Jhasmine Espinas Villanueva was born and raised in Tiwi, Albay, deep in the Bicol Region. Before music found her, she was a dancer — never expecting to pursue songwriting until a senior high school jam session led to an invitation to join a songwriting workshop that changed everything.

She initially wrote songs in Filipino before discovering a deeper connection to her native Bikol language after joining a Bikol-language songwriting competition. That shift became her signature.

A Music Business graduate from MINT College, Villanueva gained recognition for blending traditional Bicolano music with contemporary genres. Her lyrics, often written in Bikol, celebrate Filipino heritage and promote linguistic pride. She signed with Sony Music Philippines and adopted the stage name “dwta” — derived from the Filipino words diwa (spirit) and tala (star), deliberately chosen for its Filipino-ness. Her debut single, Daluyong (Waves), arrived in 2021, marking the start of her professional music career.

Her trajectory accelerated in 2023 when she joined the Coke Studio Philippines Season 7 lineup, collaborating with P-pop group Alamat for the track Kapit (Hold). The following year, she performed at the prestigious Wanderland Festival, sharing the stage with global acts like Hwasa and Thundercat. That same year, Spotify selected her as one of their Radar artists for Class 2024, placing her alongside rising acts like BINI, Maki, and Cup of Joe.

In 2022, she received her first Awit Award nomination for Panganoron (Heavenly). The next year, she won her first Awit Award for Padaba Taka (I Love You), which became a breakout hit. Her earlier track Santigwar (Sorcerer) reached #2 on the Spotify Viral 50 Philippines chart and earned an Awit Awards nomination for Best Regional Recording. She was further honored with a Listener's Choice nomination at the inaugural Billboard Philippines Women in Music.

In 2025, dwta released Kung Ikaw ay Masaya (If You Are Happy) as the official soundtrack for the comedy film Flower Girl. That same year brought New Artist of the Year at the New Hue Music Video Awards, and Folk Song of the Year for Sampung mga Daliri (Ten Fingers) featuring Justin De Dios of SB19 at the inaugural Filipino Music Awards. She also co-wrote BINI's single First Luv.