Budots

Budots is a Bisaya slang word for slacker (Tagalog: tambay). It can also be traced from the Bisaya word tabudots, which means "a person dancing with unpredictable movements." == Origins ==

manager who goes by the stage name DJ Love or Lablab, created a new techno music genre that would complement the dance using FL Studio, which locals referred to as "bistik" (short for Bisayang Tikno, "Visayan techno"). He also choreographed dance steps for his friends to perform on his budots music videos, which were uploaded on his YouTube channel since February 3, 2009. According to Vice, the budots dance compilation videos features "Myspace-era graphics, free-wheeling dances, and the names 'CamusBoyz' or 'DJ Love.'" While local impression about budots is through its association with overt sexuality, gang wars, and juvenile delinquency, DJ Love has distanced himself and his budots mixes from such issues that plague Davao City. His music videos are incorporated with captions such as, "Yes to Dance; No to Drugs" or "Yes to Dance; No to Riots." The genre–and its creators–have also become at the receiving end of cyberbullying. == Characteristics ==

Budots music is characterized as a derivation from electronic and house music. It features 140 bpm four-on-the-floor patterns, notably having a kick-snare-kick-snare pattern, off-beat basslines, drum loops, a distinctive snare sound, distorted vocal samples, vocal chops, DJ fills placed throughout the track and distinct high-pitched dutch house inspired synth hooks that locals onomatopoetically refer to as tiw tiw. The melodies and patterns are similar of that from early forms of hardstyle and tribal rhythms. Its basslines are influenced from Eurodance. There are also expressions of emotional vulnerability in exchange for lewd jokes and calls for rowdy partying. Most budots tracks follow the structure of techno and early hardstyle. The energetic beats are usually accompanied with sound effects such as vinyl scratches or chipmunk laughter. Meanwhile, budots tracks with lyrics are written in any of the Bisayan languages, those that lack any lyrical content take advantage of sampling vocal speeches from any source. Unlike most dance music that is commonly played in nightclubs, budots is performed on public places such as basketball courts. In 2024, "Emergency Budots" by DJ Johnrey received international attention through a dance trend in TikTok and other short form content exposing budots to international audiences for the first time. Music journalists in the Philippines have criticized budots music for its lack of form, repetitiveness, DIY quality, and "cheap-sounding" effects. In contrast, they also acknowledge how the people of Davao City have reinterpreted a Western music genre and have remolded it to their own liking, as well as the flexibility of budots music in keeping itself relevant by remixing any popular song at the moment. Budots is comparable to other electronic dance music genres that have developed in neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as full bass in Indonesia and Vinahouse in Vietnam. == Depictions in popular culture ==

Budots first appeared in Philippine mainstream media in 2008 when Ruben Gonzaga, the winner of Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Edition 2, performed the dance steps on national TV. An episode of GMA Network's news magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho featured a segment about budots in 2012. She also said that in some instances, the performers did the "spageti dance" that was popularized by SexBomb Girls, but they spent much of the time grinding while in a squatting position that it was deemed vulgar by people who were unfamiliar with the genre. BuwanBuwan, a Filipino electronic music collective, released a playlist of budots music in 2017 as part of their monthly challenge to their producers. Each track featured excerpts from speeches of Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte, a resident of Davao City. D'Squared Cru, a street dance group from Davao City, won second place in VIBE PH Dance Competition in 2018 after performing a routine that featured budots tracks namely Budotz by Q-York, Asukarap, and Kiat Jud Dai. Their choreography to the Kiat Jud Dai segment became viral in China after multiple content creators on TikTok and other social media replicated the dance steps, which they referred to as the "electric pendulum dance" (电摆舞, diàn bǎi wǔ). Chinese celebrity Wang Yibo danced to Kiat Jud Dai in an episode of Upward Everyday variety show on Hunan Television. D'Squared Cru participated in the first season of World of Dance Philippines in 2019, also performing to budots, but failed to pass the Qualifiers. The group then flew to China that same year to participate in Shenzhen Satellite TV's Dance in Step. Their Round 1 performance featured their viral budots choreography, which impressed all three judges. The documentary Budots: The Craze by Jay Rosas and Mark Paul Limbaga explored the music genre and its dance style, featuring an interview with DJ Love. According to Sun Star of Davao City, the film "raises questions on creative gatekeeping and the extent of ownership", as DJ Love's music was played on Filipino TV networks without proper acknowledgment and compensation. He also alleged a YouTuber claimed ownership of his popular mixes. A restaurant in Cagayan de Oro had its waitstaff dance to budots once the disco lights were turned on. An advertisement for Lucky Me! Pancit Canton in 2019 used budots as a mnemonic device for its "No Drain Cooking" method. In February 2023, Manila Community Radio won Boiler Room's sixth Broadcast Lab grant to mount a showcase spotlighting budots and its many mutations. The Broadcast Lab grant scheme funds ideas in the broadcasting space, and brings new audiences to underrepresented scenes, communities, and artists. The recording session took place in April 2023 at an undisclosed location, featuring DJ Love, Libya Montes, Teya Logos, Showtime Official Club, T33G33, Hideki Ito, obese.dogma777, and Pikunin. In June 2024, the budots song "Emergency, paging Dr Beat" by DJ Johnrey (sampled from Miami Sound Machine's "Dr. Beat") went viral on TikTok accompanying short videos of people changing into a series of outfits. It caused a surge in popularity of other similar remixes like "Emergency Budots" by Linear Phase (also budots). Unlike the exaggerated and smoother comedic dance moves in budots (which are featured in earlier videos with the song on TikTok), the later TikTok trend feature subtler and stiffer movements while walking in place, due to it achieving popularity from TikTok videos of a Roblox emote. The 2025 Filipino song "Baduy" by the P-pop girl group VVINK mixed bubblegum pop song with a spin of budots of DJ Love and Pio Balbuena. == Usage in Philippine politics ==

. During his term as mayor of Davao City, Duterte was seen dancing to budots on two occasions in 2015. One video featured Duterte dancing with Cebuano-speaking Americans from Hey Joe Show! YouTube channel, while the other clip showed him dancing with local teenagers at a public park. The virality of these videos may have helped him win the 2016 presidential elections. The captions found in DJ Love's budots dance videos, such as "Yes to Dance/ No to Drugs," can be read as support for Duterte's hardline stance on the criminalization of drug abuse. Revilla won the 11th Senate seat (out of 12), even doing a little dance after the official proclamation. DJ Love claimed Revilla used his track without permission and demanded compensation from Camus Girls, the dance group that popularized the choreography. Revilla's political advertisement was listed as one of the best Filipino internet memes in 2019. In a column for Daily Tribune, Larry Faraon wrote that Revilla's victory by dancing to budots reflected the culture of elections in the Philippines. Then-Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio (daughter of President Duterte) questioned the use of the 1976 song Manila by Hotdog during the parade of Team Philippines at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games opening ceremony. She claimed the title is capital-centric and did not represent the whole country, even suggesting to use budots instead since her fellow Davaoeños "invented" it. == See also ==