“Jopay, kumusta ka na?”
Almost two decades after “Jopay” was released by Mayonnaise the song has was once again taken social media by storm.
Origin
But what is the story behind this hit song?
The band’s vocalist and “Jopay “writer Monty Macalino revealed that his inspiration for the song was Jopay Paguia-Zamora of girl group, SexBomb Girls.
During the Lenten season several years ago, Monty said that he saw the SexBomb dancer crying.
“Pagbukas ko ng TV nakita ko yung isang SexBomb dancer (Jopay) umiiyak sabi ko, ‘ba’t kaya umiiyak ‘to ‘di ba nasayaw lang ‘to?’ So pumasok sa utak ko parang ‘ayaw ko siya makitang umiyak, ayoko siyang makitang malungkot,'” Monty said in an interview with an online video producer.
“So ginawa ko talaga yung kanta specifically for Jopay ng Sexbomb dancers,” he said.
“I wanted to create a song na would make as if we have a connection. Even if she doesn’t know me. Even if I haven’t seen her face to face,” the vocalist added.
Since then Monty became a fan of the dancer.
Monty also admitted that he would regularly watch Jopay on “Eat Bulaga‘s” studio in Broadway Centrum in Quezon City.
“Pumupunta [at] pumipila ako doon [sa studio at] manood ako ng Eat Bulaga. Nakikiupo kami sa Kurimaw (band) kami ng kaibigan ko,” he said.
The frontman also said that he gave the first demo to Jopay outside of the “Eat Bulaga” studio.
When they were curating a song for the first album, Monty was hesitant about including “Jopay” because the song is different from the rock and metal genres.
Later on, Mayonnaise played the song and released a music video in 2005. This gained recognition on the radio and was enjoyed by many.
Monty also revealed that Jopay was supposed to be part of the video but she was busy doing a show in Japan.
Trends
“Jopay” is one of the official tracks used for the 2022 movie “Ngayon Kaya” starring Janine Gutierrez and Paulo Avelino. It was released on Netflix late 2022 and has been among the trending films.
The movie follows the story of friends who reunited after five years. They also talked about their past relationship and their “what ifs.”
The band Mayonnaise also appeared in the film.
On Sunday, one of the cast members, Janine also sang the song at the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo.
Sorry po Miss @janinegutierrez at parang kinulang po yata kami sa practice ng Jopay😭 HAHAHAHA Bawi po kami next time 🤣#DinagyangFestival2023 pic.twitter.com/TpKClWLdEZ
— MadamSTELLuh💫🍓🐣 (@MadamStelluuhhh) January 22, 2023
The song also earned online buzz after TikTok creator Gigiboy Jose did a “greatest what if” monologue as the song plays in the background.
@itsgigiboifrom what if to what is♬ From what if to what is – Gigiboy Jose
A hilarious cover of the song by another TikTok creator Kosang Marlon has been also trending on social media early this year.
Many imitated how the content creator sang “Wag ka nang mawala” lyrics of “Jopay.” Others said they are experiencing LSS or last song syndrome because of Kosang Marlon’s rendition
Because of his popularity, the content creator also headlined some local shows during fiestas.
Mayonnaise has been in the music industry for 20 years. In celebration of this milestone, the band collaborated with local retail brand Linya-Linya to produce a limited-edition shirt.
The shirt features one of the lines from Jopay that reads, “Aalis tayo sa tunay na mundo.”
