'It'll definitely be more than okay': Zack Tabudlo in cloud nine as Shawn Mendes reacts to his 'It'll Be Okay' cover
It'll definitely be more than okay when one of your idols notices you.
Filipino singer-songwriter Zack Tabudlo just got the approval of Canadian performer Shawn Mendes for covering his 2021 song, It'll Be Okay, on Tiktok.
@zack.tabudlo it’ll be okay @shawnmendes ♬ original sound - Zack Tabudlo
Tabudlo took to Instagram to show how he's been on cloud nine when Mendes liked and left a black heart emoji comment on his TikTok upload.
"MY HEART LITERALLY STOPPED. HOW DID I NOT SEE THIS," he wrote in all caps. "SHAWN FREAKIN MENDES FRKIN COMMENTED AND LIKED MY TIKTOK COVER OF HIS SONG WTF IM SHAKING WHAT DO I DO."
"MY HEART. MY SOUL. I CANNOT STOP SHAKING WHAT IS HAPPENING. HOW. WHAT. IS THIS REAL. LIFE," his caption continued.
In a short video attached to his Instagram post, a seemingly trembling Tabudlo took a shaky close-up shot of his face, with his voice almost cracking in sharing his excitement to his 105,000 followers.
The 20-year-old Pinoy singer also tagged Mendes, calling him "MY HERO SIR," followed by a white heart emoji.
Tabudlo is a finalist of the first season of The Voice Kids Philippines in 2014.
Since then, he's already made a name for himself in the local music industry, intermingling several genres and styles, from rhythm and blues to alternative pop. His songs often explore themes of romantic love and heartache.
His big break came in 2021, with his Binibini. It eventually took audio streaming platform Spotify's top spot as the most streamed song in the country last year. He's also among the country's top streamed local artists.
His Binibini and Nangangamba also secured the No. 1 and No. 2 spots for most repeated local songs.
Tabudlo is also part of Spotify's RADAR Philippines program, which aims to introduce local music acts to international listeners.
His listener base overseas include the United States, Canada, Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, and Japan. Spotify data showed that in recent months, his international growth has had a 1,300% increase.
He has 3.9 monthly listeners on Spotify.