RILM’s 1.5 millionth record is now online!
The record is titled “The Filipino national anthem” by Adrian De Leon (Journal of popular music studies 35/4 [2023] 4–13; RILM Abstracts of Music Literature, 2023-16951).
Growing up in Toronto’s Filipino Catholic community, the author witnessed firsthand the power of Lemonade–a 2003 SoundClick track by Jeremy Manongdo, better known as Passion, that became an anthem at Couples for Christ camps. Far from just a nostalgic hit, the song represents a unique slice of the Filipino diaspora that resists the flattening of Asian American identity. Passion’s journey from bedroom singer-songwriter to digital icon mirrors the birth of the modern internet. He built momentum first on SoundClick and MySpace before riding the first wave of YouTube stardom following its 2005 debut, showing how early music platforms grew largely on content of racialized creators. The resulting musical repertoire became a touchstone for generations of North American Filipinos, born at the intersection of 2000s youth culture and the dawn of the platform economy.
The effectiveness of Passion’s Lemonade lies in its formal simplicity as a serenade, easily performed on a guitar or ukulele. As a serenade, it addresses an unnamed woman, rooted in Filipino musical traditions influenced by Spanish colonial practices like the harana and kundiman, which involved love songs sung by men outside women’s homes. While contemporaries such as Gabe Bondoc, David Choi, and A.J. Rafael also achieved online popularity with their serenades, none have reached the cult status of Lemonade, which has become emblematic of a vernacular Filipino American national anthem.
Lemonade also illustrates the complexities and frictions between Filipino American life and the dominant Northeast Asian American culture, while also showcasing the impact of viral Filipino American performers within the broader Asian American musical landscape. The song’s resonance among Asian American youth in the 2000s underscores its significance in shaping a diverse and multifaceted sonic identity.
