Filipino-American crooner Labit returns with his brand-new single “PARALLEL”, released with an accompanying music video. The track is the latest preview of Labit’s forthcoming album SOL, arriving October 17.
At its core, “PARALLEL” captures the rush of clarity when love reveals itself in the most unexpected place: right beside you. Built on shimmering melodies, spacious arrangements, and Labit’s signature honeyed vocals, the track soars as both a love song and a moment of self-discovery.
Labit shares:
“This song is such an uplifting, a-ha moment type of song. I wanted it to portray the feeling of when someone catches you by surprise. The moment where you realize the one you need has been right there all along.”
Produced by Travis Heidelman and co-written with Gabriella Mejias, “PARALLEL” finds Labit layering warm instrumentation with an emotional candor that has become his calling card. The result is a track that feels as intimate as it is universal.
The accompanying music video brings the emotional heartbeat of “PARALLEL” into full focus. Directed by filmmaking duo hazart, the video was inspired by the simple yet transcendent experience of hearing a great song in the back of a New York City cab. For “PARALLEL,” that iconic moment was reimagined with a personal touch: instead of a cab, the story unfolds inside a Buick Lasabre, the same car that Labit’s Grandma Sol – the namesake of the upcoming album – drove him around in as a child. A central motif of the video is the depiction of 12 different groups of people from all walks of life, each representing worlds that could feel entirely separate, yet bound by the shared ‘PARALLELS’ in their lives.
What began as a friendship between Labit and hazart who bonded over play-dates with their dogs has blossomed into a creative partnership. hazart invited longtime collaborators to the project and worked alongside choreographer Genevieve Carson, whose dance direction bridges gestural references to contemporary viral moves with symbolic gestures underscoring Labit’s lyrics. Visual artist Collin Black contributed VFX work that transforms the outside world during the chorus into an abstract “visualizer,” a nod to both WinAmp graphics and Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Together, these elements create a heightened reality of “dancing to a great song in the back of the car,” while keeping the focus firmly on the joy, surprise, and connection at the heart of “PARALLEL.”
Known for his heartfelt lyricism, evocative melodies, and an ability to make the deeply personal feel universal, Labit is a genre-blurring Filipino artist whose work includes recent track, “MANGOES & RICE”, and breakout single, CLEANING OUT THE FRIDGE, which have garnered placements on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist throughout Southeast Asia. Since his first release in 2019, Labit’s catalog of music has grown in its generous authenticity, melodies that feel like being wrapped in a warm blanket, and infectious hooks that stick long after they’ve been heard. Whether soft and nostalgic or loud and spiraling, Labit’s songs continue to speak to the messiness and beauty of being human.
