How Nica del Rosario Became One of P-Pop’s Most Trusted Songwriters

Singer-songwriter Nica del Rosario became known following the 2022 presidential elections for creating the viral anthem for former Vice President Leni Robredo’s campaign, “Rosas.” The same year, and two years before Filipino girl group BINI rose to popularity, del Rosario co-wrote “Huwag Muna Tayong Umuwi” with Jumbo de Belen a.k.a. Bojam. The collaborators once again found themselves at the center of P-pop with BINI’s “Karera.” These days, del Rosario busies herself writing for the girl group VVINK. Together with de Belen as composer, she’s credited as vocal arranger for “Kailan Ka Aamin,” the group’s first pre-release from their upcoming full-length debut album. She’s also appeared alongside the quintet in the song “Di Ka Nag-iisa.”

But as early as 2013, del Rosario was handpicked by the label FlipMusic’s CEO Jellica Mateo, who saw the need for more female songwriters and producers with her level of skill in crafting major pop records. She has since made a name for herself at FlipMusic, a label that has influenced countless producers and songwriters through films, soundtracks, albums, and jingles. The label’s releases range from teen comedies to some of today’s most recognizable pop songs, including the del Rosario-penned late-bloomer “Tala” by Sarah Geronimo. “I personally have a switch na ‘this is a jingle,’” she jokes. “I have to turn off the metaphors and the visual imagery.”

FlipMusic: The Pop Lab Behind the Hits

Inside the FlipMusic headquarters is a “wall of achievements” lined with CDs and DVDs from earlier eras, from Nadine Lustre’s Pop Girls days to Donnalyn Bartolome’s pre-vlogger years. It’s an altar to a genre the label helped shape. With her growing experience, she remains attentive to the songwriting needs of artists. “Artists are usually very particular with what they want [in a song],” del Rosario says. “But at the same time, they’re more particular with what they don’t want.” 

As the conversation went on, a highlight reel of FlipMusic’s body of work, both in the TV commercial world and the artist roster world, plays out. This is just a portion of the music that the label produces. Though she wouldn’t call the label a “song factory” that constantly churns out music. “I think people just think that we just make pop songs out of nowhere, and I’ve heard people calling FlipMusic a ‘song factory,’” she says. “There’s a lot of hard work behind both the production and the admin team and the publishing. So it’s a lot of moving pieces, and there are so many people involved in creating just one song.” While not everything gets to see the light of day, del Rosario says those wouldn’t go to waste completely. “I don’t try to hold on too tightly to the stuff I work on,” she says. “If something doesn’t work out, we always have this mentality that we can just always write another one. Our mind stays with us, our heart stays with us. If a song gets scrapped, we don’t think of it as a waste. We don’t think of it as a reflection on the quality of our work. Sometimes things just don’t work out, and at the end of the day, we can just always write more.”

Looking ahead, del Rosario is curious about embracing Philippine pop culture using indigenous instruments. Working with girl group VVINK on the 2025 single “Baduy” has led her to appreciate grassroots genres like budots and experimenting with an instrument made by Filipinos for Filipinos. “It would be nice to see P-pop be more Pinoy,” she says. “More native instruments, more ‘Filipino-ness,’ because that’s something only we have.”

Read more stories about the people making P-pop possible in Rolling Stone Philippines Special P-pop Issue with SB19. Pre-order a copy from sarisari.shopping, or read the e-magazine now here.