Friday night, the seventeenth of July. I walked into Teatrino Promenade as a total stranger. I was not a fan, I was not a follower, and I definitely was not a MYX intern. I was simply there because my friends, who were MYX interns, had a free ticket to spare. That was the whole story. I was not counting down the days on a calendar. I did not know the lyrics. I did not have a favorite track. I was just holding on to a simple thought, “Sayang ang free ticket.”It would have been a waste to stay home.
If I am being completely honest, the most I did to prepare was look up Lullaboy on social media right before leaving. Funny, right? I scrolled through his posts and looked at his photos, just trying to put a face to the name I was about to see live. It was not about getting hyped, it was just so I would not feel entirely lost. And somehow, that felt like enough.
The night started with a sound check. There was something different about seeing an artist before the actual show began. The venue was not yet filled with the energy of a concert crowd. The stage was still being prepared, the sound was being tested, and everything felt a little more behind the scenes. I saw him, practicing his songs and talking to us, the crowd.
Then came the photo opportunity with Lullaboy. I hesitated. As the line moved, I started overthinking. What was I supposed to say? Should I pretend I knew his songs? When my turn came, I chose to just tell the truth. I told him straight up that I wasn’t a fan, and that I was only there because my friends got me a ticket. I expected a quick, awkward laugh. Instead, he looked at me with a smile and said, “It was meant to be.” And for some reason, that stuck. It was meant to be. A few words that I didn’t think much about at first, but somehow became the thread that followed me through the rest of the night.
When the concert finally started, however, something changed. The moment I heard Lullaboy perform his songs live, I instantly got hooked. There was something about hearing the music beyond a phone speaker, beyond a pair of headphones, and surrounded by people who were feeling the same thing. The songs suddenly felt different; they became more alive and even more personal.
I came into the venue not knowing what my favorite song would be. I left knowing exactly what it was.
“Beautiful Disaster” was the one that caught me. There was something so gentle yet strong about the way he sang it. Maybe it was the mood in the room, or maybe it was the meaning behind it, that beauty can still grow out of quiet chaos. Or maybe it was just a song that found me right when I needed to hear it.
But the music was not the only thing that caught my attention.
I also loved seeing how much Lullaboy genuinely loves his fans. Old fans, new fans, and everyone in between. You could feel that appreciation in the way he interacted with the crowd. He did not make the room feel like there was a hierarchy between the people who had been listening to him for years and those who were just discovering him. And as someone who literally walked into the venue as a stranger, that meant something to me.
I was not expected to know everything. I was not expected to prove that I belonged there. I was simply allowed to experience the music. That kind of warmth is easy to notice when you are the new person in the room.
And maybe that was the moment the concert stopped being just a random Friday night for me.
I looked around and saw people who knew the songs by heart, people singing along without hesitation, screaming, laughing, taking videos, and completely losing themselves in the music. Meanwhile, I had arrived knowing almost nothing. But somewhere between one song and the next, I stopped feeling like I was simply tagging along.
I started listening. Really listening. Maybe that’s the beauty of going into a concert without expectations. There is nothing you are trying to prove. You do not have to compare the live version to the one you have heard and listened to a hundred times. You do not have to wait for your favorite song. You just experience it as it happens.
And Hotels and Heartbreaks gave me exactly that. The title of the show itself felt fitting for a night that was never supposed to mean anything to me. Hotels are temporary places. You arrive, you stay, and eventually, you leave. People can be like that, too. Some come into our lives for a season. Some stay longer. Some leave behind memories that linger long after they were gone. And heartbreaks? Well, those do not always need an explanation. Sometimes, you do not even realize you are carrying one until a song puts a name to it.
I walked into the concert not knowing much about Lullaboy, but I slowly understood why the people around me had shown up. They were not just listening to songs. They were listening to pieces of themselves. And unexpectedly, I found myself doing the same. The funny thing is, I did not plan any of this. Looking back, it was never planned. Maybe he was right. “It was meant to be.”Maybe it really was. Maybe I was meant to be there, not because I was already a fan, but because I needed to discover something I had not been looking for.
The free ticket got me inside. My friends gave me the reason to show up. The sound check gave me my first glimpse. The photo opportunity gave me a moment I did not expect. His music made me stay. His love for his fans gave me another reason to understand why people keep coming back. And honestly, you will probably see me at his next show here in the Philippines.
Because I came to Hotels and Heartbreaks as a stranger, a total first-timer. I left with songs to look up, a new favorite, memories from a Friday night I had not planned on remembering, and the words that somehow made the whole thing feel a little less accidental.
It was meant to be. It was really meant to be.
Maybe some of the best side quests are the ones you never planned to take.
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Renalyn Bico is a fourth-year Communication and Media Studies student at the University of the Philippines Visayas
MYX gives you access to music centric content and entertainment by Filipino and Asian artists through a multi-platform experience. MYX is the best place to discover new artists alongside internationally renowned artists, and watch live TV, stream original shows, listen to online radio stations, and be front and center at events trending in America, Canada, Philippines and the world.
