In 2025, Lola Amour, one of the Philippines’ most iconic bands, won the Special Award: Philippine Popular Music at MUSIC AWARDS JAPAN, sometimes known as the “Asian Grammys.” Their 2025 release “The Moment” drew extra attention because it featured Kokoro Kohatsu of PSYCHIC FEVER from EXILE TRIBE, but the collaboration between these two artists went beyond just this song. Kokoro also made a surprise appearance in January of this year when Lola Amour played in Japan for the first time.
Billboard JAPAN had the chance to speak with Lola Amour and Kohatsu and learn about how their collaboration has impacted each other.
What led to Kokoro working on “The Moment?”
Pio Dumayas (vocals/guitar): We’re both part of Warner Music, and I happened to come across PSYCHIC FEVER’s “Gelato.” The song got all of us in the band excited, and we had a blast singing it a cappella. We uploaded a video of us singing it as an Instagram Story, and PSYCHIC FEVER reacted. That led to us to talking to each other online, and to Kokoro performing on our song, “The Moment.”
Kokoro, what did you think when you got the collaboration offer from Lola Amour?
Kokoro: PSYCHIC FEVER had never been to the Philippines, so I was really happy that they got in touch with me. I liked the song, too, so I decided to put my heart into it, because I felt like we could get a good chemical reaction going.
Manu Dumayas (trumpet/guitar/bass): When we asked him to work with us on “The Moment,” he was so enthusiastic, with this vibe of “I’ll do anything,” so the collaboration went really smoothly. And we got along super well, with a similar sense of humor, so working together was a lot of fun.
David Yuhico (keyboards): I’m sure at the start there must have been some things he felt lost about, but he gladly took on any request. He was just so friendly, and the creation process went smoothly. He has a wonderful singing voice and overflows with talent. I think Kokoro’s voice was the key to perfecting “The Moment.”
The first time you performed together live was in Manila, at the Lola Amour Presents Love on Loop ALBUM CONCERT in September 2025, right?
Pio: The first time we met was when he came to Manila to rehearse for the show. We’d never had the opportunity to do something like this with another artist, and we’re shy, so before we met him we were all nervous. But when we met him, and we gave him some of our own band merch, it turns out he’d also brought PSYCHIC FEVER merch for us. We taught him some Tagalog and went out to eat together, and we hit it off. Now we’re good friends.
David: When he came to the studio to rehearse, we gave him the Tagalog lyrics, which he learned incredibly quickly. Everything went so much faster than I’d expected, so I remember thinking “This collaboration is going to be an absolute success. And I just know the show will go well, too.”
Then at the show, you didn’t just perform “The Moment” together, you also joined each other on “Gelato” and “Raining In Manila,” right?
Pio: We’d put “Gelato” on our own socials, and Kokoro could sing “Raining In Manila,” so we decided to perform it at the show. I’m sure he must have been a bit nervous, but he didn’t look it at all, which was great. Even though it was our first time playing together, he was ad-libbing and striking poses, which was amazing. Thanks to his influence, I’ve been putting my own spin on things when I play now, too.
Jeff Abueg (saxophone/clarinet): Kokoro’s Tagalog was so perfect people were commenting “is he Filipino?” His accent is great, too.
Raffy Perez (drums): Listeners have reacted really well to the collaboration with Kokoro. Not just Filipinos, but listeners in other countries, too. They love that we performed together. It was truly a successful collab.
Pio: I think people can feel that this wasn’t a business-focused team-up, it was a collaboration based on our matching musical sensibilities and our strong personal relationship.
You also collaborated on stage in Japan in January. What was it like when Kokoro performed in his own country?
Pio: As always, he looked totally relaxed, like he wasn’t nervous at all. He was also really good at working the audience. He led me when we sang “Gelato,” and he smoothly covered for the parts that I struggled with, which I’m so thankful for.
Kokoro: It’s rare for me to perform “Gelato” on my own, with a band, so I tried out a few things in advance to see how to best get the crowd going. Above all, I wanted for Lola Amour and me to have fun, so I maintained good eye contact, and I tried to get the audience moving, too, so we’d all have fun together. When I tried it out during rehearsal, the members of Lola Amour reacted really well, so I decided to go with it during the actual performance. If I’d been on my own, I doubt I’d have been able to unite with the audience and get the whole venue moving like we did, so I’m very thankful to Lola Amour.
I heard that one member of the music industry, on seeing your collaboration, called you the Asian version of Silk Sonic.
Pio: That’s such an honor. Having played as a band for a decade or so, and meeting Kokoro and doing this collab, and then someone saying that about us? That really drives home what a success this collaboration was. We’ll try our best to live up to that description.
What do you think were the biggest fruits of the collaboration?
Pio: The blossoming friendship we developed is huge. Japan and the Philippines are very culturally different, so I think we were able to teach each other a lot. It was a very meaningful collaboration for us as artists, too. As I said earlier, Kokoro is great at controlling the crowd. I learned a lot from watching how he got the audience amped up even when it was full of our own fans. Another reason he’s fun to be around is we eat so much together (laughs). He’s given us a lot to grow on. It’s only been six months since we performed together, but I feel like we’ve gotten something that we’ll be taking with us long into the future.
Kokoro: Being able to develop a relationship like this across national lines—it’s just not something that happens all that often in one’s life. I learned from them by seeing how serious they are in their approach to music, and how when they’re up on stage, the focus isn’t on one member or another, but instead each and every member is the main character. It felt like the kind of stage performance where every single person is indispensible, and I want to apply that experience to PSYCHIC FEVER, too. I was so glad that we were able to transcend language barriers to share music. The audience reactions at the shows were great, both in the Philippines and in Japan, which impressed on me that there are unlimited opportunities for cross-national performances.
Pio: At the show in Japan, the whole band covered “Gelato.” I’d like to brainstorm with Kokoro about what song to cover next. Also, I’d love to take time to write a song together from the ground up.
Kokoro: We’ve built good rapport as artists, so I think it would be great if we could do a new collab together. Listening to what Pio was saying right now, I was imagining what that would be like. We each cover a wide range of musical genres, so I think there’s a lot of potential.
This collaboration between the Philippines and Japan has broadened the horizons of music across national lines, and Lola Amour and PSYCHIC FEVER are hinting at more to come, so you’ll want to keep a close eye on these amazing artists.
–This interview by Kaori Komatsu first appeared on Billboard Japan
