ISHA PONTI and ANDREA GUTIERREZ Takes First Step with THE NEXT ONES Concert
Sunday, October 26, 2025
A Few Reasons To Watch GARY VALENCIANO's "Gary V Back at the Museum"
Monday, August 07, 2023
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| Gary V performed with Kianna Vee for a little Father Daughter number |
Filipina-Israeli Shira Tweg Releases "Pag-ibig" Under Star Music
Thursday, June 15, 2023
I've seen Shira Tweg a couple of times from her previous movie "Sugat Sa Dugo" back in 2021 (we interviewed her) and MMFF Summer entry "Kahit Maputi na ang Buhok Ko" (she portrayed a young Sharon Cuneta) which talked about the life of Singer-Songwriter and hit maker Rey Valera. She's a Filipina-Israeli actress who I think looked like a mix between Salma Hayek and Catherine Zeta Jones. She's also a singer and this time, she just released a new single called "Pag-ibig" under Star Music
Here's our interview with her during the launch:
I like the song and its premise, of where a hopeful young girl still believes there's someone out there for her even though she already got hurt in past relationships. She's not a belter per se, but she sure has a unique voice and tone that's pleasing to the ears and an ability to tell a story. She gave us a show during the launch, albeit sick, she went ahead and performed for us. It was nice to hear her rendition of Sharon Cuneta's Mr. DJ and her new song "Pag-ibig". Her new single was also written by Direk Joven Tan who's also done a lot to help her in her music career.
Shira also plans to have her own business soon, and she's preparing a lot for that. She's an actress and she's raring to grab the opportunities presented to her, to hopefully also release more songs in the near future. About pageants, she's not that interested in doing it, but rather do modeling.
She's had suitors, but prioritizing her career and education comes first. Love isn't perfect she says, but the song "Pag-ibig" gives you reasons to still believe in it no matter how many times you fail in relationships. It also tells a story of your struggles, on how you would take the courage in professing love for another person. She hopes you find this song to be about you in one stage of your life, and yes, you can stream this now on all digital platforms and YouTube for the music video.
She's got a long way to go, but she's talented and we hope they get to create even more songs for her so people would be able to listen to Shira Tweg and believe in love again. Congratulations on your new single dear!
Meet the Band Called FIREFLIES
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Took time out of my busy schedules for a night out on my neighborhood in Quezon City. Pretty dark out there, but I've seen something glow from afar, it was lights from a local bar where I saw FIREFLIES was playing.
It's a band formed in 2016, who now decided to get re-launched with new members in tow. If you're a little observant, you probably know most of them are from bands Cueshé who's had remarkable success in the early 2000's. Jay Justiniani does Lead Vocals, Jhunjie Dosdos on Vocals , Guitar and Keyboards, while JC Del Rosario IV does Vocals and Bass Guitar, RM Tolentino who does Percussions and Pat Galut does the Lead Guitar. They've been working hard the past few months taking a shot at writing songs, doing covers and performing in different locations across the Philippines.
Here's our short chat with them after a set, apologies as it's quite noisy in the bar we were in that evening.
Jay says "Actually, this group is easy to work with. Jhunjie is a former band member of Cueshé (like him) so we do really know each others dynamics. Our other band members are also good songwriters, so it was easy to work with even though we have different ideas. It was easier to make songs if you guys understand each other. Jhunjie and I are good friends, and good friends are hard to come by."
JC adds "Jhunjie and I started to work with Fireflies, and we now have new band members, we just didn't have a vocalist then, Jay agreed to join later on and that became a positive direction for the Fireflies band."
Jhunjie adds "I remember Jay was having doubts joining us a few years back. He was very busy and was based in Cebu. It was a bit difficult because we were playing in Manila most of the time. Some of the former Fireflies got a little tired working with us in the band because of the pandemic as income was really tight because we didn't have gigs during the lockdown. He had to go back to Davao. I was the only one left, I knew I had to do something. I'm thankful Jay agreed even if we haven't seen each other for a long time."
