POV: A TikTok Trend Makes You Nostalgic
Written by Jaylieca Cunanan
Picture this: You wake up one morning and open TikTok to help you shake off the morning grogginess when the first thing you hear once the app loads is a familiar sound from your childhood. That’s precisely what happened to me when I heard the audio remix of someone calling an emergency and paging Dr. Beat.
This audio remix is an example of Budots—an electronic dance genre originating from Davao City, Philippines. Budots, derived from the Visayan slang meaning “slacker,” started as a street dance associated with street culture in the country. Sherwin Tuna, known as DJ Love in his remixes, helped popularize Budots in the early 2000s into the music genre it is known today. The genre is characterized by layered beats on bass accompanied by heightened sounds, commonly sirens or high-pitched noises. Music from this genre is not only catchy, but it also leaves a lasting impression.
The viral sound on TikTok is a remix of “Dr. Beat” by the American band Miami Sound Machine. DJ Johnrey Masbate from the Philippines made the remix, which blew up after being used over videos of people showing off their outfits as they lightly walk in place to the beat of the music while swinging their hands, a motion inspired by Roblox’s Sturdy Dance - Ice Spice emote.
More recently, people who know the context of Budots have started another trend to the audio, showcasing actual Budots dances, which involve wider arm movements as they move their knees to the music.
Three seconds into hearing the audio on TikTok, I’m transported back to the backseat of a jeepney. I hold my mother’s hand and mentally complain about the heat while the music of the same genre blasts from the jeep’s speakers. Suddenly, I’m watching TV in the living room, and a political campaign commercial plays. The candidate dances to a similar sound when my grandmother calls me for dinner.
While I didn’t grow up in the Philippines, my parents always brought me and my siblings back home at least once a year. Often, that once a year fell on summer vacations from school. I spent my childhood summers more in my hometown than elsewhere in the world, and, in those summers, I never went once without hearing Budots music. So, while a lot of people around the world right now may only know Budots as part of a TikTok trend or could have possibly lived their lives never coming across the genre if not for the trend, my childhood summers back in my hometown would not have been the same without it.