oh, so basically, I had the idea, the “Babalik balik sa’kin” idea in my head for a long time, and I actually wrote it about my grandmom who passed. Contrary to popular belief, it’s not about an ex, you guys.
Basically, I was at Janine’s house, I was singing to her the song that I was writing, and a couple of lines were in English, she helped me translate the hook. After that, I made a demo at home, I finished the song from the first verse until the end, except for the collab verse, because I felt like it needed someone else, you know. It needed another voice, another sound. One time, after Janine’s gig, she did a whole gig, somewhere in Quezon City, we were supposed to hang out at her place to play Tekken with a bunch of other artists.
I was riding Adie’s car — it was Adie driving, I was in the front seat, and Jolianne was there. We were just like vibing and stuff, and I played him “balik,” because I sent it to another artist, actually. When he heard it, he was like, “Oh, I have to be on this!” ‘Cause way back, I think around 2023, we wanted to work together on a song of mine called “Guho,” but then it didn’t push through because I left.
So yeah, that’s what happened. The vibe was just really good. Adie wrote his verse, and we recorded it here. This is the place where “balik” was born.
In the spirit of Pride Month, I wanted to zoom in on your journey. How has your self-acceptance as a queer artist evolved since you first started performing?
When I first started performing, I was always feeling myself, you know. I was always feeling like I am the sh*t. But I was always feeling like, you know, because if I don’t believe in myself, no one else will believe in me. That was my mantra. But then, when I went through these different companies and everything, my self-esteem and everything — I was pushing myself into the shell again. That made me feel like I couldn’t move or I couldn’t spread my wings.
Now, with the right team working with, you know, there are two different teams working on my music right now, I feel confident. I feel really good about myself and about my music, and I can’t wait to release whatever songs I have.
I love how this journey isn’t just about the songwriting, but it’s also you finding the right people to be able to express yourself. So, what do you think it means to be unapologetically queer in the local music scene today?
Well, that’s a really good question because that’s literally me. If you think about it in our space right now, especially in the music scene, it’s very [difficult] not only in the music scene, but in the industry in general. It’s very hard to be loud enough, especially in a religious country with a lot of conservatives. It’s very hard, especially if you’re an artist.
Usually they’re more tolerant to people when they’re funny or when they’re in the comedy scene. I feel like that stems from people wanting to laugh at [queer people], but at the same time, for me, I want to break that norm. You know, my brand is, if Beyoncé were born in a third world country, that’d be me. You get what I mean? So I guess if Beyoncé were born a gay Filipino. That’s me. That’s the brand. I feel like that’s the easiest way to put it. I made sure because I knew how hard it was going to be to become an artist.
That’s how you get what it means. But at the same time, in order for me to make sure [nothing bad can be said about me], I train so hard, I sing live, I dance, I write my own songs. They may say stuff about my sexuality that I know will never affect me, but they can never say anything about my talent.
That’s powerful stuff! Especially with how times are changing, do you feel like the industry has started to make space for queer artists to grow, or is it still a conscious effort to make the space for yourself?
Well, when I was starting, of course, the latter. Now, it’s more open. I get more freedom. You get what I mean? In terms of my expression, especially with the songs I have coming. Now, I’m really going to challenge how society will accept it.
I’m curious, since you’ve been mentioning the upcoming projects, are there any kinds of themes that we can look forward to in your upcoming music?
I actually have a new song coming very soon. I don’t know how to put it because it’s very… It’s going to be it. It’s very hard, too, because I don’t want to give away too much because I want people to be surprised. I know when you guys see what I’ve prepared and what both my teams are preparing right now, it’s going to be crazy.
I’m very excited for what you’re building up. Apart from the single, are there any kinds of projects that are in the works now?
Yeah, so I’ve actually been working on the album since like last year. I’m planning to finish it hopefully by this month or by July. That’s my target. So, I hope you guys look forward to that because it’s more because before when I released Unbeloved, it was more on themes of love. But, now, I have themes that people don’t necessarily talk about day-to-day. I’m really excited because I’m not only opening doors for queer artists like me and for queer people in general — because, if you give people something they can relate to, you’re giving them space to belong. And that’s one of my missions.
But at the same time, I’m also opening conversations about certain topics that people don’t really necessarily talk about. That’s what I’m really excited for.
In the past, you’ve also spoken about, you know, industry resistance towards effeminate queer artists. How did that fuel your determination to break through, especially as the Beyoncé ng ‘Pinas? (Beyoncé of the Philippines)
Real! Well, of course, I just felt like the more people tell me to not be something, the more I want to be that thing. It’s really good because now I finally found like people who actually believe in me, like [my manager] Miss Kath here in the meeting and my entire team here at Radical, as well as my entire team in Sony Music. I’m really just really, really happy that finally people see what I bring to the table and love and respect it. It really took a while — it took like four years to find the right people.
In your perspective, when it comes to really expressing yourself through your music and breaking those barriers, what have been your biggest milestones?
Oh, I like that question. Of course, first of all, it’s the messages, to be honest — not like career milestones or whatever. But personally, it’s the messages I get every time after I release a song. I see not only a few people, but everybody relate to it. That’s like a big milestone for me, because growing up, I didn’t have a queer artist like me to look up to. I didn’t have a gay Beyoncé. You get what I mean? I had Beyoncé, but I didn’t have a Dom Guyot. Now, people have me, and I love that.
But other than that, of course, the career milestones. Now, of course, with “balik,” like it’s a big, big mega milestone for me! It’s more than 15 million streams now, it’s almost at 20 million. I’m just really happy that a queer artist is on the mainstream scene right now. You get what I mean?
So, with that in mind, do you feel like queer representation in Philippine music is evolving? And what gaps do you see and what can be done?
Well, of course, there are still gaps. If you check the top 10 artists, it’s mostly male, even the females — we need more female representation in the charts, you know what I mean? I hope in the coming years, we see an improvement. You know, I just want to make the world a better place. But yeah, I’m just grateful because I have a team with the Radical and Sony, working together to make sure that my message gets out that we have a Beyoncé here.
On that note, Pride Month celebrates visibility and resilience, and especially since it’s your mission to create space for people in music, what messages do you hope your music sends to fans at this time?
Well, of course, number one is, I really want to give people the space that they feel where they belong. I’ve said this a lot of times, but it’s Pride Month. It’s time to celebrate what our sisters in the past fought so hard for. Because I really feel like if there is, if for some reason, they’re still feeling a bit hesitant, then there is no liberation at all. You get what I mean? ‘Yun ‘yung mahirap. (That’s what’s hard.)
You can love him, let him love you, love them, let them love you. Because I feel like once you start loving people and letting people love you, everything will follow suit.
On a final note, we already kind of discussed this, but is there’s anything else you would like to tease about your upcoming album? Maybe themes you’re going to tackle.
Basically, my album has a lot of themes. Because in Unbeloved, I was like, it was puppy love, very in love, unrequited love. Now it’s more about the struggles of 20 year old trying to make it.You get what I mean? Like, it’s not just love. It’s heartbreak and sex and everything around that bubble. A lot of the themes on the album, I made sure that those are themes that other people haven’t touched yet.
I just want to make sure now, sometimes, we have to remember that music is not that serious. I realized in Unbeloved. And most of my songs are very serious now. I stand on stage and sing on this album. I want it to be just really vibe-y and fun. I just want everyone to have a good time because that’s what music is supposed to do. Music is supposed to uplift, connect, and make people feel the love you felt when you made it. And I’m just really, really excited. I’m excited to work with both my teams. I feel like I’m so grateful to have people who actually believe in me now.