They named themselves Fireflies because it's like a spark in the dark. They're raring to perform in company parties, concerts local or foreign. They are currently being managed by Ms. Grace who previously worked in ABSCBN. You may get in touch with them through 09923150106 as it'll be surely busy during the holidays. They're bringing their new brand of music, some covers, and some old classics that 90's kids, Millenials and Gen Z's would absolutely love. They're going to release a few singles soon, so make sure you follow them also on their social channels at https://www.facebook.com/fireflies.ph because they're going to post updates of their gigs on that page.
Cheers to more music from FIREFLIES! Hope you shine brighter in the darkest hours and share your love of music even more!
TV5 to Announce Biggest P-Pop Stars in POPINOY
Saturday, November 06, 2021
The finalists include girl groups A4OU, Neu Climax and Yara whilst the guys are composed of Full Out, Upgrade and Versus. They will battle it out on stage to see who will be the first PoPinoyGrand Winner. The show will be judged by artists and equally talented star headhunters DJ Loonyo, Kayla Rivera, Mitoy Yonting and dance queen Maja Salvador.
Gone are the times where they were just telling us about their stories because this time, they'll be putting in all their hard work and what they've learned in the different training sessions they did in the competition. From songwriting, to thinking about what they're presenting, to honing their skills and bettering personalities, they'll show you what they've learned from the in house Pop Academy. This competition is done in partnership with TNT. Winners are expected to promote and showcase Filipino pride with their talents, in hopes to inspire more people even after the show. Make sure you're there to see who wins, it will be hosted by the phenomenal Maine Mendoza and award winning actor Paolo Ballesteros.
Make sure you're tuned in tomorrow at 7PM! It'll surely be an amazing evening to see how talented Filipinos are!
Electropop Artist LESHA Drops Album "SUN MOON RISING!" on August 6th
Tuesday, August 03, 2021
The universe is conspiring and she's out with a new album, she's Lesha and taking the Philippines and the world by storm. She's an electropop artist and producer who's worked hard for her dreams, and now, it's a reality!
This August 6, her album "SUN MOON RISING" will be out with the first track with the same title dropping on this date. This is a huge difference from the time when she was just experimenting with her music via apps and vocals which she uploaded on Soundcloud. Slowly, she started doing remixes of popular songs and did several covers on YouTube. This opened up a lot of opportunities later on which got her to meet international producers of whome are now good friends, and is involved with her album Sun Moon Rising!
Lesha says "I'm self taught in music production, I also shoot and edit my own music videos. Those scenes you see on my channel are mostly shot in my own home and I got help from my family. I took Marketing Management in college and learned social media management because I needed to learn the ropes. I didn't want to be taken advantage. I am just so proud of this album that got me to work with producers and artists from UK, US, South Korea, Spain, Bahrain and Italy. I worked on this really hard and I'm very proud of what we have accomplished!"
Lesha's album SUN MOON RISING is under Star Music and will be released this coming August 6 on Spotify and other streaming platforms. You can also check out Lesha's YouTube channel (search Lesha) and her website leshaofficial.com for more information about her music.
NOBRVND Releases "SEXBOMB GIRL" Under Warner Music
Thursday, July 01, 2021
Seen the video, and I'm utterly impressed. Rap artist and producer NOBRVND has just released a new single called "Sexbomb Girl" this week, a very light, uplifting and melodic rap song under Warner Music Philippines.
The Sexbomb Girls were an iconic local girl group in the late 90's and was considered the "Best Selling Female Group" of all time. While making this particular single, he was inspired by songs that had their own muse like international artists depicting their perfect woman from girl groups abroad. NOBRVND thought about it and figured, why do that when we have our own iconic ones. He grew up listening to them too, hence the inspiration to make the track with the successful girl group's name on the single as well. He's got lots of influences and judging from the this particular songs vibe, he renders it into something that's catchy, dance-able, made from piano, violin, brass and electronic music. He's already got a multitude of songs released in the past like “Bakit”, “Langit” and my personal favorite “Sinayang” (which was catchy, vengeful and gives a little feeling of regret).
