Words by Julienne Loreto • June 23, 2026

Non-fiction • Features

Read it in the original Cebuano here.

It’s been three years since “Day and Night” by ALAMAT was released on June 14, 2023.

To date, “Maharani” remains the group’s only song to have entered the Billboard Philippines charts so far. But with “Day and Night,” ALAMAT has landed an arguably even more extraordinary achievement: it ranks among the top 15 most-streamed Cebuano-language songs of all time on Spotify, surpassing many hits and classics, such as Maymay Entrata’s “Tsada Mahigugma” (2023) and most songs by iconic band Missing Filemon.

Even ALAMAT’s fanbase, the Magiliws, might be surprised by this. According to a TikTok post that has been viewed over 189,000 times in the past month, the song hasn’t been promoted much. Yet as of writing, “Day and Night” has amassed more than eight million streams, surpassing “Sa Panaginip Na Lang,” which was their most-streamed track for some time.

“Panaginip” is one of the group’s most mainstream songs. Especially compared to their vastly multilingual and experimental discography, this pure Tagalog ballad was primed for commercial success.

Marketing was practically built-in too, as it was the theme song for Carlo Aquino and Julia Barretto’s romantic drama film Expensive Candy (2022). However, its streams are currently at 7.9 million. Four years since its release, “Panaginip” has been overtaken by the Visayan, “regional” underdog that arrived a year later.

“Day and Night” is super easy on the ears. Its melody is bright and its story sweet, told from the viewpoint of someone who has fallen in love with a magindara (a mermaid-like figure in Bicolano and Visayan mythology).

Dancehall, a genre derived from Afro-Jamaican reggae, is the foundation of “Day and Night.” The drum riddims in the song are prominent. Countless songs in the Philippines, especially in the Visayas region, are accompanied by reggae or its numerous offshoots.

“Day and Night” could have easily turned out to be generic and forgettable. But it possesses certain qualities that distinguish it from other songs containing similar base elements.

If you ask us, Therese Langit and Thyro Alfaro’s work made a major difference. Langit is a Cebuano poet and esteemed singer-songwriter in Visayan pop (Vispop). Most of the top-streamed Vispop songs are from solo artists or rock bands. Aside from ALAMAT, another boy band sits on the list: Hey Joe Show. Their song “My Morena Girl” was penned by Langit; it’s the third most-streamed Vispop song on Spotify. If there’s anyone who knows how to craft the rare Cebuano boy band hit, it’s Therese Langit.

On the other hand, Alfaro is an R&B singer, songwriter, and producer whose smash successes include Abra’s “Gayuma” and none other than ALAMAT’s “Maharani.”

I’ve said it before and won’t hesitate to repeat it: the use of Cebuano in “Day and Night” is flawless, and I can’t imagine the song if its big hooks were in any other language.

As Vice Ganda quipped when Maymay Entrata, Shuvee Etrata, and Kim Chiu spoke Cebuano on It’s Showtime, we tend to sound like FlipTop rappers when simply conversing. Some people are astonished by how fast casual Cebuano sounds.

But Alfaro wasn’t intimidated by our language. Even though he’s not Bisaya, his strength in R&B allowed him to collaborate with Langit to create a song that perfectly suits Cebuano. Langit’s beautiful Cebuano-English style paired with Alfaro’s buttery melodies produced something magnificent. The song’s lightning-quick lines such as “Gimingaw kaayo ko nimo, woo-hoo!” and “Adlaw ug gabii, adlaw ug gabii” will stay stuck in your head.

Add indigenous instruments never heard in pop music before, and adept audio engineering that allows ALAMAT’s voices to sound like crystal? It’s simply a winning formula.

The song quietly crawled upward. Even Magiliws didn’t realize that “Day and Night” has accrued so many listeners. As time passes, more and more people have (and will) come to appreciate this Visayan pop treasure.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julienne Loreto (they/them) is a writer born and raised in Leyte, now living in the United Kingdom. They are the editor-in-chief of kasing2. You can also find their work in other magazines like The Line of Best Fit (UK).