“HATDOG” by Zack Tabudlo (ft. James Reid)
“HATDOG” is yet another Pinoy pop song we have to contend with. By the looks of things, music from the Philippines is becoming increasingly popular internationally, so maybe in the near future we’ll be treated to official translations of tracks like “Hatdog”. But for now we’re relying on a Google translation, meaning that some of the lyrics read a bit comical, though in this case that may well be the intended effect.
Lyrics of “HATDOG”
That said, the wording of this piece doesn’t necessarily appear complicated by any stretch of the imagination. What we’re dealing with here is a love song which basically boils down to the vocalist assuring the addressee, his sweetheart, that he is in fact dedicated to their relationship. As such she doesn’t need to freak out for instance when his “hand touches someone else”.
What isn’t abundantly clear though is why on Earth is this song named “Hatdog”. The cover art features the homeys wearing what appear to be hotdog vendor hats, as well as relatedly driving a truck out of which they sell ‘hatdogs’.
Well to note, according to Wiktionary hatdog appears to be a popular slang term in Tagalog, i.e. the native Filipino language. And it has various applications – one of which by the way, as some readers may have already likely postulated on their own, is as a reference to the male manhood. And considering that this is a young male love song which we are depending on an unofficial translation to decipher, it is theoretically possible that such is what the vocalists are referring to.
Or let’s say that if such is what Zack Tabudlo is ultimately getting at, i.e. sex, then he is doing so in a shrouded kind of way.
It is also implied in the lyrics that the term has something symbolically to do with “cardboard”, which the vocalists have an issue with. And relatedly, it also appears that the reference to “cardboard” is meant to be an allusion to the addressee’s ‘empty heart’, i.e. she being in some type of less-than-ideal emotional state in relation to romance.
So by the time all is allegorically said and done the apparent goal of the vocalist, as stated earlier, is to convince the addressee that he’s in it for the long haul.
Zack Tabudlo
Zack Tabudlo is a singer from the Philippines who had been trying to break into the industry since 2014, when he would have been about 13 years old. Around 2020 is when he really started to blow up. That was the same year that Zack got down with the Universal Music Group.
“HATDOG”
1st January, 2022 is the official release date of “HATDOG”.
It is the first track that Tabudlo has dropped alongside James Reid, who is of both Australian and Filipino parentage, though the two of them have worked in a professional capacity before. Reid is concurrently 28 years of age and, as relatively indicative of his age, currently has a more established presence in the music industry, on top of possessing a notable filmography.
Tabudlo wrote and produced this song, reportedly drafting it in just 30 minutes’ time.
