Before collab, American duo joan already a musical hero for Zack Tabudlo

It was a dream come true for Zack Tabudlo to collaborate with American alt-pop duo joan whom he considers his musical “hero.” The latter’s music was Zack’s “heartbreak soundtrack” when his heart was crushed the first time by a former girlfriend.

“They were my heartbreak soundtrack during that time. Like my first love. I think one of my first girlfriends was one of the people who recommended joan to me, like joan songs. The first song, I think, that I first heard was tokyo and then, i loved you first,” Zack told the Southeast Asian press in a Zoom conference last week.

The band’s Steven Rutherford and Alan Benjamin Thomas were impressed with Zack’s “powerful vocals” that they got him on in the track, superglue, the same title of their latest album. The song is out now across digital music platforms.

Meanwhile, the album is “an existential journey influenced by the duo’s recent transition into fatherhood.”

“Basically, it (is) just saying like whenever we’re feeling like we’re kind of in a million pieces, you know, we have people in our lives and loved ones that feel like our superglue that kinda brings us back together,” detailed Steven.

“And we wanted people to kinda have something that resonates with (them). Lyrically, through the song and through the album like where they can hear that and think of somebody in their life that might be their superglue,” he added.

“We love Zack. We love what he does. We love his music. We love your album by the way,” Alan told Zack during the virtual gathering. “I think, we told you that the last time we talked about but, yeah, we just love his voice. See, he’s got a powerful vocal.”

“And really proud of how far he has come and so it just made perfect sense that we wanted to have someone featured on another version of superglue. And we were like, ‘Why wouldn’t it be Zack if he is down?’ and he was down and so he recorded some vocals,” he added.

The Filipino singer-songwriter recorded the ditty in his friend’s house, incorporating his own touch into the song. “We had him guest on the second verse and he sings throughout the rest of the song on superglue as well. And we wanted him to put his own spin on it and his own lyrics and just give him a chance to shine in the song,” shared Alan.

Superglue is the duo’s “favorite song that we’ve ever written,” and “to have someone like Zack to come on board and just kill it for us and just take it to another level is just, it means the world to us,” he continued.

The US-based musicians and Zack haven’t met in person yet but they have been meeting virtually for the music project.

Zack Tabudlo

Zack said he had been “getting goosebumps the whole time I was recording the track” because he couldn’t believe that he was living his “dream” of doing this collaboration with the people whom he looked up to since he was young.

The Binibini crooner recalled how joan “snubbed” him the first time he reached out to them, way back before the music partnership happened.

“I’ve always been a big fan of joan and their music ever since,” asserted Zack. “I had my heartbroken the very first time when I was 16. My soundtrack during that time (was their music)… They kind of snubbed me and I was like starting out the whole music thing.”

“It was really funny though. ‘Hi guys I’m an upcoming artist and I hope you, guys, can make music with me and stuff,’” he recounted with a laugh. Zack didn’t get a reply from the duo though.

Years later, joan’s team contacted Zack for the superglue collaboration. Alan explained, “We hadn’t made the connection yet that Zack had reached out to us while he was younger until (the collaboration). That was the funny part. It’s like once we heard that we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that so...’ We’re even listening to his latest album actually. Loved his voice. Our team reached out to his and we made some magic so…”

“Here we are. C’mon,” Steven chimed in and the three just laughed off the “snubbing” part.

Nonetheless, Zack shared the music duo has “always been a hero” to him. “They’re kinda like one of those artists that made me who I am today. And I’m really honored and thankful to be in this track, especially a track that means a lot to me as well.”

“The first time I heard it, it felt like a gospel song. I grew up to be a Christian boy and making music for what I believe in as well. And having like a dream to make my music eventually, hopefully, when I become bigger,” he said. “And yes it feels really cool and nostalgic to (perform) song like superglue.” joan praised Zack’s FOR ALL album, which Steven described, “It’s legit from start to finish.” The latter’s favorite track is Akin Ka.

They are all down for another collaboration in the future.

Zack is currently touring Southeast Asian countries and meeting up other Asian music artists for possible collaborations. He hopes to do a solo international music tour as well.

He likewise expressed his appreciation for his growing fan base overseas. He told The STAR, “It feels really nice to have people listen to my songs as well internationally. One of the mind-blowing moments for me was when I was in Malaysia I think two months ago. They just sang the whole lyrics of Pano, as in Tagalog.”

“I had no idea how Malaysians speak Tagalog for that one. But it was really crazy. It was a surreal moment for me. And being known around the streets where we were eating, it was a really big turn,” he recalled.