Three Reasons Why The Original Juans Breaking Up is so Devastating

The first time I saw a video thumbnail of The Juans, I remember thinking, I’d never seen a band with members looking so visually disparate, but it was that exact same incongruity that made me curious enough to click. Halfway through Nasayang Lang, and I was hooked. What followed were days happily stuck in a loop listening with bated breath to their drums, guitars, bass and that odd offspring of strings and keys Carl kept lugging around.

Which was why my heart stopped when the video for Lumalapit finally went live, and there was just Carl and Japs in it. I thought something had gone terribly wrong. Daniel, Jason and Jiad were nowhere to be seen, not even a visible shadow of a drumstick or a bass string.

A quick dig through YouTube unearthed their reality TV series with all the answers. After five years together, they had finally split. I was so devastated, I couldn’t work, which is shockingly unusual for me, an acerbic online ascetic at violent odds with the doctrine of fangirling.

So why? Why was this so heartbreaking for me? Three reasons came to mind.

3 – These boys really have talent.

Much has been said about the members of The Juans having the right looks for show business. But seriously, their musical skill should be at the top of the list of their good qualities. All five can sing and play an instrument, and they deliver well on a live stage.

Sadly, in this country, it is the out of tune, tone deaf, and musically impaired entertainers who pack larger concert coliseums and register more multi platinum album sales. It almost feels like an injustice to see real talent fall by the wayside.

2 – They brought a fresh touch to Philippine pop music.

According to Carl, an Asia’s Got Talent judge commented that there was nothing unique about them. While I obviously cannot win an argument against a musically superior judge, I can say with some degree of authority rooted in experience, that in the Philippines, The Juans brought a welcome waft of freshness to an industry crowded with belters and balladeers.

The band had a perpetually upbeat feel that pulsated with an energy so joyful, it could infect even the chronically sad. Their style was so unusual that if you listened closely, you’d hear bright notes even in their sad songs. I think I know the secret. Band leader Carl is after all an active Christian church member. That uplifting feel is a hint of faith music, and regardless of your religious affiliation, it’s good for the despairing soul.

1- They truly represented the common Juan.

They are, after all, called The Juans, a direct reference to the Filipino everyman, and their varied looks only serve to delineate the teeming diversity of the nation they embody even more. But their link to the common man goes beyond their name and appearance. Their early struggles in the industry, and their ingenious ways of dealing with hardship, pretty much encapsulate the Filipino experience the world over, our struggles against seemingly insurmountable odds to survive and succeed. It stings to see this representative of the common Juan throw in the towel.

If you think about it though, you’ll realize that the outcome of this sorrowful parting is still every bit as reflective of our cultural values as their name. When things fall apart, you laugh, pick yourself up and move on.

Where does that leave us who love the original five together. We must try to be truly Filipino about it. Be happy for each of them, and root loyally and, where appropriate, loudly for the two remaining Juans.