Cebuano teen releases debut single ‘If It’s Love’
Debuting his first single “If It’s Love” Wednesday night at K-Pub BBQ Korean Restaurant at Ayala Center Cebu, Myles Ng was at a loss for words as he faced the most important people in his life. The youngest of three brothers, Myles is no longer the baby of the family. He just graduated from CIE British School where he’s been all his life and is about to fly off to Hong Kong to pursue a degree in economics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
But he was going to break ground on his love for music first before he gets whisked away into a new chapter.
“Honestly I never wanted it to be like this [debuting]. I never thought it was possible. I wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for all the people. I’m just so grateful,” Myles says in an interview before going on stage to perform his first single.
Myles discovered his penchant for singing at around five or six years old. After his parents – Melanie and Wilson Ng – enrolled him for a singing workshop one summer, they were surprised to find their son’s name on an event invite from the workshop, saying that their little boy would be performing solo the piece “Greatest Love of All.”
From there, his mother asked Myles’ school teacher to encourage him more. Myles would be egged on to sing in family and school events. Despite the prodding, there was a hint of apprehension from Myles’ end.
“It was just a growing process. I remember my mom exposed me as a singer to my first teacher. I performed for the school choir,” Myles shares, recalling how embarrased he was with his then highpitched voice.
“I was so shy. I used to think singing was only for girls. Back then I had a really high-pitched voice. I was like, ‘I sound like a girl! Is that a bad thing? Am I a girl?’ So I thought that if I exposed myself it would be some sort of embarrassment,” Myles chuckles.
His point of view changed when he saw his classmates raise their hands and wave along to his performance. “I never knew it could be like that,” he says.
Apart from Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Philip Philipps and Kodaline, Myles’ biggest musical inspirations would be his father and his Angkong (grandfather), who he calls the Ancient Dragon. From his maternal grandfather, Myles learned how to sing no matter what. From his dad –who plays the piano and the flute – he learned guitar.
At 11, Myles was the lead singer and the guitarist of the band called Junior Troubadours.
For a while, he had his plate full: academics, basketball practice, band rehearsals, performances, leading the student body. When stress would get the better of him, his dad would tell Myles that having bad days and long nights, being busy and stressed will make a better and successful person.
Consistently playing with his bandmates allowed Myles to become a better singer and guitarist. One night when he was 13, a melody found its way out of his head.
“Slowly but surely, songwriting came into my life. I was 13 and you know, I was just living life. I didn’t even know how songwriting worked. I just put together a bunch of chords in the same key, and put a bunch of words – the first thing that came into mind.
It was candid and I put a tune into it. It was really bad,” he recalls of that first attempt at penning a song about typical grade school heartbreak.
At 15, Myles composed the jingle for the Mandaue
Chamber of Commerce and
Industry’s 50th anniversary. Despite the discovery, Myles was discreet about his songwriting for a while. It wasn’t until he came across Cattski Espina’s songwriting boot camp last year that he was able to fully explore what songwriting was. From the producer that worked with local talents like The Wonggoys, Lourdes Maglinte and Vincent Eco, Myles learned a lot.
Myles had been set on making sure he got to do something with his music before he went to college.
“I was just so inspired by the class,” Myles says. “I started writing more and more. I’ve been trying to put together better songs. I never really believed in myself until two months ago. I said, this has always been a dream of mine, and Cattski’s right there. Why don’t I just do it?,” he quips.
And that was how “If It’s Love” came to be. Written by Myles, the acoustic track is produced by Espina’s 22 Tango Records. Myles explains that his song is somewhere between love and heartbreak, a story about the irony of wanting to love but also wanting letting go.
“It’s the story of this guy. He’s in love with a girl but for some reason, he’s asking so many questions. Like, why does this feel so wrong? Why does it feel right to just end it?” Myles begins.
“It’s really about a person who has good intentions. Who really wants to go on, really wants this love but for some reason there’s questioning. He feels like ending it is the right thing to do and he feels so guilty,” he elaborates.
Myles says that that “If It’s Love” stems from a whole lot of experiences.
“As a singer-songwriter, I think the best music is honest music. So yes, it came from experience. Multiple experiences. I wouldn’t point to just one single thing at all,” he says.
Myles says that the goal of “If It’s Love” and debuting was pretty much to just make music and to make anyone who feels inspired by his music to feel what he feels. In short, Myles hasn’t really planned that far ahead in terms of making a career out of his music.
“I think that’s the beauty of youth. I don’t really know yet until I get there [Hong Kong].
I don’t have any specific plans. I want to go for where my heart wants me to go. I don’t want to have specific plans,” Myles asserts.
“The thing with me, with music is that the goal is not really for me to have a career or be famous. I just want a chance to tell my story. Be heard. And being heard like this right now is so much more that I could ever ask for. No matter what success level, I don’t mind as long as I get this chance and hopefully get more chances,” Myles says.
The young musician says he’ll keep on writing. He’s made sure to bring his guitar with him to Hong Kong. Myles likes to think that even though he has to leave for a while, this is only the beginning for him.
“Honestly only time can really tell. That’s the beauty of uncertainty. I just know that something good is going to happen out of this single. And I just can’t believe it. I just wanted this song to be a start of something, the beginning of something that could possibly be something great,” he says.
“I’m going in point blank. What I'm bringing with me is my music and my honesty…telling my stories,” he continues. “I will always continue writing. Music is always going to be not just a hobby. It’s a passion. It’s always going to be a big part of me. I’m never going to lose it.”
Working with Myles, Espina shared how she saw potential in the young man.
“He has this heart. He’s one of the good ones. Really respectful. While the others were just rowdy...You know creative people, moody,” Espina says.
Despite Myles’ love for Coldplay, Espina wanted to make sure that the song sounded the way it was supposed to and wasn’t made to fit some sort of sound.
“His influence is Coldplay which is really far off. But I really wanted to serve the song instead of make it sound like something that he’s not. That was what I felt like the song should be done,” Espina says.
The producer shares that Myles has a bunch of rough songs in the works, and believes that just because Myles has to go away for a while doesn’t mean that he had started his songwriting journey in vain. She says Myles should use the time to live more.
“Dili baya [sayang]. Iyaha man sad nang journey gud. Para nako kay if he leaves, more experiences, then the better he gets in songwriting,” she says.
“Later on, kung ma-complex na iyang experiences, mucomplex na sad iyang songwriting. Journey baya na. You don’t make things up. Age appropriate sad ang songwriting. Kung 17 years old pa, you can’t write something beyond your experience,” Espina adds.
As Myles was surrounded by friends, teachers, family and colleagues, all congratulating him on his debut but also sending him off as he starts building a future for himself, he could not say his thanks enough.
Putting up his own music on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, Amazon, and being able to go on radio shows, and mounting a grand launching was all just a dream for him.
Leaving his home as a newborn singer-songwriter, Myles will hopefully return an even better man.
“I’m just putting myself out there. I’m going to keep my feet on the ground but my head in the sky. I’ll see what’s out there, and I trust God always,” Myles says.