Ely Buendia releases new version of ‘Metro’ in support of Leni Robredo’s presidential bid

Eraserheads ex-frontman Ely Buendia has released a new version of his 2021 song ‘Metro’ in support of Philippine vice president Maria ‘Leni’ Robredo’s ongoing presidential campaign.

• READ MORE: Former Eraserheads frontman Ely Buendia: “I had a chip on my shoulder for the longest time, and I admit now that it got to me”

The new version “with updated lyrics for Ely’s candidates of choice”, according to label Offshore Music, is titled ‘Metro For Leni and Kiko’ – the latter referring to Leni’s running mate Senator Francis ‘Kiko’ Pangilinan. The song was released on March 31 and can be streamed on Apple Music in the Philippines.

The original version of the song addressed political corruption and incompetence, with one particular lyric, “Pangulo o pang-gulo?”, loosely translating to “Is it a president or a mess?”. The song and its video were released March 2021 as part of the We Need A Leader 2022 campaign, which launched in January that year to raise voter awareness and educate voters.

Listen to ‘Metro For Leni and Kiko’ below.

Buendia has previously shown support for Robredo, joking that he would reunite Eraserheads if she were to run for the Philippine presidency in a Twitter Q&A back in September 2021. He later walked back his comments on a reunion, calling it a “half-serious” joke that was turned “into a big deal”.

He added, “That answer was far from a political post. I do respect and admire Leni. If I were to vote, she’s my top candidate right now.”

Later that year in November, he met Robreo in her office, where he presented her with a 25th-anniversary vinyl edition of Eheads’ debut album ‘Ultraelectromagneticpop!’

Buendia and other Filipino musicians have thrown their weight behind Robredo by performing at her rallies. Buendia himself performed at a Robredo rally on February 25, closing the rally with a set of Eraserhead classics like ‘Ligaya’ and ‘Alapaap’.

Ben&Ben, The Itchyworms, Ebe Dancel, Autotelic, Rivermaya, Noel Cabangon and Jolina Slaydangal performed at a rally for Robredo earlier this month, with Ben&Ben declaring later that they would take no money for the performance as they did not want to “be paid for support”.

Filipino bands Moonstar88 and Imago also headlined a rally for Leni earlier in March in Echague, Isabela. Iconic rockers Rivermaya also turned their profile picture pink in support of the candidate in October, leading to some criticism from fans. In response, the band’s Mark Escueta wrote, “To those who don’t like us anymore because of our support for VP Leni, that’s fine.”

“Even though music has no connection to politics, I respect your decision.”

The 2022 Philippine presidential and vice-presidential elections are scheduled to be held on Monday, May 9, 2022.

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