Ruby Ibarra is the 2025 NPR Tiny Desk Contest winner. Announced on May 13, Ibarra won the most votes with her song “Bakunawa,” a mix of latin, rap, and funk beats.
Ibarra is a Filipino-American musician from the Bay Area. The song features special performances by Filipino artists, June Millington, Han Han, and Ouida.
Tiny Desk’s renowned contest has performers submit a video of themselves performing an original song behind a desk for a chance to go on tour with NPR Music. In this contests 20 year span, this year’s winning song is the first to have three languages in it: English, Tagalog, and Bisaya.
The way that Ibarra includes the other languages enhances the song and its meaning rather than come across as cheesy like some multi-language songs can. The different languages are used not to show off Ibarra’s language skills but to tell an empowering and cultured story.
The title, “Bakunawa,” comes from Bisayan mythology and is a the name of a dragon that swallows the moon and is thought to be the reason for natural phenomenon such as earthquakes and eclipses. Ibarra embodies this mythical dragon in “Bakunawa,” showcasing the resistance of the Philippines during colonial oppression and the resistance to that past being erased today.
“Bakunawa” is a rap song, but Ibarra includes a good balance of rap verses and melodic verses, making the song appealing to a wide audience. Ouida, Han Han, and Millington are the main vocalists, with each of them getting their own verse, and they do a really good job of backing up Ibarra and adding to the overall vibe of the song.
While the song is in 4/4, the lyrics take on a 2/4 feel, giving the pace of a slower song and putting emphasis on the lyrics and their meaning rather than the speed and the flow. The beat itself has latin influence, with the downbeats on one and three, which keep the song moving. The relatively upbeat tempo contrasts the seriousness of the lyrics, giving the song a good balance.
Ibarra nails the instrumentation behind the track, as every instrument included, from the drums to the bass, has an important and well thought out role in the song. It is a song that can be listened to many times and each time something new and interesting can be found, especially in the hidden guitar riffs and vocal interjections.
Tiny Desk films a live video of every contest winner’s performance. Some artists choose to have a fun flashy video, but this is not the case with “Bakunawa.” Ibarra, Ouida, Han Han, and Millington, for their video, are sitting on stools singing into microphones in front of them with the rest of the instruments behind them. It is clear that Ibarra wants the focus of the video to be on the song and its message rather than the video itself.
“Bakunawa” is a song of empowerment that simultaneously makes the listener think about the meaning behind the lyrics and want to dance. It is a song that not only nails the musicality of the track, but also the lyrical impact as well, making “Bakunawa” a deserving winner of the 2025 Tiny Desk Contest Winner.
