ELHA NYMPHA Does Theater Debut in INDAY The Musical

Hearing the name ELHA NYMPHA for this interview made me so proud as we grew up in the same town. She continues to soar in the music industry, but is now is delving out of her comfort zone, taking strides in a theater piece called INDAY The Musical. This is under Studio A Productions, the same people who did Tulog Na: Musical, Makara, Kaning Itime and a few more.

Elha says "This is about family, friendship, and the people quarreling inside your homes. I was expecting to be part of the support cast but when I asked them who's playing Inday, they pointed to me. I was in disbelief, totally didn't expect that because this is the first time I'm doing a musical, my theater debut. They assured be there's going to be a lot of training involved and we started doing that in September. I won't have alternates, and the music is not new to me because I'm an old soul. I've been listening to cassette tapes often. We're doing the song of the Boyfriends in a dark way, making it a little ballad which is right up my alley. Inday is fierce, and independent." 

Here's our talk with Elha that afternoon:

 

The musical will have it's limited run at the RCBC Plaza in Makati this coming October 16-18 (but heard they opened a few more dates because they've been selling out!). Aside from Elha, they also have vocal supreme Katrina Velarde, veteran theater actors Chris Fong, Basty Batistis, Jude Gamaliel, Eunice Somintac, Cherry Morena, Jeremy Manite, Primitivo Moscare, Aina Salazar, Nicollo Gutierrez and an awesome ensemble cast. They're going to utilize songs from 70's Manila Sound group Boyfriends. To give you a glimpse, here's Elha and the ensemble cast doing one of the songs for the show:

The piece is dark, and talks about local folklore, particularly the "Mangkukulam" and the families that are connected with it. They will also discuss memories, generational secrets, doing the music in different ways and interpreted in extraordinary ways. Music for this theater production was made by Jeremy Manite and arranged by Jason Tung. Book and Lyrics was also made by Danna Bernardino (who was there during the press preview). Choreography is also done by Teacher Georcelle of G-Force, so expect dance to be an integral part of it. Tickets are sold at studioAshows.com and they've been running out of it, they've opened shows til the 25th.

Judging from the music we heard that afternoon, this deserves to be watched. Again, tickets run out fast. I'm super proud of Elha! Don't say I didn't warn you!

Blooming at 18: Princess Aliyah

The gorgeous singer and actress Princess Aliyah is turning 18 very soon, and we've got a few things confirmed (so far) as she plans to celebrate her princess-strong woman themed birthday party. This press conference was done at the SEDA Hotel Vertis North in Quezon City. 

Princess says "This is a blessing, actually I just did plans for my debut last month. So now I am doing my gown, styling, and I'll get my PBB housemates on my birthday. They also told me a lot about a single they made for me which is AMBA, and I am so glad how it sounded, very pop princess and youthful. Initially I didn't want to celebrate my birthday but I actually have a lot of friends and extended family now which is why we went through with this. Since PBB I looked up to my Mom and since I'm turning 18, they will be a huge part of it. I love how it sounds too. Maybe people know how much of a baby I am, but I'm very strong and independent, but not to mar my sweet looks, I think I still want them to see that. I want my roles to be versatile, do contrabida roles, action, hopefully I could do that since I'm 18. I also want to do trekking on my own, I also want to have decisions, more responsibilities, and hope to just have good health for my family, that's all I want. I want the people who I've worked with to be there. Right now I am still finalizing things, I hope they could all come."

The single AMBA is written by Roel Rostata. It is arranged and produced by artist THYRO, produced by GMV Studios (as one of their artists).

Princess is a woman now, and she wants to do pageants if the opportunity comes, she loves Catriona and Pia, but it's not on her mind right now (yet). She likens herself with Rapunzel and see that she could do more getting to know herself even more while outside her walls. She promised herself to concentrate on her career and want a partner that would support that.

Happy birthday Princess!

Meet The Newest PPOP Girl Group in Town: VVINK

After covering one of the biggest PPOP collabs just a few days ago, here we go drowning ourselves in PPOP content with the arrival of a new female group called VVINK through their debut showcase held today at the HYPE club in Quezon City.

While they've already released songs in the past, that was their pre-debut which mostly showcased their individual talents. This time, they will be taking a huge leap with their new single TULALA under their label FlipMusic.

They took the risk to do this so their listeners would be able to get to know them at their best. The group is composed of their leader Angelika, main vocalist Jean, main rapper Ayaka, main dancer Odri and the all rounder Mariel. This new song has a very dreamy vibe, quite upbeat, while trying to express the feeling of one's first love. This is just the first of a plethora of songs they plan to release in the next few months which will be included in the album expected to be done til the 2nd quarter of 2026.

These ladies come from different places, but were all hand picked by their COO Jumbo Belen and CEO Jeli Mateo to become a part of this group. Unconventional as it may have seem to be launched like this, they were able to showcase their individual voices and genre. They also feel that with the training they went through, that it was all worth it. Here's the press conference in full on video:

Later in the day, they gave us a glimpse of their upcoming singles (to be launched this year til the 2nd quarter) and by the looks of it, they absolutely killed it on stage. The titles include "Tatlong Hiling", "Baduy", "Kailan Aamin", "Ikaw Lang Ang Kulang", and "Tulog Pa Si Ganda". Aside from being singers, some of them are talented songwriters and are pro choreographers. They contribute what they can for VVINK.

I think I loved what I saw today, and if you're raring to support these girls, make sure to follow their social channels by looking of VVINK PH on FB, IG and others, become VVINKies as they start their journey to conquer the world!