LISTEN TO THE ALBUM HERE: https://ZackTabudlo.lnk.to/3rdTimesACharm
WATCH THE OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEOS HERE: https://ZackTabudlo.lnk.to/3TACOfficialLVs
Filipino singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo has dropped his latest album, 3rd Time’s A Charm. Featuring his recent hits, Pano and Gusto ft. Al James, 3rd Time’s A Charm is Zack Tabudlo’s most vulnerable album to date, tackling personal stories of growing up, love, betrayal, maturity, and life.
“It’s an album that is very honest, with a lot of heart and real stories,” Zack describes the album. “It features a mixture of different genres inspired by a lot of my heroes.”
Aside from the tracks that further solidified his status as a hitmaker, 3rd Time’s A Charm also introduces 10 new songs that both new and longtime fans will fall in love with.
Growing Up and Getting Inspiration
As an OPM artist who continues to break records and blaze new trails for Filipino artists, Zack faces the pressure head-on and uses the spotlight to champion his trademark brand of vulnerability. “A lot of growth and maturity in music came with making this album,” he shares. “It has become a source of inspiration since I’ve now experienced different things in music and in life.”
This being his third album, Zack already has a good grasp on the type of music he wants to make and counts himself more confident in pursuing it. “The process of this album was really similar to what I usually do, but the difference is in terms of my vulnerability and how honest I was with these stories written for the album. You would normally hear me compose words about typical heartbreak and cliche fairytale love stories. This time, these stories are about me, what I went through, and what I’m going through.”
Telling Stories of Love, Loss, and Hurt
Playing on the themes of yearning, jadedness, and hurt, 3rd Time’s A Charm delivers on its promise of honesty.
GrandMommy opens the album, which is less of a song but rather a voice note from his grandmother cheering him on as he pursues his musical career. “I thought it was a good idea to have it as my intro, since she’s also the reason why I’m here doing music,” Zack admits. “She was the one who pushed me to continue whatever I was doing, no matter what. It was just a perfect introduction to the album.”
It seems like this wholehearted support from an important figure in his life paved the way for Zack to be honest and vulnerable with his feelings.
What follows is a set of tracks focused on pain. Zack sings about the feeling of being betrayed by an ex in FAKE, followed by the frustration of being unfairly painted as a villain in THEY DON’T KNOW. The first half of the album is tied up with more pain thanks to Victim, a song that paints a toxic love and how it’s hard to escape when you’re too blind in love.
Romantic songs that Zack is best known for are introduced halfway through the album, providing a glimmer of hope and love in 3rd Time’s A Charm. In DELULU, previously released in September, Zack sings about getting high on delusional hope and infatuation. Meanwhile, the upbeat dance track Obsessed sees the singer-songwriter crooning about the feeling when you can’t get enough of your love.
But love isn’t always just about the happy times. As Zack shares about his writing process, “I had to really go back to my memories. Going back and reminiscing at midnight is a beautiful thing, but it can also be a really tough time.”
True to the cycle of loving and losing, Zack follows up the romantic DELULU and Obsessed with tracks on the emotional turmoil of falling in love. He hates the risks of loving someone fully in the groovy track Why Does It Hurt?, but bares his heart and how it’s not ready to accommodate love in LOVE IS DEAD.
For The Hopeful, Hopeless Romantic
As with all hopeless romantics, Zack still can’t help but yearn for a special connection. He longs for a significant other in Asan Ka Na Ba and offers up his love in Ako Nalang Kasi. He questions his relationship status in Ano Ba Meron Tayong Dalawa, but proves that steady love is worth waiting for with the album-closer 17.
Zack even singles out Ano Ba Meron Tayong Dalawa as “the song that I feel will resonate with people the most. The feeling of not knowing where you stand with someone is something that a lot of us have experienced, not just in relationships but also in friendships. And this is dedicated to all those who’ve been in the same boat as me.”
His latest hits and collaborations Pano, Turn Back Time ft. Violette Wautier, and Gusto ft. Al James are also included in the track list, a testament to Zack’s range as a musician as he easily switches between the genres of R&B, pop, and hip-hop.
Zack begins the 17-track album with a peek into his personal life and ends it in the same vein. With CLOUDS, Zack takes us beyond his comfort zone of romance and gives us a peek into his struggles with success. When asked about a line from the album that he doesn’t want fans to forget, Zack easily answers with a line from the same track: “Everybody thinks I’m happy in these clouds.”
In 3rd Time’s A Charm, Zack promised vulnerability borne out of his own experiences—from romantic heartbreak, to betrayal by people he trusted, to the dark side of success—and he doesn’t sugarcoat it.
Production Pains
Production-wise, 3rd Time’s A Charm also sees Zack go beyond his comfort zone. He admits struggling the most with Obsessed, “because of all of the elements involved in the production. A lot of vocal modification was used for this track, so I had around 80 vocal tracks to have it stacked thick for the mix.”
On the other end, he shares that “LOVE IS DEAD was one of the fastest songs I finished for the album. It just had a really good place in my heart that everything just flowed right through pretty quickly.”
Despite all the pain and frustration he released in 3rd Time’s A Charm, Zack is only looking forward to better days and greater heights in the coming year.
“I’m super excited for everyone to see what’s coming,” he shares. “2024 will definitely be a bigger year for me; we’re just pushing the flow with a lot of announcements.”
He expresses his gratitude for the love he has received so far and holds out hope that this more raw and transparent side of him gets the same love. “Thank you so much for all the support and love throughout the past few years. I’m super excited for everyone to hear my best work yet.”