These days, if it's raining in Manila, you can guarantee someone out there is listening to Lola Amour. 

Encapsulating the downpour of rain and emotions that come with this moody season, the Filipino funk-rock outfit's latest single 'Raining In Manila' is the perfect soundtrack for the days that feel a little heavy on the heart and the clouds.

The track talks about the many emotions and experiences that come when a loved one leaves home to start a new life across the world. It's that odd mix of being happy for their new chapter, wanting to know if they're doing alright, missing them, and hoping that they're missing you too.

"The topic of the song is something deeply personal to me because a lot of my friends left the country so I felt like only they understood what I was feeling. I didn’t realize that a lot of people also experienced something similar so I’m really proud of the fact that people are able to seek comfort in the song," Lola Amour's frontman Pio Dumayas tells Bandwagon. 

"I know it’s easy to talk to our friends about our love lives and milestones and stuff but losing your friends to another country (and feeling down about it), I imagine, is something that people tend to keep to themselves. Hopefully the song has given people the push they need to bring up these conversations with their friends. The thought of that alone is fulfilling," he continues. 

In a world of two-minute pop bops, the single is a rare five-minute gem of ups and downs as Lola Amour takes us through the twists and turns of saying goodbye encased in extended instrumental bridges and saxophone solos, the kind you'd typically only expect when seeing the band perform live. 

"We felt with a burning passion that it needed to be [five minutes long]. A few of our friends warned us that the song might be too long, but we just couldn’t give it up. I’m happy we didn’t give it up," Pio shares.

But beyond it's heartfelt sentiments, the song has stuck with people in a different way—many different ways, in fact.

Much like any other song, once it's out into the world, it starts to take its own form as the listeners see fit. For 'Raining In Manila', it's become the anthem of the heavy rainfalls in the Manila (and just all around the Philippines), often soundtracking videos of people conquering floods in the city. 

"Even if our songs usually have a serious tone, we’ve always been a comical group so it’s a big plus to us that we get to be a big part of the current meme culture. I think our favorite tiktok is that one by @tomasiknows where there’s a person on a jetski speeding through UST [University of Santo Tomas]. I personally resonate with the video because there’s just something so comforting about such absurdity in the face of such a shitty situation," says Pio. 

'Raining In Manila' has also become a new soundtrack for K-pop AUs (alternate universe) stories on TikTok, noted for its relatable sentiments and endless possiblities for far-fetched scenarios surrounding our favourite idols. And most recently, some of those stories just got a little closer to coming true. 

In the last week, Lola Amour's hit got noticed by Jungwon and Jake of ENHYPEN, with the latter even listening to it during a Weverse Live. It's a surreal moment where dreams meets reality for fans, but even more of a surreal moment for the band being noticed by one of the biggest K-pop groups out there. 

"It’s always a heartwarming sight when our music reaches a new community, but we never expected it to travel overseas. The ENGENE fandom has been so supportive and played such a big part in getting this song to where it is now. Huge shoutout to Ysa, who wrote an Enhypen “AU” that went viral on TikTok. She’s also one of the reasons why the ENGENEs rallied behind the song," says Pio. 

Hope it reaches you, but we want to say thank you for listening to Raining in Manila live on your Weverse! Hope to see you guys when you’re in manila! @ENHYPEN_members @ENHYPEN ☔️🫶🏻

Endless appreciation to ph engenes 🫶🏻

— ☔️ LOLA AMOUR ☔️ (@lolaamourmusic) July 16, 2023

'Raining In Manila' is now the biggest song in the Philippines, earning the most single-day streams for a Filipino song on Spotify PH chart history. All of which is something the band found out minutes after learning that ENHYPEN's Jake was listening to their song live and minutes before they were about to head out on stage. 

Thank you for coming despite the downpour ☔️ so many things happened during this show— We found out that it became the #1 song in the Philippines!! Also found out that Jake from Enhypen listened to #RainingInManila and liked it! Thank you ENGENEs!

📸@jeremycaisip pic.twitter.com/qsQXKVQazg

— ☔️ LOLA AMOUR ☔️ (@lolaamourmusic) July 15, 2023

"It was such a trip. We found out about both just minutes apart, right before we were supposed to get up on stage and perform. That gig was made specifically to celebrate the success of the song but more importantly, the community that we were able to build in a span of a month," Pio recalls.

"Having that same community be there, present with us for that moment felt like the planets aligned. We were running out of time so we couldn’t do a thank you speech but good thing it was one of those gigs where no words were necessary. You just knew everyone was on the same page that night."

For an unexpected mix of reasons, 'Raining In Manila' has desrvingly become the band's most successful song to date, drawing in new fans from all over the world. To further introduce Lola Amour to everyone, Pio recommends another song of theirs to enjoy.

"Personally, I think 'Madali' would be a great song. It’s a song with another long instrumental, but it’s really fun to sing along to. The theme of the song is relatable too especially if you struggled with the same feelings during the pandemic," he says. 

With a bigger community and all the stars aligning, it's an exciting time for Lola Amour, one they're looking to welcome with their first-ever album and of course, live shows.

"I don’t know if people have noticed but we haven’t been taking a lot of shows the past month because we’re currently recording an album. We’re hoping to launch it in the next few months and of course, there’s gonna be a big show with a lot of our friends from the music scene. In fact, after recording the album, we’re going straight into adapting the album into a live show. Let’s see how it goes," shares Pio.