With songs for BINI and dwta, new solo releases, and a growing circle of collaborators, singer-songwriter Tiana Kocher is finding fresh possibilities in the Philippine music scene.
Before the charts and the award shows, music for Tiana Kocher was part of her regular Saturday evenings at home. She remembers her grandmother, Cristina Castañer Ponce Enrile, entertaining guests with Broadway favorites before mass and dinner. A singer and patron of the artsPatron of the ArtsA patron of the arts is an individual who provides sustained financial or institutional support to artists, galleries, or cultural institutions rather than occasional purchases. In Philippine society, true patronageGo to Patron of the Arts Glossary, her lola brought her love of performing into the gatherings she hosted.
“Those are some of my earliest and fondest memories of music,” recalls the 27-year-old singer-songwriter. “Music was always such a big part of my upbringing, so it never felt like something I had to discover. It was just always there.”
“I’d like to think I came out of the womb singing and dancing!” she adds. For our shoot, the family home becomes a gathering place once again, with Tiana in front of the camera and her lola’s portrait nearby. She’s been moving between Manila and Los Angeles for some time now, keeping family, friendships, and a working life in both. Over recent years, more of that work has been taking shape here.
This year, BINI’s “Katabi” and dwta’s “Nasusunog (Pants on Fire),” both of which she co-wrote and vocal-produced, earned Awit Award nominations. They were her first local songwriting placements, beginning a run of collaborations that has kept her Manila schedule full.
“Being recognized in my home country was incredibly meaningful and reminded me that there’s still a place for me in Manila, with so much room to grow as an artist and songwriter,” she shares.
Tiana had already spent years establishing herself in Los Angeles as an independent singer-songwriter, releasing her own records and collaborating with Grammy Award-winning artists and producers. A songwriting camp in January 2025 introduced her to Filipino collaborators who would become part of this increasingly busy chapter. Since then, she has been writing for other voices and continuing to develop her own, with a growing interest in what those relationships might make possible.
“Filipino music is reaching audiences beyond our own, even those who don’t speak the language,” she says. “I love that! Good music doesn’t need a translation.”
“If I can help create more opportunities, open a few doors, and put more Filipino creatives in rooms they deserve to be in, I’d consider that a win,” she adds.
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An Education In Music With Tiana Kocher
Tiana’s own musical education involved listening widely. Her favorites span decades and genres: Elton John and the Bee Gees, Aaliyah and Brandy, Carole King and Diane Warren. There’s room for AC/DC, too, alongside contemporary artists such as Yebba, Victoria Monét, and Snoh Aalegra.
“Anything from the ‘60s to the ‘90s has my heart,” she says. “But if I showed you my playlist, you’d probably be so confused.” For someone whose work now involves writing for herself and for other voices, that range offers plenty to draw from. “I think there’s something to appreciate and learn from every artist.”
She studied musical theater at Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts in the United Kingdom, later pursuing music business at Full Sail University in the United States.
“I think studying both musical theater and music business gave me a really good balance between being creative and being practical,” she says. “Musical theater allowed me to explore different forms of storytelling and expression, while studying music business taught me how to navigate the industry and understand everything that happens behind the scenes.”
An opportunity to put her performance skills into practice arrived through the covers she shared online. Producers came across the videos and invited her to Los Angeles to record demos. “I guess you could say I got ‘discovered,’” she says. She moved to the city in 2018.
Finding Her Footing
“My early LA years were like The Hunger Games,” Tiana says. “I was young, ambitious, and trying to find my footing in an industry where everyone was chasing the same dream.”
“There was definitely a lot of trial and error, but I learned quickly how to navigate different personalities, build genuine relationships, and, most importantly, advocate for myself,” she says. Her debut single, “Just My Type,” reached the Top 40 Indie Chart. Asked what that meant to her, she remembers the pressure just as much as the encouragement.
“It was honestly scary, not going to lie,” she admits. “Getting that recognition early on in my career meant that I had to push myself every other year to make sure that I achieved more as the years went on.”
The releases continued. In 2020, she put out her self-titled debut EP, along with collaborations that took her into different musical territory: “Take Over” with rapper Sage the Gemini and “Por Tiempo” with reggaeton artist J. Álvarez. Her own music drew on the ‘90s R&B she loved, while the people she worked with brought other sounds and approaches to her mix.
Some were artists she had spent years listening to. In 2021, she released “Same Lame,” featuring Chilli and T-Boz of TLC. A producer who worked with both TLC and Faith Evans had introduced Tiana to the artists, giving her a close view of how musicians with decades of experience approached a recording.
“During our sessions, I felt like I was in class and I kept trying to take mental notes of all the things they were doing,” she shares. Their preparation made an impression. They arrived on time and knew their material inside and out. Just as memorable was their willingness to take direction. If a producer asked for another take or wanted to try a different approach, they were open to it.
“There were no egos involved, just a shared goal of making the best music possible,” she says. “That experience taught me the importance of being prepared, staying humble, and remaining open to collaboration. Those are lessons I still carry into every session I walk into today.”
How Tiana Kocher Writes For Another Voice
“What I love most about writing for other artists is being able to bring someone else’s story to life,” Tiana says. “When it comes to my own music, I sometimes find it difficult to write if I’m not inspired by what’s happening in my life. But writing for others allows me to step into their world, understand their experiences, and translate those emotions into music.”
Her process often begins with the sound before the words. In previous interviews, she described working with a producer and singing possible melodies over a beat. She chooses what works for the verses and chorus, then develops lyrics from those provisional sounds. The story forms within a melody she has already begun to hear.
The people in the session can change its direction, too.
“There’s something special about different creative minds coming together to create something unique,” she says. “Every session has its own chemistry, and I think that’s the beauty of it. You can never really replicate it.”
While working in Los Angeles, Tiana was invited to a songwriting camp celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. There, she connected with Mono Stereo Groove, a collective of artists, songwriters, producers, and music executives working to support talent from the Asian diaspora.
They stayed in touch. The following year, she was invited to co-host Building Bridges Manila. Spearheaded by Mono Stereo Groove’s Rosemarie Tan in partnership with Sony Music Philippines, the January 2025 camp brought 10 Filipino-American creatives together with artists working here. For Tiana, who already knew Manila as home, it was an opportunity to get to know more of its musicians as collaborators.
Photography by Lawrence de Leon, assisted by Joshua San Mateo; Creative Direction by Paolo Torio; Styling by Jason Mago; Digitech Ching Ju Wu; Hair by Martina Sabusap; Makeup by Cats del Rosario; Associate Producer Myka Magcamit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tiana Kocher is a Filipino singer-songwriter based between Manila and Los Angeles. She is known for her solo releases and songwriting collaborations with artists, including BINI and dwta.
Tiana Kocher co-wrote and vocal-produced BINI’s “Katabi” and dwta’s “Nasusunog (Pants on Fire).” Both songs earned Awit Award nominations, marking her first local songwriting placements.
Tiana Kocher studied musical theater at Cambridge School of Visual and Performing Arts in the United Kingdom before pursuing music business at Full Sail University in the United States.
Tiana Kocher grew up surrounded by music and developed an appreciation for artists across different decades and genres. She began sharing covers online, which led to an opportunity to record demos in Los Angeles in 2018. She released her debut single, “Just My Type,” followed by her self-titled debut EP in 2020.
Tiana Kocher has collaborated with Grammy Award-winning artists and producers, including Sage the Gemini, J. Álvarez, and TLC members Chilli and T-Boz. In the Philippines, she has worked with BINI and dwta, while continuing to write and develop music for her own releases.
