Geoff Mabasa Drops \’truthfully\’

Manila-born alternative pop singer ‘jiofu’ debuts new music with truthfully, a soft anthem for loving someone more than they love you.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — After years of putting music on the backburner, Filipino artist jiofu makes his debut with truthfully (i love you more than you love me) — a soft, stripped-down love letter-like ballad about loving someone more than they ever loved you back. It hurts, but it doesn’t beg, just tells the truth.

“This is what it sounds like when you stop trying to explain yourself,” jiofu says. “You already know they don’t love you the same. but you kept trying anyway.”

It’s the first single from his upcoming EP titled “hours I can’t take back”— a project that follows the whole arc of a relationship, from the first spark to the final unraveling. truthfully lives in that moment near the end, when you’ve said all you could, and all that’s left is honesty.a new chapter, a new name

Before this, jiofu was just Geoff — working in tech, writing on the side, quietly hoping the right time would come. He co-wrote a song that went viral in 2020 with 11 million TikTok uses, but didn’t pursue it further.

“i thought music would always just be a ‘what if.’ I kept getting farther from the version of myself that wanted this.” “I wanted to live a life that felt aligned with my purpose in life.”

He chose the name jiofu — a soft nod to one of his childhood nicknames — to mark the shift. A quiet reintroduction as he already released songs under his real name – Geoff Mabasa.before this, there was already something

Long before releasing music under jiofu, the signs were already there — just scattered across a different timeline. In 2019, he won CNN Philippines’ business reality show The Final Pitch, pitching a tech startup idea and walking away with funding and national recognition. But even then, he knew something didn’t quite fit.

“It was a huge moment. But the truth is, even while I was pitching startups, I was still writing lyrics in the back of my notebook.”

In 2021, he co-wrote and co-produced a song that quietly went viral on TikTok, earning over 11 million uses. But again, he stayed behind the scenes — not ready to fully step into the spotlight.

It would take a few more years, a move across continents, and a total shift in how he saw himself — before the songs became personal enough to carry his own name.visuals with contrast

The music video — out July 18 — was filmed in Okinawa, Japan. It’s sunlit and carefree: convertibles, sea breeze, friends yelling lyrics in the wind. It looks nothing like heartbreak. And that’s the point of the video.

“I didn\’t want it to be grey and sad. I wanted it to feel real. because sometimes, even when you’re surrounded by joy, the truth still hurts.” Later that night, during a traditional Okinawan folk show, the feeling deepened. Everyone was starving as they waited for the show to start. But jiofu sat still — fully tuned into the music.

“Watching the sanshin player, hearing stories told without needing to belt it out. I felt so much. That\’s the kind of music I want to make.”

what\’s next

There’s an EP coming at the end of the year titled “hours i can’t take back”. Each song is a chapter that describes the full arc of a relationship.

“These are musings about the parts of love that don’t get posted. the stuff you carry long after it ends.”