Nobrvnd sees this all as a touch of what's to come with his made EP called "Get This Bread". He says “It feels so good to finally finish making this EP. I have worked on this album for so long and I almost thought it wouldn't see the light of day. I really had doubts, and discussed this on the album. I hope people enjoy listening to it, and my music. We're planning to have "Get This Bread" be released around the last week of July."
For more of Nobrvnd's music, you may follow @WarnerMusicPH on social media. Stream his album and this single on all digital platforms and if you dig it, go watch the official music video of "Sexbomb Girl" on YouTube. I'll embed it here.
Discovering Pop Icons of this Generation: PoPinoy
Friday, May 28, 2021
New and fresh content coming out of TV5 just isn't a surprise anymore, quite expected. I'm saying that because as I logged in on a zoom press conference a few days ago, the stars from other networks have converged on TV5 to make a one of a kind talent show called PoPinoy aimed to discover even more world class Filipinos, put them on stage and make it their way to stardom!
What's more interesting is the composition of mentors and judges which includes her Majesty Maja Salvador, King of RnB Jay-R, Viral Dance Sensation DJ Loonyo and Theatre Siren Kayla Rivera. You see, the folks responsible for these are Cignal, production house Archangel Media and communications company TNT. They know this industry front and back, so this would be like a reality show wherein we'll be following the contestants journey into stardom. In a way, if you get attached, we wouldn't be surprised. I felt all their excitement as stars on the show shared stories.
TV5 President and CEO Robert P. Galang says "Cignal and TV5 is commited to give you relevant and quality content that not only entertain, but to empower our kapatids. With TNT, we are launching this to showcase talented Filipinos around the world! We will be with them all the way, we hope you support the new show here on TV5!"
Mike Tuviera of Archangel Media says "I can't wait to open this nationwide. We are meeting more people, develop their skills and talent to make them the best performers and singers too."
Jane Basas of Smart says "TNT has always championed pinoy talent and we always support it. We want to present them in a bigger platform so we are doing this nationwide. TV5 is the best partner as they share the same vision. We're glad to become part of the journey of our talents. They will also be TNT's ambassadors, we will bring them all over the Philippines. We'll have a TNT Pop Show that will also be hosted by Darren Espanto wherein we will have new guests that you will all love! I can't wait to see more of our Filipino talent and the winner of this show. TNT believes they have the same passion as ours to discover more talented Filipino youth hence this partnership."
Hosting the show is Paolo Ballesteros and Maine Mendoza. Maine says "I have seen in Eat Bulaga the sheer amount of talent that Filipinos have... and it needed a platform so they too can be seen. This show will be different, because it is different! We're also going to tell their stories which would make their journey more interesting. There's lots of things you should look forward to in PoPinoy!"
Maja Salvador adds "I am excited to work with these talented people. They made ways to really put us together and requested that we need to do this... and now this happened. This was just something off that awards night when I signaled that I wanted to work with them, remember that? Me managing talents is not a one man team, I have a lot of people who help me and it really is not my decision alone. We're going to judge and train them more in this competition, which is a bit difficult because it's not just a singing competition, everyone is going to audition and we have to see their potential. That part is going to be challenging."
You'll be seeing how they will discover the biggest PPop sensation, you'll be seeing the girl and boy groups on a primer this coming June 6th at 8PM, while the first episode will happen on June 13, Sunday at 7PM on TV5 and a catch up episode on Colours and on Cignal at around 9:30pm the same day. You can also watch it on the Cignal Play app so if you haven't downloaded that on your smartphone, maybe this is a good day to do it.
