Released 24 April 2015 Genre Pop
OPM Label GMA Records | Recorded April 2015 Length 4:14 | |
Format CD single
digital download | ||
Lalaban Ako Para Sa Pilipino (English: I Will Fight For The Filipinos) is a song by Filipino boxer and entertainer Manny Pacquiao from the EP with the same name, and his last released single after he announced retirement from singing. It was released on 24 April 2015 with the other singles on the EP with the same name under GMA Records.
Contents
It was his entrance song on his fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr., which he lost.
It was written by Filipino well-known composer Lito Camo, who is also a close friend of Pacquiao.
Music video
Pacquiao himself directed the four-minute-and-seventeen-second video. It mostly shows the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan; scenes from his previous fights, notably against Érik Morales and Juan Manuel Márquez; and videos of Pacquiao hurt during those fights, with blood on his face. It also features Filipinos praying religiously while smiling or crying; Pacquiao training before his fights; and him performing the song in a studio with a crowd cheering him on, singing along with the track and waving the Philippine flag proudly. At the end of the video, Pacquiao closes his eyes slowly, as if to pray.
Critical reception
The song was praised as an "amazing work" after the people heard it as his entrance from his fight against Floyd Mayweather, Jr. It is also praised as an "uplifting ballad" by an author, saying that Pacquiao isn't just a boxer. The song is also sung by American comedian and host, Jimmy Kimmel on two of the episodes of his own talk show featuring one where him and Pacquiao collaborates the track.
FHM Philippines gave the video a seven over ten review, saying that the song is "so emotional, hypnotizing, and is written from the bottom of the heart that anyone can relate".