Yaelokre

Keath Ósk (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈousk]; born September 4) is a Filipino-Icelandic singer-songwriter and multimedia artist known for their^[a] stage name and folk music storytelling project Yaelokre. Ósk began releasing music under the project name in January 2024, going viral on TikTok the summer of the same year for their song "Harpy Hare", entering the TikTok Billboard Top 50 and topping Spotify's Global Viral Songs Chart the same year.

They frequently perform in-character at live shows, with animal-themed masks and Renaissance-esque outfits representing various characters within the setting of the project. They have received praise for their artistry and style, with Yaelokre being named as a representative of both folk revival and Original Pilipino Music.

Keath Ósk was born on September 4^{[‡ 2]} to Icelandic and Filipino parents.^[3] While growing up, Ósk stated that their mother taught them how to play the guitar, the chords on a piano, and how to sing while their father read fantasy storybooks and fairytales to them. With these influences, Ósk had planned to go to college to pursue a career in becoming a kindergarten teacher, with their second choice of becoming an author of children's storybooks.^[1]

Ósk began releasing music under a storytelling project named Yaelokre in January 2024 with the single "Harpy Hare", which would later receive a music video illustrated by Ósk themselves; the project was compared to The Lord of the Rings by Kara Angan of Rappler.^[4] The project is set on a world named Meadowlark and focuses on a musical ensemble called The Lark with four characters wearing animal-themed masks named Cole, Clémente (also known as Clementine), Peregrine (also known as Perrine), and Kingsley, all voiced by Ósk.^[5][4] The characters themselves are based off of Ósk's experiences while growing up.^[1] During live performances or lives on TikTok, Ósk wears such masks, Renaissance-esque outfits, and other clothing items such as a rabbit-shaped hat to represent the characters within the project.^[6][7][8]

Kristin Robinson of Billboard commented on how Yaelokre continues the revival of folk music due to the combination of Ósk's illustrations and their songs. Robinson additionally compared the song and its accompanying music video to a blend of the band Gorillaz and the illustrations of Maurice Sendak on the book Where the Wild Things Are, much to acclaim.^[6] They then released their debut EP entitled Hayfields in March of the same year, which includes "Harpy Hare". The EP serves as a prelude for the storyline within Yaelokre.^[4]

The single went viral four months later in July on TikTok and YouTube,^[9] with Ósk gaining millions of listeners on Spotify and YouTube. Upon its virality, fans created original characters based on the Larks, fan art, made theories surrounding the project's setting, and posted videos emulating the choreography within its music video. It topped Spotify's Global Viral Songs Chart on the 15th for nine days straight while maintaining a placement on the top-half of the chart further on^[4] and entered the TikTok Billboard Top 50 by Billboard on the week beginning July 20 at the 45th placement before peaking to 34th in its second week on the chart.^[10][11] Official on-demand U.S. streams of the song rose to 557% from June 14 to July 11, and rose again by 186% on the following week.^[6] As of April 2025, "Harpy Hare" has over 115 million listens on Spotify.^[12] Yaelokre released their second EP Songs Of Origin in September 2024, which included the singles "Bird Cage Blue And Yellow" and "My Farewells To The Fields".^[5]

The full live band composed of Ósk, percussionist Reynaldo Capuno, guitarist Emil Ortega, drummer Eugene Rabang, and bassist JD Santos, were one of the opening acts for Norwegian singer-songwriter Aurora during her What Happened to the Earth? tour stop in Manila.^[8][13] It would be the first time that Yaelokre performed at the New Frontier Theater at a capacity of 3000, with prior gigs by the group holding around 20 to 200 people. During an interview with Rappler before the performance, Ósk commented that the virality of their songs felt horrible though stated that "something magical happened" as they were reminded by their friends who helped them pursue Yaelokre.^[1]

Following Yaelokre's performance at the tour, they released two new singles entitled "Kid & Leveret" on February 21 and "Cole's Response" on May 22 of the same year. On May 27, 2025, they announced a world tour named the "Foreword Tour" through an animated trailer featuring Clémente and Cooper, characters of the project. Multiple locations of the tour to be held across North America and Europe were announced.^[14]

Outside of folk, Yaelokre's genre have also been described as a part of Original Pilipino Music (OPM), with Angan stating that the project has a role within its future, "one that's filled with magic, mystery, and wonder." Interviewee Esther Comia commented that she was excited to listen to Yaelokre at a live performance as it was the first time she had seen "any OPM artist close to my age do the kind of storytelling I aspire to do".^[4] Rafael Bautista of Nylon Manila further commented that the "level of creativity" in Ósk's style is rarely found in OPM, describing their work with "wonder and magic" due to the project's style and storyline.^[7]

Nylon Manila listed Yaelokre as one of "11 Breakout Stars From 2024 We Loved Seeing Winning,"^[7] while Billboard Philippines counted Yaelokre in a list of "Filipino Artists To Look Out For This 2025."^[5]

In the text these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):