From Manila With Love, Ice Neo
From colorful fit checks to Nora Aunor, Ice Neo is a university student with a boundless mind for creativity on the social media app, TikTok
Words Erika Anne Sulat
Photo courtesy of Ice Neo
September 30, 2025
Photo courtesy of Ice Neo’s Instagram (@iceeneoo)
In a colorful pocket of TikTok is Ice Neo, a 20-year-old third-year BA in Broadcasting student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Manila.
Known as the content creator who started the “Danas” trend, Ice Neo rose to prominence through a viral TikTok video where they sang the Nora Aunor classic “Kahit Konting Awa,” while a choir of PUP students echoed the lyrics back.
The emotional performance resonated deeply, turning the video into a powerful symbol of shared struggle. Since then, the TikTok sound has been widely used by netizens to highlight the hardships faced by students in state universities and, more broadly, the everyday challenges endured by many Filipinos.
Ice Neo also popularized the fit check trend—their rendition of a typical TikTok “fit check,” which, instead of naming clothing brands, highlights personalities or pop culture references that inspired the pieces they wear.
Rise to fame
In an exclusive interview with Art+ Magazine, Ice Neo reveals that before their TikTok fame, they were an avid user on X, having formed a circle from subculture groups on the platform. “Na-enjoy ko yung mga parang nakakatawang tweets, tapos di kalaunan nagpopost na rin ako ng videos na nakakatawa.”
Following the posting of their videos, their friends promptly encouraged them to post on TikTok in case the videos gained more traction on the platform.
One of Ice Neo’s videos that went viral featured them introducing themself as the child of Kris Bernal’s hairstylist on the Filipino TV program ‘StarStruck.’ After seeing a video of the hairstylist with Kris Bernal and recognizing the stylist as their father, they took the opportunity to introduce themself.
This marked the beginning of their rise to fame and their continued posting of videos. “Dahil nga nagpopost ako ng mga videos, ipinagpatuloy ko na, lalo’t nasa akin na yung algorithm.”
Unapologetically Filipino
Along with the TikTok trend they’ve started and popularized, Ice Neo’s content can be described as a uniquely Filipino and colorful side of TikTok. It’s a fresh take on stardom that embraces one’s roots and culture.
Using sounds from Filipino singers like Nora Aunor, Cinderella, Asin, and the music genre of Budots in their TikTok videos, Ice Neo aims to promote Filipino culture to their audiences amidst Western and foreign influences on the platform.
Another aspect of the videos Ice Neo makes is the fact that most of them include the urban backdrop of Metro Manila, with some of their viewers even catching them commuting on trains and hanging onto Jeepneys.
“Ang lala ko kasi mag-consume ng mga media na Pinoy.” They remark. “Kunwari, lagi kong nakikita [yung] Techno, electronic music, parang sa Pinas meron din ganyan eh. Meron naman tayong Budots eh.”
Ice Neo also adds their participation and involvement in the local art scene by supporting gigs, student films, and art markets with local artists. “How can you not appreciate, kung nakikita mo nang maganda, nakikita mo nang makulay [at] buhay ang sining.”
They add that some of their audiences have also let them know that they were their “gateway” to getting to know local artists and scenes.
Future forward
Ice Neo currently has 241.1k followers on TikTok and around 45.5M likes. The future is bright for them as they list down plans of making music, producing, writing, and directing a film, and they aim to create more content as they grow as a content creator.
