MANILA, Philippines — Thanks to TikTok and social media, the members of The Bloomfields said they are grateful that their 2007 single Ale has reemerged and regained popularity online, nearly 20 years after its release.
In 2025, TikTok content creator @elizabelle featured the song in a Cubao Expo fit-check video, which sparked a dance trend that went viral. The track has peaked at No. 1 on TikTok Trending Sounds, reached No. 2 on Spotify Philippines’ Viral 50 and debuted at No. 74 on Billboard Philippines Hot 100.
Originally written by the late Bodjie Dasig, husband of veteran singer-songwriter Odette Quesada, in the ‘80s, another Original Pilipino Music artist Richard Reynoso put out his own version of it in 1992, followed subsequently by a cover from The Bloomfields.
Rocky Collado, Lakan Hila, Louie Poco and Nathan Abella of The Bloomfields welcomed the renewed interest of the audience, especially Gen Z fans who are now dancing to Ale.
“It’s creepy man,” an amused Rocky reacted during a presscon. “It’s so creepy to see kids who were barely walking at the time when we released the song and they’re now dancing to it. And it’s fun. It’s fun because it tells me that this song is not just something that was good in one space and time. That it’s actually valuable for another generation who grew up completely differently and that there’s something fundamentally good about this sound that people want to hear. So to me, that says a lot.”
For Louie, he remains hopeful that there is room for a band like them in today’s music scene, citing their 2007 single Ale as proof.
“I feel very hopeful right now because we’ve been doing this for 20 plus years and we just continue the work. We just keep on pushing ourselves. And this gave us hope because you don’t have to be the newest coming band. You can still be relevant… You can still make it big. So it’s not too late for us,” he mused.
“We always thought that, actually a lot of fans always thought that, we were the most underrated band so we were like known for that. And now a lot of people, our fans especially, they’re so very happy for us because they’re all like, ‘Wow, this group finally, new things get to happen.’ So grateful.”
To this day, the group shared they still couldn’t fully grasp how Ale continues to resonate with both younger and older audiences.
“We don’t know exactly. We don’t know 100-percent why. But I do have a theory that this song, this sound just vibes better with this generation than it did maybe for that generation. The mood, it’s just mas swak lang siya for this time period,” surmised Rocky.
“I think just like with fashion, music and culture, I think they’re creating a rotation. So right now, I think the retro vibes like the ‘60s, ‘50s vibe is like having a resurgence,” Louie chimed in and quipped, “I think that my pants would be wide if… like that. My pants are a bit ‘70s wide.”
“I think people appreciate it, especially the characters like retros in the ‘60s and ‘50s where you see retro stuff. They have a lot of what do you call this? Colorful characters. And I think nowadays with AI and everything’s so modern and so futuristic, I think people wanna have something very more like a human, genuine (connection).”
He stressed that TikTok has been a game changer in the music scene, as seen in what happened with Ale, which he said came “very organically.”
“I think with the rise of AI and everything’s like digital domain, I think TikTok is a good platform because it’s very human. It’s very personal. It’s like a person dancing doing your own thing so I think right now people tend to resonate more with these genuine and real people. So yeah medyo sakto.”
“That’s what I love about it, right? It just happened, no marketing push, no nothing. It just happened,” Rocky added and cited Connie Francis’ Pretty Little Baby and Stupid Cupid.
Connie’s 1961 single Pretty Little Baby went viral on social media shortly before her passing in July last year.
“I realized that she was the same girl who sang Stupid Cupid. And Stupid Cupid was her biggest hit until then, until when that song (Pretty Little Baby) came out,” recalled Rocky. “Because back in the ‘60s, that was sort of like just part of her album. Like, people loved Stupid Cupid. But then, now, it overtook that. And she actually witnessed that in her lifetime before she passed.”
Rocky also mentioned Miley Cyrus’ classic cover songs and Darren Espanto’s remake of Maui Wowie, which recently gained popularity online.
“So we’re part of that club now, apparently, in a local sense,” declared Rocky. “And that’s great. And I think it absolutely changed the game. There is a chance for anyone now. There’s no gatekeepers. Let’s just put it that way.”
“With TikTok, you get to penetrate the audience, the bigger audience. So TikTok is definitely a game changer,” Louie reiterated.
The Bloomfields will soon release new music, both original and covers of OPM classics, and a new album.