Cebuano singer-songwriter Jolianne is creating her own world of Filipino pop music. Her songs balance the genre’s polish of early 2010s with the heart of a storyteller who grew up outside the capital.
Years after her start in televised singing competitions such as The Voice Kids back in 2015, Jolianne’s career has taken a more personal turn after growing up. Since signing with Careless Music in 2021, she has been carefully building her identity as a Bisaya pop artist in a city where Tagalog dominates and the pop landscape can feel like a closed circuit. Her debut EP Plain Girl set the tone for this evolution, weaving together self-assurance and vulnerability in tracks like “Let Me Down Easy” and “Plain Girl.”
Her latest single “Palayo sa Mundo,” a collaboration with Cagayan de Oro native Arthur Nery, pushes that story further. The track brings together two of the most distinct voices from the Visayas and Mindanao regions, grounded in R&B and wrapped in romantic tension. It also marks a turning point for Jolianne as an artist navigating between languages, sounds, and cities that often define who gets to belong. Her latest single feels like an emotional sequel to her earlier material. It sounds lush, reflective, and cinematic in how it approaches longing. Nery’s influence is evident, but Jolianne’s signature is clear. She carries a softness that complements his smooth delivery, creating a track that feels equal parts duet and conversation.
“When we were working on this song, we didn’t plan for it to be a collaboration,” Jolianne says. “[Arthur] was just helping me write a song in Tagalog because I’m Bisaya, and Tagalog is a language I’m not too well-versed in as a writer. He helped me write from my perspective.”
Jolianne’s musicality has always been anchored in expression rather than conformity. She doesn’t subscribe to the Manila blueprint of pop and R&B that often prizes formula over feeling. Instead, she draws inspiration from the drama and emotional scale of mid-2000s Disney music — stories built on big emotions, vivid vocals, and a bit of camp.
“If I would categorize myself as an artist, I would say I’m like a Disney R&B artist,” she says. “Totally made that up. There’s a dreamlike, theater quality to my voice, and the R&B comes in through my delivery and agility.”
Hundreds of Miles Apart
In many ways, “Palayo sa Mundo” is a reflection of her journey. Jolianne’s an artist uprooted from her home in Cebu to pursue music in the capital, learning how to stay grounded in an environment that can feel detached from where her sound was born. The collaboration with Nery felt natural, she says, because they share a similar background in VisMin’s music community.
“I like to be friends with the people I work with first,” Jolianne says. “I’m private about writing most of the time. It takes a lot for me to be comfortable sharing my work. So it helps that I have camaraderie with the people I collaborate with. Because we, as Bisaya artists, all know what it takes to uproot your entire life from your hometown to fight for your dreams out here in the Metro.”
That sense of community is what keeps her anchored in an industry where survival often depends on exposure and connection. The VisMin music community has long thrived under the radar, producing a steady wave of artists who blend regional identity with pop accessibility. Jolianne’s rise in the past few years mirrors that momentum, where the goal is not just to be heard, but to be understood. For Jolianne, success to her is all about sustaining a life in music, one where she can write, record, and perform without the looming fear of instability.
“I made the choice to make a career out of music,” she says. “I moved here, and I’ve got bills to pay. For a long time, I wasn’t sure that creative fulfillment would also mean financial fulfillment. It makes me happy to know that it’s possible, and I found that out with this track.”
What makes Jolianne’s story compelling is her perspective as a young artist who had to translate her identity — literally and figuratively — into a language that isn’t her own. In doing so, she has become part of a new wave of Cebuano musicians who are proving that regional pop doesn’t need to adapt to Manila’s rules to thrive.
