Key Points
- Singer-songwriter Jason Dhakal was born and raised in Oman and moved to the Philippines at the age of 16 to pursue music.
- At 13, Jason came out open as being queer.
- From independently starting his music to being signed under a label, the 24-year-old artist is grateful to those people who believed in him and his talent.
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Filipino singer Jason Dhakal proudly represents the Philippines at Sydney's SXSW 2024
17:19
Me and my music
Music has been a big part of Jason Dhakal's life.
"Music is just my life. It's like my best friend that I can say all my secrets and will never tell anyone."
"I will never tell a person I wrote a song about them. It's just me and my music."
"I'm at that point in my life,
Jason has been writing songs since I was 14 or 15. "It's my way of how I process moments in my life. I write them down "
Jason Dhakal Credit: Instagram
From Oman to the Philippines
Jason Dhakal was born and raised in Oman and moved to Manila, Philippines when he was 16.
"I grew up with an OFW mum, she’s a single mother. All my life I’ve been surrounded by Filipino culture. When I was turning 16, I just wanted to know what that part of my culture is and just see what’s happening there [in the Philippines] and I really wanted to do music," shares the singer.
"In Oman, there were not as many record labels and I am not what they are looking for there. So, I moved to the Philippines and started music, I started independently until Warner Music found me."
Before it was just me proving to myself. Now, there's proof. Someone backing me up. And it's just not any label, it's one of the biggest labels. I'm just grateful.Jason Dhakal
Under their current record label, the past two or three years have been surreal. "I don't how I got here but I got here."
'All worth it'
Coming home to the Philippines is "all worth it" for the singer-songwriter finding foot in the music industry.
"It's one of the best things I've ever done in my life."
"I remember the first two months upon moving to Manila, I was crying. I was like 'girl, what did I do [moving here]?"
Dhakal admitted being so scared.
"I remember I don't have friends in the Philippines. I have no family. It was just so a lot for me back then."
However, after about five months of coming home to Jason's maternal homeland, everything changed for the better.
I don't think I'll ever get out and leave the Philippines.Jason Dhakal
Queer and proud
The Filipino-Nepali-born singer has been open about being queer from the age of 13.
Although Jason admits that "growing up, it [being queer] was not as accepted and it was just a lot of [feeling indifferent]".
"But growing up in Oman, the most important thing it gave me was the unique sense of perspective.
"I don't know a lot of people like me that think like me, only a few people usually in Oman."
"It was kind of hard sometimes. I remember growing up and feeling like I didn't know where to belong."
I'm too Filipino here; while here I'm too foreign. But I think you just have to really keep going, grow up a little more.Jason Dhakal on being queer
For Jason, coming home to the Philippines made a lot of difference.
"I have found my community and love hanging out with them in the Philippines."
"I have really found where I belong."
The Filipino-Nepali-born singer-songwriter Jason Dhakal graces SBS Filipino with a studio interview during a Sydney visit for the 2024 SXSW Festival in October. Credit: SBS Filipino
SXSW in Australia
The 24-year-old artist recently visited Australia for the first time to represent the Philippines as part of their music label, Warner Music Group's showcase event at 2024 SXSW featuring Australian Bean Magazine, CHISEKO, and Korean artist Olivia Marsh.
South by South West (SXSW) Sydney (October 14-20) aims to help creative people achieve their goals and it brings people together to inspire the unexpected through its thought-provoking events, performances, game demos, film screenings, and beyond.
While in Sydney, Filipino artist Jason Dhakal also filmed a music video for his upcoming song with Oliver Cronin which will be released in February 2025.
