We, people, naturally seek comfort through other people’s validation and company. We seek this thing to feel safety, belonging, and mattering. It is quite impossible for us to perform, innovate, be emotionally engaged, agree, or move forward if we seldom or not at all receive this. So what will happen if we feel like we don’t belong in a group, or they refuse us an entry or access to a certain clique?
Released last June 28, 2024, Tonio95 is back with a new single entitled “Ningning.” It is a song that tells the story of someone who felt left out by a group or a certain pace that the said group is taking. According to Tonio95, he wrote this song when he was younger. “Not really sure what was going through my head, but I was probably feeling left out at that time. It’s a song that I always play on my own but it never really felt finished and ready. The chords and lyrics felt weird. The lyrics changed as I got older (the original lyrics felt too dark).”
Although the song takes on a much sappier tone, Tonio95 hopes that his listeners will find comfort and relief through it. It is hard to talk about feeling left out, especially if you are in that phase of your life where everything feels suffocating and no one can save you from a certain situation, which in this case, was feeling lost and left out.
Ningning was supposed to be a part of In The Zone EP that Tonio95 released last May 4, 2024, but it was dropped from the EP and the release date was pushed back due to the fact that he needed to finalize the song. It was meant to be, for it deserves its own spotlight, especially because of its theme, as discussed in the former part of this article.
Let Ningning be a song that guides you in traversing life alone, or even with people around you. May it be a reminder, too, that we have our own lives to live, and we might need validation, but the most important validation we can get from is from ourselves.
Stream Ningning and Tonio95’s other works on different music streaming platforms and follow his social media accounts as well for news about his future releases and updates.
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About the Author
Angel Mariah Rodiel – Mari to the people she’s fond of – is a BA Literature student currently studying in Central Luzon State University. Writing, arts, and music are some of the things she’s been most passionate about ever since she was a kid. Mari’s little dream is to build a band that will open for Paramore’s concert someday. Pop-punk and alternative rock are her comfort music genres, K-pop and J-rock comes close as third and fourth.
