Bernadette drops song after recovering from COVID

Broadcast journalist Bernadette Sembrano (photo) has turned to songwriting anew to console Filipinos amid troubling times through her latest single under Star Music titled Yakap.

“I miss comforting people with a hug. And I miss being hugged, too. Please allow our music to embrace you during these times,” she said.

The idea for the track first crossed the TV Patrol anchor’s mind a few months into the pandemic last year, where everyone’s fear of contracting COVID-19 was especially heightened.

Bernadette wondered what difference the act of hugging each other would have made, to which ABSCBN Music creative director Jonathan Manalo suggested, “Why don’t you write lyrics to a Yakap song?”

From there, she found inspiration to pen the track’s lyrics, which extended to “hearing” its music — thus making Yakap the first song she both wrote and composed. Jonathan then stepped in to produce it.

The song was released on May 5 exactly a year after ABS-CBN’s shutdown.

But the track has also taken on a new personal meaning for Bernadette after her recent recovery from COVID-19.

“It became like a note to self,” she shared. “The song’s intention was to comfort others, but now that I am going through anxiety myself, I was being reminded to remember the good times, smile, and all shall be well.”

Previously, the ABS-CBN News personality collaborated with Jonathan for the titular song of the Kapamilya teleserye of the same name Ang Sa Iyo Ay Akin. She also released the Christmas-themed track Yakapin Ang Pasko in 2020.

Yakap is now out on various digital streaming platforms.