Idgitaf Learns to Stay Out in the Rain
On her second album, Berusaha di Bawah Hujan, the Indonesian singer-songwriter trades heartbreak for commitment and builds a whole record around the country-pop hit that made her name.
Indonesian pop has no shortage of sad songs. It is rarer to hear a young songwriter make a full album about what happens after the love song works out. That is the bet Idgitaf placed on Berusaha di Bawah Hujan ("Trying in the rain"), the 12-track record she released on May 15, 2026, and it is why the album deserves attention outside Jakarta.
From TikTok songwriter to album artist
Idgitaf is the stage name of Brigitta Meliala, a 25-year-old singer-songwriter whom The Jakarta Post credits with proving early that she was more than a TikTok sensation. Her 2022 EP Semoga Sembuh ("Get well") and her 2023 full-length Mengudara ("Soar") established her as a writer of confessional, plainspoken pop. The song that changed her position was "Sedia Aku Sebelum Hujan" ("Have me before the rain"), which the Post notes brought a country-pop sound rarely heard in Indonesia's mainstream.
That single is now the hinge of the new album. It sits at track seven of twelve, in the album's sequence, surrounded by songs that read like before and after. The record is built outward from the rain metaphor the hit introduced, with "Mendung" ("Overcast") arriving two tracks ahead of the single and the title track closing the set.
A love album without the breakup
The Jakarta Post describes Berusaha di Bawah Hujan as her most personal record yet, inspired by her own relationship and organized around falling in love, romantic setbacks, resilience and growth. In the same piece she describes her younger self as "naive" in the Semoga Sembuh era and "stubborn" during Mengudara, and says she is wiser now.
The track titles tell the story on their own:
- "Senyum dari Matahari" ("A smile from the sun") opens in daylight
- "Rencanamu Gagal (Tapi Kita Tidak)" ("Your plan failed, but we didn't") turns a setback into a shared win
- "Rutinitas" ("Routine") finds romance in the ordinary
- "Kita Saling Jaga" ("We look after each other") states the thesis plainly
- "Tenang Saja (Ini Hanya Fase)" ("Relax, it's just a phase") offers the album's calmest reassurance
The arc runs against the grain of a pop market that rewards the devastation single. Idgitaf is writing about maintenance, which is harder to make exciting and easier to get wrong. At 43 minutes, the album gives the idea room without padding it.
She is writing about maintenance, which is harder to make exciting and easier to get wrong.
The Hindia duet
The most talked-about song is "Masih Ada Cahaya" ("There is still light"), her first collaboration with Hindia, the project of Baskara Putra. The two wrote it together, and it is the album's one real look at darkness: a song about living alongside pain and disappointment rather than pretending to erase them. Popmama notes the warm arrangement and calm vocals, and that the track drew attention on social media from the day it came out.
Placing it directly after "Sedia Aku Sebelum Hujan" is a smart move. The hit promises shelter; the Hindia song admits that shelter does not stop the weather. Together they are the emotional center of the record, and they keep the love story from going soft.
Why it matters past Indonesia
Southeast Asian pop gets written about abroad mostly when an idol group crosses into a Western festival. Idgitaf's route is different. She is a songwriter whose album carries an imprint listed as idgitaf musik, building an album-length argument in Bahasa Indonesia for listeners who already know every word. Her own summary, given to the Post, was that who she is in 2026 is "open." The track list reads like someone who means it, and it is a strong case for paying closer attention to Indonesia's singer-songwriter pop in the year ahead.