Garrett Bolden writes song inspired by late father

Garrett Bolden welcomes the new year with the release of his latest single titled Our Love under GMA Music.

The song is an original composition that only took Garrett three hours to complete. He said, “I’ve been into writing songs but this is the first time that I was given the chance to share my own composition. When I was writing the song, it was at (the height of the) pandemic. I was quarantined alone because I wasn’t able to go home to my family.”

The Kapuso soul balladeer added that he initially felt stagnant with no work or any singing engagements. “I had the time to reflect on everything — emotions from my past experiences, and also experiences and stories of my friends that they shared to me in the past. And then I started to create melodies in my head at doon na nag-umpisa ‘yung idea na gumawa ako ng kanta.”

Our Love inspires listeners to cherish the time and the memories they have with their loved ones.

“As I was writing it, nangibabaw ‘yung feeling ko na I was longing for my dad because before the pandemic (hit), I was supposed to go to the US since he just passed away that time. I was filled with sadness and longingness for him aside from the regret of not being there when he passed on.”

Garrett met his US Navy dad when he was already 18 years old. “My Mama has a family here so I have a stepfather but of course, even at a young age, I had this longing to meet my real dad and it happened when I joined a singing competition before in the other network.

“My dad had a Filipino neighbor and they saw me on TV at doon na nag-start na makausap ko s’ya. I just went there a couple of times. I would only visit him because I am based here, especially during the time of The Clash and then projects came after the competition. So, there was really no chance to fly back there and sadly, he passed on by the time I was free to go yet nagka-lockdown naman,” shared Garrett who has two step siblings on his dad’s side and another two with his mom.

His favorite line in Our Love that goes, “one day you’ll see me, my worth, my love, my heart,” is meant for his dad. “If I could turn back time, I would see him and spend more time with him. The song is from my heart and I dedicate it to everyone who is going through the same feeling of love.”

Asked what time of the day works best for him in translating thoughts and ideas into potential lyrics and melodies, Garrett said that he just gets that sudden spark of inspiration to write a song. “Like in this song, I was just only sitting alone and then I came up with a melody in my head.”

For those not so familiar, Garrett finished as one of the Top 5 finalists of The Clash Season 1. He is also one of the mainstays on GMA 7’s Sunday noontime show All-Out Sundays. He was named New Male Recording Artist of the Year at the 11th PMPC Star Awards for Music; Awit Awards 2020’s People’s Choice Award – Favorite New Male Artist; and Outstanding Achiever in the Music Industry at the 2020 Philippine Top Choice for Excellence.

(Our Love is available on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music and other digital stores worldwide.