Juan Karlos Breaks Taylor Swift’s Local Record on Spotify with Song ‘ERE’

The OPM artist etched his name in history as his single became the first Filipino track to debut on the Spotify Global Chart.

You’ve probably heard it by now—that emotional track filled with feelings of abandonment, anger, confusion, and yearning, all delivered with powerful vocals and lyrics: “Tatlong bilyon, ikaw lamang ang aking gusto. Pasensya na kung ngayon ako’y di para sa’yo.” Pouring out all his heart in his latest album, Sad Songs and Bullshit Part 1, Juan Karlos made a historic breakthrough with the single ERE as it became the first Filipino song to debut on Spotify’s Global Chart.

Recording 1.22 million streams last Sunday, October 8, the track debuted at 177th place before entering the Top 100 at 87th place with 1.45 million streams—an impressive feat no OPM song has ever made. Beyond securing its place on the global charts, it also marked an unprecedented milestone by becoming the first Filipino song to achieve over one million streams in a single day.

Juan Karlos’ ‘Ere’ Makes History on Spotify’s Global Chart

As per Chart Data PH, an account dedicated to posting music chart statistics from all around the world, Juan Karlos’ ERE shattered an all-time record by amassing a remarkable 1.393 million streams in a single day on the Spotify PH chart, surpassing even Taylor Swift’s Mine.

Prior to this milestone, the only artist to have accomplished such a feat was the illustrious Grammy-award-winning singer-songwriter herself, who had a staggering seven songs on the local chart, encompassing hits like Mine, Back to December, Anti-Hero, Lavender Haze, Sparks Fly, and Speak Now. Notably, Taylor Swift’s Mine (Taylor’s Version) emerged as the most-played track in the Philippines within a single day, amassing an impressive 1,300,000 streams.

With its 1.389 million stream record, ERE surpassed Lola Amour’s Raining in Manila (841k), SunKissed Lola’s Pasilyo (691k), and Dilaw’s Uhaw (Tayong Lahaw) (747k). The song was first released on October 4 as part of the nine-song album about love and heartbreak. This includes collaborations with Zild and Ben&Ben’s Paolo Benjamin.

His first release in three years, Juan Karlos revealed in an interview that the nine selected tracks were plucked from a pool of 18 heart-wrenching songs created for the Sad Songs and Bullshit project, with an anticipated full release tentatively set for the first quarter of 2024.

In an Instagram post, Juan Karlos wrote: “Shit. I can’t believe this whole project would come to fruition. This album originally started as a compilation of all the love songs that I made for someone to whom I gave so much of myself. A collection of all the words I wrote and the melodies that came along with it. Eventually, things didn’t turn out the way I hoped for. The songs started to not make any sense. All the songs for love turned into songs for sadness. For me, at least, they just became a bunch of bullshit. Hence, Sad Songs and Bullshit.”

To recall, Juan Karlos, also known as JK Labajo, gained widespread recognition through his remarkable journey in the 2014 reality singing competition, The Voice Kids Philippines, where he became a finalist and finished in third place. He continued to pursue a career in the music industry and made waves in the local music scene with hits like Buwan, Shot Puno, and Demonyo. Currently, he graces the ABS-CBN primetime series Senior High, further expanding his artistic endeavors.

_{Cover image credit: Juan Karlos Instagram}