MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Fresh off the success of his recent collaboration with Al James titled Gusto (Want), prolific singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo is back with a new song called “Turn Back Time.” This time, Zack teams up with rising Thai artist Violette Wautier, out now on music streaming platforms.
Biding Their Time
New followers of both artists might not know that both Zack and Violette started their careers
participating in the singing competition The Voice Philippines and The Voice Thailand, respectively. While they both failed to snag the title, Zack and Violette have been steadily pursuing their respective music careers since their tenure in the show.
“That’s the thing with making music, it’s committing your whole life to it. I’ve been trying this whole music thing for 10 years with nothing happening to me until the 11th or 12th year. A bit of a shining moment came in, and now I’m here. I have no idea how I’m here in Thailand, doing music with Violette, so it’s such an honor,” Zack shared about his seemingly serendipitous music journey leading up to this international collaboration.
“I do have a lot of passion for music, so that’s what kept me going. I’m doing what I love, and I’ve always been doing that. I think that music really takes me far and now I get to meet this incredible artist, writer, and producer, so I’m very lucky right now,” Violette added about her own career journey.
Teaming Up to “Turn Back Time”
As they’re both no strangers to striving for musical success, it seemed inevitable for both singer-songwriters to cross paths and make music together.
“I met Zack in 2022 in Singapore. I have so much respect for him as an artist, and when I was asked in an interview on who I’d like to collaborate with in Southeast Asia, I immediately said Zack Tabudlo. From that on, our labels got to talking and made it happen,” Violette shared how her professional relationship with Zack began.
Zack confirmed being touched about Violette’s interview and added “A year ago, I was asked by my team on who I wanted to collaborate with on my next track. The first person that came to my mind was Violette, because we’ve been friends for a while and both our teams in Manila and Thailand were excited about the possibility of a collaboration.”
Tapping Into the Points of View of Heartbreak
“Turn Back Time” is a song about heartbreak, sung from the perspective of a couple in the throes of pain post-breakup. The lyrics, written by both Zack and Violette, take us through the longing and regret after leaving a relationship that you tried hard to save.
“I was actually in Thailand for a vacation when the idea came to me that maybe I can write a song similar to Pano, but with both the perspective of a man and a woman falling out of love,” Zack shared about what prompted him to write “Turn Back Time.”
Zack opens the song, sharing the perspective of a lover who’s still left wondering what he did wrong even though he “tried my best, thinking you’re the one.” He sings about the helplessness of heartbreak, to the point of longing for a tumultuous relationship rather than facing the loneliness of a breakup.
Violette takes over the second verse, showing the perspective of a lover who was resigned to their relationship’s doomed fate. “It’s sad, really thought we would last,” Violette painfully ends her verse, masterfully using the softness of her voice to amplify the hurt and regret in her lyrics.
The song builds into a heartrending climax with Zack and Violette singing together, their voices guaranteed to invoke emotion to even the happiest of listeners. “Turn Back Time” tells the story of a breakup from the perspective of two lovers, and both Zack and Violette prove their writing and singing prowess with how they embody their part of the song.
Zack sings with raw pain, vocalizing the guilt from his verses, while Violette croons with the restrained pain of someone still trying to figure out herself after losing her love. It’s clear that both lovers are still hurting and longing for each other, but it’s not meant to be. They’re left longing to turn back time, as life takes over and forces them to move on.
“Like any relationship, there are the beautiful moments you share but there’s also pain involved,” Violette summarized the song’s message. “I think anyone that has had a relationship that lasted over a long time can understand that. And that’s what really inspired the song – it’s just very real and as much as it hurts and as much as you want a relationship to work, sometimes it just doesn’t work out.”
Learning From Each Other
Though they hail from different countries, music proved to be a powerful bridge for Zack and Violette. With both of them already having a few collaborations under their belt, Zack shared that his collaboration with Violette felt different because “Violette and I were already friends before making this song, so it was very comfortable working with her. With my other international collaborations, I became friends with them only during or after the project.”
“I also found out how much of an amazing writer she is, because I’ve been hearing some of her music and I was there at her show, on my first time in Thailand. Given that we were both very busy with touring when the team asked Violette about the song and writing her own verse, I remember her writing her thing at 12:00 am,” Zack expounded on his collaboration process with Violette. “She was like, how do you like it, and I was like, okay, I can see the perspective of the writer she is and that gave me so much respect for her.”
“I think this song is very special as well because I was just asking you [Zack] how you wrote this song, did it come from experience? You said that you pour your heart out in every song,” Violette further shared about their creative process.
The distance only seemed to make their collaboration stronger, with Violette explaining how the song came together, “Being in different countries made things different. Zack sent me his part of the song first and once I heard it, I just wrote mine. We communicated mainly through DMs and Zoom. We both connected with the song so writing it was actually really easy.”
Reaching Both Thai and Filipino Audiences
“Turn Back Time” may be a song about the universal pain of heartbreak, but Zack and Violette only have good words for each other and lots of hope to share with their audience.
Violette empathizes with their listeners, hoping that “people can resonate with the feeling of reminiscing about your past relationship. Even though you know why it ended and even if it was for the better, sometimes you can’t help to sometimes wonder if you handled certain things differently things might not have ended the way it did or would it have ended at all.”
To his fans, Zack advised, “to always remember that falling out of love is never easy whether you’re a man or a woman. There’s always two sides to the story and the only way to heal is to move on.”
Follow Zack Tabudlo and Violette Wautier on their social media accounts to stay updated on
their future releases.
Listen to “Turn Back Time,” out now on music streaming platforms.
