4th Impact Opens Up About Going Independent and First U.S. Single ‘Distorted’

For fans of the Filipino girl group 4th Impact, being a dreamer isn't just their fandom name—it's a reflection of everything the group itself stands for.

Fueled by their talent and dreams, 4th Impact has been active in the music scene for over eight years. Whether you know them from their stellar performances on the X Factor U.K. or their incredible song covers, you know that they have some of the most impressive voices in the industry. After being based in the Philippines for the majority of their career, they've decided to take a leap and dive into the American music market, starting with a U.S. debut single and an American tour.

The release of their U.S. debut, "Distorted," marks a new chapter for the quartet. The breakup anthem shows off the vocal power and stunning harmonies that the group is known for. In between harmonizing and belting, the girls sing about ending a relationship that's not good for you and taking back your power. Along with being their first U.S. release, this is their first song as independent artists. Evident in the lyrics in "Distorted" and their own self-managing, they're the true definition of independent women. In this interview, 4th Impact shares more on their decision to go independent, why "Distorted" is so meaningful to them and their decision to promote in the U.S.

Sweety High: A lot has happened since the X Factor U.K.. How do you think you've grown since the competition? 

Irene: We've grown so much. Right now we are more knowledgeable on choosing the genre that we are going to pursue, especially with this new venture in our career. We are the ones who really choose the songs that we will be putting out in the world.

Almira: Music-wise, like Irene said, we've grown so much from being contestants to knowing the path that we want as artists so I think X Factor really taught us how to distinguish that among ourselves. Since X Factor gave us the opportunity to be introduced to the world as 4th Impact, as four Filipino sisters, we've grown as much as we are learning to embody being a girl group and now picking up and producing our own music so I think we've learned a lot since X Factor.

Celina: Through our experiences with decision-making, we've grown a lot. We used to be so eager to get everything, the opportunities and stuff and now we know what's good for us and what's not.

 

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SH: What about "Distorted" spoke to you and made you realize this should be your U.S. debut single? 

Irene: The composer of the song sent us a bunch of songs—I think it was 100 songs. When we heard the song "Distorted," it just clicked, and we said, "Oh my god," we found the sound of 4th Impact. It's made for 4th Impact and we feel like it's a good introduction for us here in the U.S. to share our talent and our voices through this song, so I hope you like it.

Mylene: We actually can relate to the song because three of us experienced heartbreak. Also, when I heard the harmonies, I was like, "Ooh, it's like 4th Impact's sound."

 

SH: What inspired you to take the leap and come to the American market? Was it a hard decision? 

Almira: Absolutely. This was the biggest decision we've ever made in our lives. We've been to our home country, the Philippines, a lot of times and we've been trying everything just to be recognized in the Philippines. Of course, when you have big dreams you've got to go out of your comfort zone, and that's what we're doing right now. We're taking the big leap of pursuing our dreams here in America. We don't have relatives here. We're independent artists, but at the same time, we have met this angel through our dreamers who've been trusting us. They've actually given us the courage to chase our dreams in the land of opportunity.

It's the biggest decision we've ever made as sisters because we don't have a big management team to back us up. We only have that dream inside of our hearts that someday people will embrace the story and love the music and love our group.

Celina: It's also hard because Papa, our youngest brother and our fur babies are there still in the Philippines, but we need to sacrifice to help them and pursue the dream.

Mylene: Help them to have a better future.

Irene: We're hoping for the biggest reward very, very soon. A Billboard No. 1 or a Grammy award.

 

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SH: You're alone in the U.S., targeting the American market and thousands of miles away from the Philippines. How do you manage to stay connected to your roots? 

Irene: We're thankful for technology. We invested in CCTV technology before we came to the U.S. so that we can see Papa. We put cameras in the house so every day we look at them and we use FaceTime to call them.

Almira: Every day, we still talk in our native language, Tagalog. Staying grounded and staying connected to our roots is a big help to never forgetting where we came from and being truly full-blooded Filipinos and representing here in America.

(Photo credit: Kennith)

 

SH: How do you think becoming independent artists has strengthened your bond as sisters? 

Almira: Being independent is not really new for us. The reason why we were with management before is because we wanted to dig deep into the music industry and have them expose us to the mainstream. The reason we decided to become independent is because of what we've been through with our past management so I think it made us more bonded as sisters. It made us realize if we don't have each other, then we're not going to pursue this big dream, so being independent tightened our bond as sisters because it's just us driving, carrying all the heavy luggage and just having each other's back through whatever we are experiencing in life.

 

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SH: You are so inspiring and empowering. What message do you have for young girls who look up to you as singers or just role models in general?

Mylene: You have to act right now. You don't have to wait for the perfect time because there is no such thing as the "perfect time." Just go for what you want in life and for your dreams. It's never too late to start.

Celina: I feel like social media is kind of intimidating right now. It feels like you have to look good and everything like that, but you just have to be yourself. Like what Mylene said, just do it and try because you never know what might happen if you just try it.

Almira: Never give up on your dreams, and remember that family matters. It's just our mom and our sister who believe in us and our family dreamers. You never know what's going to happen, so just try it and believe in yourself and just surrender everything to God.

(Photo credit: Kennith)

 

SH: Do you have anything else you would like to add? 

Irene: Thank you for inviting us! We just wanted to say thank you to all the people who supported this new venture, our first U.S. debut single, "Distorted." Thank you for appreciating our new song, and we hope that you can support us on our U.S. tour this Nov. 17 to 19 and we can't wait to see you in person.

 

For more on our P-pop favorites, click HERE to read our interview with Alamat on their single, "Day & Night."