One TikTok earworm has been dominating “For You” pages globally — and shedding light on a lesser-known genre of electronic dance music from the Philippines.
“Emergency Budots,” a remix of “Dr. Beat” by the Miami Sound Machine, was created by DJ Johnrey Masbate in December. But in the last month, it has found new life on TikTok. The song has been used in over 500,000 videos as of Monday afternoon.
Like many viral songs before it, “Emergency Budots” has been used to soundtrack both dance and fashion videos, generating millions of views.
But it’s the dance videos in particular, coupled with the “Emergency Budots” track, that have brought more recognition to this Filipino genre.
Budots originated in Davao City, Philippines. Its name is derived from the regional Visayan slang word for slacker. Budots dances, which involve sweeping hand movements and gyrating motions, preceded the music, according to Sherwin Tuna, better known as DJ Love, who spoke about the genre in the 2019 documentary “Budots: The Craze.”
Tuna is considered the originator of budots music and began creating the music in the early 2000s. The popularity of budots has risen over the past decade, but had remained largely regional until recently.
Now, TikTok users are attempting to emulate budots dances in videos set to “Emergency Budots.” Some creators, such as Hank Green, have expressed awe at the movements and declared the dance more difficult to execute than it looked. Others have posted tutorials.
“I didn’t expect my remix to go viral,” Masbate, the DJ, told NBC News in an email. “It’s just my passion to make remix songs.”
He said he hopes the budots trend will bring more attention to Filipino culture — and thinks TikTok is helping make that happen.
“Budots is so special for me,” he said, “because when you hear the budots, you can dance.”
