Lola Amour’s ‘Dance With My Mistakes’ is an ode to second chances
I used to think of shame whenever I made mistakes. Whether I had committed them consciously or not, whether shallow or deep, I always felt embarrassed. Fortunately, these days I no longer put myself in that box. I skim my playlist, pick a banger song, and shimmy my way through it.
Seemingly a mundane moment, internally it felt like a baptism of fire and second chances. This is the very story of Lola Amour’s most recent single.
I was listening to it in transit to their record label’s office. It was my first time being back in the metro after a long time, and like it has always been, commuting was spent thinking of what I could have done differently in many aspects of my life.
I shifted my attention to their music. It’s a groovy pop song that almost made me bop in my seat, but with raw and vulnerable lyrics. I felt comforted and assured that I would be fine. When I arrived at the office, the band entered, waving their hands and flashing their smiles.
We all sat down, and I immediately asked each of them to introduce and share one quirky thing about themselves. Lola Amour is composed of Pio Dumayas (vocals) who makes wood furniture during his days off; Raffy Perez (drums), an anime enthusiast; David Yuhico (keys), who goes to a different room when he’s “hangry” to protect his bandmates; Jeff Abueg (saxophone), fond of cooking and baking; and Manu Dumayas (bass), who can do an accurate impression of a crow.
For the OPM hitmakers, life is just a collection of wins and losses. ‘Celebrate both,’ they implore.
Being with the band was like being transported to high school, where you sit with your barkada over lunch to share endless jokes and talk about failures and relationships. On their latest single Dance With My Mistakes, David explained, “It’s about trying a second time with someone in the past who was the right person at the wrong time.”
When I asked if this track is personal, David immediately yelled, “Yes.” “We forced it out of him,” Jeff added. The band wrote it on their second writing session with their producer, Hyuk Shin, who wrote Justin Bieber’s One Less Lonely Girl and produced songs by EXO and SHINee, among others. He asked Lola Amour to write something close to them; nobody was willing to come forward.
“I said, ‘Okay, I’ll take the hit for the band,’” David confessed. “We talked about regrets. I thought it would end there, but (naging) group therapy session na ako ‘yung na-hot seat.”
Although the band has built deep relationships with each other, they were never the type to share much of their personal lives. As part of their recording session, which they held in Malaysia for two weeks, they asked one another deep questions and talked about their experiences in front of Shin and producer Cuurley.
The process behind Dance With My Mistakes was fairly new. Everyone was involved from conceptualization to the end, and it helped that everyone was always in the same room, bouncing ideas off of each other.
Of course it’s also different that they worked with renowned music producers. “They’re like the perfect match for us,” David shared. “Cuurley brings out (our) craziness and creativity, and Shin’s the one who trims the fat off everything.” As Manu put it, “There’s order to chaos.”
This is also the band’s first song since the changes in the band’s lineup. During their stint in Malaysia, they figured out what sound they wanted to pursue. “It still sounds like us, it’s just in a different direction and maturity,” Pio said.
As the band works with international producers whose roots differ from Lola Amour's, David sees them as mentors who bring out what the band hasn’t shown. “They tell you how to improve. I think a big part of change is just us being better. That’s why it still sounds like us; they just brought out the best,” he said.
The song still reflects the band’s signature style: dancey songs with melancholic lyrics. “We all make mistakes, but life is just a collection of wins and losses. Celebrate both,” Pio explained.
Fittingly, when Lola Amour’s most famous track, Raining in Manila, became a hit, the band never felt pressured to create another viral song. “We are always true to ourselves. We just release what we like and enjoy,” David said.
“Hindi namin kalaban ang public opinion. Ang kalaban namin ‘yung sarili namin,” joked Pio.
The band has always prioritized its local audience. But with Dance With My Mistakes hitting the global charts—recently featured in Spotify’s New Music Friday in other Southeast Asian countries, along with Japan and Taiwan—one can’t deny that they are geared up for the international music scene.
Pio admitted this isn’t their outright goal. They always make sure their Filipino fans have a real connection with them, often asking fans for feedback before a song gets released. “Nagfo-focus group discussion kami with them,” shared Pio. “We play the song and ask for their thoughts.”
“They’re not just fans, friends na talaga sila,” David added.
They also confessed they were afraid to make mistakes while creating Dance With My Mistakes. “There was a lot of money, expectations, and pressure because people are investing in this project,” Pio said. “We have to make sure we are doing our parts.”
“Usually ‘di naman kami dapat natutulog at 10 p.m., but we did that for a whole week to make sure we were all on our A-game.” He remembered catching himself saying, “I have to get this right!” despite the exhaustion. “The song has to be as good as it can be!” Pio exclaimed.
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Listen to Lola Amour’s Dance With My Mistakes on all major music streaming platforms via Warner Music Philippines. Follow the band at @lolaamourph.
