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MANILA—His songs — deep, heartfelt and personal — have struck a chord with Filipino listeners.

Being in the music industry for a long while now, former Sugarfree front man Ebe Dancel has established himself as one of the most successful local songwriters.

And on Wednesday's interview on "Tonight With Boy Abunda," Dancel shared the stories behind some of his famous tracks.

1. "Prom"

"Mostly my frustration from high school. I was in love with someone. Some guy stole her. So I never got to go to the prom with her."

2. "Huwag Ka Nang Umiyak"

"This one I wrote for a friend. She's very iyakin. May nakikita siyang asong may pilay, iiyak na siya. I decided to write a song for her because I was tired of saying huwag ka nang umiyak. Parang nag-record na lang ako para kung iiyak na siya i-play ko nalang. One of the fastest songs I was able to write."

3. "Bawat Daan"

"This one I wrote for a musical based on Sugarfree's 'Sa Wakas.' That's maybe one of the lowest points of my musical career. I went solo. I had no shows. I had nothing. Then the musical came along, sabi nila, we need you to write another song. Na-realize ko music is the journey, music is my way home."

4. "Burnout"

"Some people see it as a love song when it's really not."

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During the interview, the award-winning singer-songwriter said he contemplated giving up on music after parting ways with Sugarfree, but he decided to stay after being told by a fan that he's different when on stage.

"Sabi niya, you seem to know what you are doing . . . Whenever you are on stage, you seem to be in control of your life," Dancel said.

"I went home and I cried. I realized I'm taking this gift from God for granted and it changed my whole perspective."

Dancel was on the late-night show to promote his digital concert on Sunday at 7 p.m. that can be streamed on onemusic.ph.