JERICHO STREEGAN
Cebuano artist sings about ‘the one too good to be true’ in latest single
Cebuano artist Jericho Streegan knew he wanted to get into music at three years old when he heard his mother play a song that he liked so much, he asked her to play it again.
“I don’t remember which song it was, but that’s when I knew I loved music. It helped me become the artist I am today because I think repeating the songs I listen to led me to notice patterns I hear and I think that helps with my songwriting,” Streegan told The FREEMAN.
He does recall that it was an R&B song, the same music genre he currently makes. He considers Bruno Major, Jeremy Passion, and Mac Ayres as his musical idols as he wants to emulate their music which has an old-school feel with modern sensibilities.
He is an artist under the 22 Tango Music Group founded by Cebuana singer, songwriter, and producer Cattski Espina who looked back on when Streegan was a student at the Brown Academy of Music where she saw his talent at a young age. “The owner of the school and a friend of mine, Anna Fegi, would tell me to sign him and I responded, ‘Let Jericho grow up first’,” she said.
“It was my dream to be part of the 22 Tango roster because of the Cebu music community. It’s not just about the numbers, but the intimacy in some of the music gigs here,” said Streegan, who was pursued by numerous record labels.
Since signing with 22 Tango, Streegan released the single “All Night Long” in October 2021, as well as collaborations with label mate Julia Q. as a featured artist in “Hinay-Hinay” and “UNSPKN” released in April 2021 and June 2022 respectively. He also contributed his vocals to the 2021 single “Move Love” with Espina, Wonggoys, Lourdes, Vincent Eco, J Russ, and Diane Tungol, as well as in the song “To Try Again” for the label’s 2020 compilation album “AMUMA LIVE.”
Streegan’s second solo single “True” is his latest project under the label, released today on streaming services and digital music stores. He wrote the lyrics while Espina served as producer.
He described the collaboration with his boss as a learning “back and forth” process. “It’s not like one time
I go to the studio and record everything all at once. It’s just about testing everything out and what feels right for the song. If Miss Cattski thinks that we could put in some background vocals, she would tell me how to do it.”
Streegan wrote the song after looking back at his feelings for a former love interest and he explored the concept of “too good to be true.”
“It was long after that I was attracted to the person when I started hearing stories and stuff about that person. During the pandemic when we have nothing to do, all of these ideas come to your head and I thought it would be a good idea to write a song about it since it has a different perspective of unrequited love.”
He began writing when he no longer had feelings for the person who inspired the song, believing that doing so retrospectively is better than when his emotions were at their peak.
“I write better when I look back at it because for me to be able to put all of my ideas in one song, I have to be calm since it has to be a mix of your head and your heart when you write. Your heart pours and your mind just filters and leaves the best parts to the three or four-minute song. I think that way, the outcome would be much better.”
While recording “True”, Streegan and Espina experimented with hip-hop while retaining some of his signature sound. “Hip-hop and R&B cross paths as they are one family that is soul and gospel. The rap part was fun to do really, like it’s a Lin Manuel Miranda kind of rap-like feeling where there is a load of storytelling,” said Espina.
Promotional materials accompanying the release of “True” on social media had a recurring motif of a sunflower. “If you see the sunflower, it’s the only thing that has color, which highlights how true it is. But vice versa, the black and white background is true and the sunflower is just false,” she explained.
Espina said 22 Tango plan to release his debut album soon. “It would serve as Jericho’s résumé and further establish him as an artist. Albums are hard and take a while to finish, but that’s our plan. He’ll release a couple of singles and then, boom, the big one which is the album. But for now, just one song at a time.”