The American OPM singer Sahara has an early Christmas present for her Filipino fans as she releases her new single for Yuletide’s season “Tanging Hiling”.

The Tagalog song was written by Sahara mentor and co-producer Dennis Quila.

“This is an early Christmas present for all of you,” Sahara said in a statement.

“My co-producer Dennis surprised me one day and brought a demo of an unreleased Christmas song to the studio to play for the team. I immediately fell in love with the music and the message, and I knew we we had to save it, ”she added.

According to Quila, the song is about “how love is more important than anything else, and why it’s always a perfect gift instead of material things.”

“I wrote this song on August 11, 1999, it was 22 years ago. I was in Japan when I was working as a pianist in a hotel and it was the first time that I was so far away from my family during Christmas time, ”Quilang said.

“After ‘DBSK’ (‘Dahil Ba Sa Kanya’) was released, we were thinking about a follow-up song. So I searched my treasure chest of original compositions and I saw this Christmas song again, ”he added.

Quilang admitted that the song had never been recorded or seen by any other artist. He was also surprised at the reaction of Sahara, who endeavored to study “Tanging Hiling”.

“I hurried right away with the areglo, the live guitars (performed by Ricky Topacio) and the recording process as we are approaching ‘Ber months’. It’s a dream come true for me since Christmas carols are only played in the last quarter of each year, ”Quila said.

When asked what Christmas means to her, Sahara exclaimed, “Love, togetherness and creating great memories with the people I love. And remember that our life on earth is a blessing.

Besides her Christmas traditions and meals, the singer also revealed some of her favorite Christmas songs, such as “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Feliz Navidad” and “Santa Baby”.

“My mom is Native American and Mexican, so one of our traditions is to make homemade tamales for Christmas. They smelled so good and it was so much fun. And I love to eat! These days, I can’t wait to decorate the Christmas tree with my husband and our cat, ”she said.

Sahara also has a wish this Christmas: “I love that life is back to normal – safely – for everyone. But more, so that everyone is blessed with another year of good health. ”

She also expressed a strong desire to tour the Philippines, meet her new fans and visit the beach.

INTEGRATE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdPoxTo6utU

Ahead of this Christmas release, Sahara recorded a cover of Jaya’s “Dahil Ba Sa Kanya” in August, which marked his debut as a solo artist in the Philippines.

Sahara also spoke about her plans and goals for the New Year, where she is set to release an extended play.

“To be honest, it’s been a tough few years for everyone. But I learned a lot about myself and how to keep my feet on the ground and stay focused on a project, a goal and a dream. I just want to continue to be a better, more positive person, and share positive energy, love, joy, emotions, etc. with my fans and the world through music, ”she said.

“We have a small album (EP) of original OPM songs scheduled for early next year. I work with my team every day to achieve this goal.

“Tanging Hiling” is now available on Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music and other digital streaming platforms around the world.