Discover world class talent in this joint, see you on Sunday ha?!
Ylona Garcia Outs New Single "ALL THAT"
Monday, May 24, 2021
Oooh this is interesting! Now I have seen her perform live, on TV, and even got to talk to her a couple of times during events. Ylona Garcia comes off as a very smart, intelligent, passionate lady. She's destined for greatness and hearing her new single "ALL THAT" this afternoon just made me shake my head a bit why she isn't in Hollywood or some other place greater because she's dang good in what she's doing now.
ALL THAT reminds us of the horrible things we had in 2020, and why it's okay to actually leave those things behind. Picking up what's left of us and do more things, we're due for good, better things and we should be doing things towards that goal, NOW.
This is officially her debut single under PARADISE RISING, which is a sister label of 88rising which is formed with their partnership with Globe. Under them, Ylona wishes to expand more of her music to a global audience. From the looks of it, they're not going to disappoint people because it honestly sounds so good. No wonder why she's gotten Gold a few years ago (when she was only 18). Paradise Rising is also focused on bringing Filipino talent on a global scale. She's perfect for this!
She says "This song is a good reminder that you should be kinder and have a better your relationship with yourself. It gets you to have better relationships with people around you. You would need to leave all the toxicity behind, then start anew. It's how you could commit and find that new you!" and I totally agree.
Kean Cipriano Outs Solo Album CHILDLIKE.
Sunday, May 16, 2021
Last night was one for the books (actually two nights ago!). I took a break from press conferences and writing because a very talented guy was launching his own album, Kean Cipriano. I wouldn't miss it for the world!
This was sort of a listening party, over the internet, over wine, food and awesome conversations in between. The front man and vocalist of Callalily finally had a chance to showcase what he's been doing in the past few years, so in a way I'm witnessing history, art, taking its form.
Kean says "This album has been 3 years in the making. Suppressing what I felt was already hard - and waiting for the others to release their albums first was equally daunting (he kids) . The album is just something so good, quite surreal. This is like saying your age without saying your age, my era when a CD was medium in making albums. I had to use one of course even if processes meant I had to be fully digital. It was a long time. It's been 6 years when I last released an album with Callalily, so in a way, I feel like I'm a kid again, like I'm starting... hence the title of the album Childlike."
The album includes several singles which has been written and kept in notes he's been holding onto for several years. Some of it has been reworked and masterfully done with other artist friends. He also included a few new ones with wife Chynna which I liked as it had a bit of storytelling. When I listened to Childlike., it felt more of how fatherhood had changed him as the lyrics delved more on his love and will to sacrifice for his kids which I think was so endearing. It kinda served what I felt with the bits of photos they share on social media (and how I got to know them over the years).
The album includes songs like
Childlike.
Took Me Out
Eye Contact
Make Me Fly
Sa Ibang Mundo 2021
Tonight I Break Some Promises
Sulyap
Later When I'm Drunk
Tangina
Walk on Water
The single Took Me Out on the other hand felt like an ode to someone who saved you from a bad kind of life... the one with "no sense of direction" and swept him off his feet kind of relationship. I'd be afraid if all these songs are personal experiences because some of it are extremely mellon collie inducing like T@ngin@ which screams of a heartfelt confession of a man struggling to make his partner
fall in love with him. That song tore me into pieces as it tells how he realized his shortcomings, how disappointed he feels as he's
not able to become the man she wants him to be. He's also sad that he
sees how distraught and tired she is and where their relationship is heading, which I felt was a bit like me a couple years ago (scratch that lol). Though honestly, I really dig that track and it is my personal favorite.
