LOVE AGAIN: The R&B Reset for Denise Julia
REVIEW
By Krista Orejudos
9/2/26
Courtesy of Spotify
Filipinos Love R&B and Denise Julia
It is not uncommon for Filipinos (including me) to love R&B, particularly R&B from the 1990s-2000s, the era where R&B and Hip-Hop dominated the music scene in mainstream media. You know the music videos I’m referring to, the one where a boy stands outside of a house of the girl he likes and holds up a boombox, or the one where he dances in the pouring heavy rain begging for another chance to be with his beloved once more.
But as cliche and repetitive as nostalgic R&B songs can be, our desires to listen to this genre haven't changed. The desire for us to love and to be loved back, the desire to believe in second chances, the desire to walk away from a love that holds us back, and the desire to find self-love, the list goes on.
So it is also not uncommon for many Filipinas, their Titas, and their Lolas (at least the ones I grew up with) to be influenced by these rose-tinted R&B desires and to have big sparkly dreams of someday becoming a singer, a popstar, an entertainer, or sometimes all three.
From using the tv remote as a makeshift mic to holding an actual one at Coachella, these dreams of making the world recognize Filipino R&B are being carried on the back of none other than Denise Julia.
Known for her sassy sensuality, the 24-year old R&B singer is fusing classic throwback R&B feels with contemporary producer beats and soft whisper lyricism while still layering a rich harmonic story in her latest EP, LOVE AGAIN.
Officially released on July 23, this is Julia’s third EP. After two years of radio silence since her 2024 EP, Sweet Nothings (Chapter 2), she moved from the Philippines to New York to pursue music full-time, hosted her first US show in Chicago in 2025, performed at Coachella in April 2026, and signed with record label EMPIRE in May 2026, all of which set off her comeback scheme into motion.
Around the same time she was busy performing at Coachella, she teased audiences with one of my favorite hit singles, “2GOOD4U,” following “CHANGES” released the month after, and “LOVE AGAIN” in June, leaving fans on their toes about what we would get in July.
The hype only grew as fans who attended her exclusive EP listening party in the Bay Area kept raging about it online, especially when well-known Filipino-American artists like HER, Kiane V, P-Lo, Neuvo Lio, and Karri showed up in support of Julia’s milestone.
The hype won’t be dying down anytime soon as post-EP content continues to be uploaded online everywhere like her SPEECHLESS | From The Block Live Performance and LOVE AGAIN | Live from Vevo Studios, making her the first Filipina artist to be featured on both platforms.
First EP Made in The US + LOVE AGAIN Origin Story
LOVE AGAIN is as much about the six songs as it is about Julia’s journey creating her first EP in the US.
From her interview with One To Watch she stated, “So, LOVE AGAIN, is the first body of work that I made outside of my country. 5 out of 6 songs were made out here in the States and it's my first year out here in America. It's been a pretty wild ride.”
Leading up to the release of LOVE AGAIN, she explicitly detailed the EP’s influences on her Instagram, all of which are centered on her struggles about navigating a new country all on her own in her mid-20s on top of simultaneously experiencing her first heartbreak during a time where she almost quit music for good.
Moving to America to pursue music full-time didn’t exactly pan out the way she thought it would because being in big rooms with even bigger named producers, engineers, and writers, shrunk her interest in making music. Where Julia is used to handling the making of her own music from start to finish, she felt her independence slipping away, overlooking the importance of trusting in her collaborators and the overall creative process.
She opened up more about this revelation in her interview with The Luna Collective, “They challenged my instincts in the best way and helped me discover ideas that I would never have found on my own. I’m excited for the fans to hear the results of all that work.”
By letting go of her need to micromanage in the studio, she was able to upgrade herself, her team, and the production quality of her music. She’s unlocked another level of music collaboration, and what I admire the most about Julia’s artistry is her ability to be vulnerable with her fans about these behind-the-scenes stories.
It’s typical for new emerging artists to stick to a certain image or brand that their team creates, but Julia cares more about the fans’ connections to her personal life stories.
The most prominent story being her LOVE AGAIN EP Trailer on Youtube. In the trailer, she describes how in between losing herself and choosing herself, she was able to turn her pain into music using the beginning of her heartbreak back to finding love again.
Old School and New School R&B in LOVE AGAIN
As a Filipina who's been put on oldschool R&B her whole life because of my parent’s influence, my ear is sought to find its particular sound and feeling whenever I listen to current R&B hits today. It’s not surprising when many emerging R&B artists have claimed to draw their inspirations from powerhouse legends, yet few have fully lived up to the original source.
Sometimes oldschool R&B can be found beneath the autotune, the synthesizers, the electronic keyboards, and the software loops, but most of the time, I’m listening to something completely different.
While I do enjoy listening to modern alternative indie R&B artists like SZA, Kehlani, Jhene Aiko, Muni Long, Ravyn Lenae, and Steve Lacy, Julia has the ability to transport her listeners back into what a 90s R&B love should feel like: young, sensual, and intense. A love so passionate and filled with devotion that it even carries into heartbreak as a lifetime regret.
So, it surprised me when I was able to find hints of 90s R&B princess Aaliyah and 2000s R&B queen Mariah Carey in Denise Julia. She doesn’t just have the sound and feeling on lock, she’s bringing back its sleek back, clean, and curvy style with low waisted jeans, halter tops, and monochrome two piece sets.
Her understanding of R&B isn’t just one dimensional either. In the aforementioned interview with The Luna Collective, she describes what the genre means to her, “R&B is such an emotionally fearless genre; It’s yearning; it’s putting your whole heart on the line and meaning every word that you sing. I think that’s why I’ve connected with it.”
Following the singles she first released, “2GOOD4U” is composed of drippy electro keys and an upbeat walking trap beat as she walks her walk about her new self-worth. The snapback chorus has every summer baddie singing, “so go get your next girl, I’m not taking you back.”
Julia’s confidence is replaced with vulnerability in “CHANGES,” a slower R&B that’s more old school coded. A simpler trap beat is present and so is a looped piano chord, heightening her airy vocals about how much courage it took for her to let go of her first love.
In “LOVE AGAIN,” Julia is laying down both her confidence and vulnerability to herself and to the possibility of someone new. “LOVE AGAIN” is another old school slow jam in the classic way that people usually think of when they hear R&B: sultry, explicit, and sexy. The chorus begs the question of “can I be the one to take it all?”
The last song on the EP, “BODY ON ME,” also falls within the same vein as “LOVE AGAIN” sonically and lyrically. Whereas tracks like “TREAT ME RIGHT” and “SPEECHLESS” fall on the new school way of creating R&B, experimenting with witty conversational melodies and unique aquatic reverbs.
Freshly produced without any guest appearances, LOVE AGAIN is Julia’s first step towards bringing her own personal artistry as well as Filipino artistry on the global scale of music.
Determined to show off her storytelling prowess and multifaceted grasp of old school songwriting and modern groove, Julia is not letting us out of her R&B gaze until she’s recognized as the next leading R&B female pioneer.
She’s certainly gained my approval, and it’s been inspiring as a fan, a female, and a Filipina, to watch her musical manifestations be molded into existence.
Listen to LOVE AGAIN