The single Eye Contact had artists Liezel Lopez and Jon Lucas on its music video. Both the song and the vid had an 80's vibe on it as Kean says "We played a lot with that. It's like a reveal, a twisted imagination, and we just played with visuals. The concept is about a guy stalking the lady. This was written a long time ago, I think it was around 2012, but it was just stored in my notebooks. I just released it in the solo project, I did a demo at home and Chynna figured that it would be good to release it with the other songs. The feeling is surreal as the the directors for this music video are my mentors, I know I'm in a safe place doing these concepts because Direk Oddy and Direk Jay, they collaborate with me. I'm not the director, I am not acting or singing in the video. I took the producers hat, I want people to get the message, that it's not just about love, it has a deeper meaning, our existence in the world where we have lots of people to interact with, and disguised it into a love form. This is under OC Records (their label)."
Make Me Fly is another single that got me really interested. The music video for it was done with really good and impact driven animation which I'm sure most would enjoy. Tonight I Break Some Promises was all about breaking hearts, killing memories, things that you shouldn't say to a person you're leaving but worded straight forward. It'll ruffle feathers especially if you're a bit emotional, Filipinos do love hurtful songs no matter how that sounds weird. Sulyap on the other hand was more like a profession of love. It tells a story of a man ready to sweep a woman he loves off her feet. It's also for a person she prayed for, and the guy assures her that she's in good hands. The single "Later when I'm drunk" are for those awkward opportunities of going up to introducing yourself to someone (like in clubs), more like a hookup, and the music feels has a bit of country/western vibe and the chances of getting drunk - and refused. Lastly, Walk on Water was another track with wife Chynna. It felt like an anthem of two starstruck lovers who would want to make the impossible possible because you are with the one you love.
Seeing these songs made me realize how powerful songs are as a medium in
relaying emotions. Kean's songs might have been a hodgepodge of
experiences in different times, with different people, but one things
for sure, it shows a part of him. Too bad I didn't get to catch the man perform a number during the last sequences because of writing deadlines, but surely, I enjoyed every bit of it. If you want to see and hear what Kean Cipriano has up his sleeves, go stream his music over at Spotify and other digital streaming platforms. He also has several of the audio uploaded recently on YouTube, go take a short break and listen to him sing. This is his solo album, and it's mental!
BGYO Be The Light Debut
Wednesday, February 03, 2021
The last time I saw these guys was on stage, in Showtime. I was a bit curious who they were and how they were able to pull off such a technical driven performance. Their name? BGYO a 5 member Filipino boy group riding on the waves of up and coming artists and the whole P-POP industry. I must say, I may have not liked their styling that day, but their jaw performance, is on another level. I immediately knew after watching that song and dance number, I'm not going to be alone in asking WHO ARE THEY?
On their debut last week (January 29), I saw how these guys can sing, be on point with their moves and entertaining a whole generation of P-POP loving folks from around the world. Their training was not as easy because these guys underwent tons of workshops and sessions with trainers from South Korea and the best voice and choreography coaches in the Philippines. Not only that, because their debut event showcased Gelo, Akira, JL, Mikki and Nate's individual talents. They also showed how GOOD they look like when they perform together as BGYO which to me, looks very promising.
It was also touching to see them share their personal struggles, their stories, on how hard they have worked for this big break. Aside from the guys performing, they also heard from other artists of ABSCBN. They lauded the boys when they appeared in ASAP and other shows in the Kapamilya network. Just like me, they were astounded seeing them do things on stage and now they too are instant fans. Now I don't want to spoil things for those who have not seen the event, if you want to you still can do it.
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| Their "The Light" music video is also out now on digital and YouTube so check them out today! |
How? Go watch it on February 7 this Sunday on A2Z (Free to air TV) at 4PM. Yiy can also catch it on the Kapamilya Channel and Kapamilya Online Live at around 11PM. You can also watch it via TFC and iWantTFC if you want to see it on digital. I'm telling you, they definitely have good reason to put these guys together, and if they go international, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of girls would go gaga over them.
They're awesome!
VIVA x RTM Japan Brings PPOP Generation: Boom Ganda!
Monday, December 03, 2018





Astrid S Says Hi To Asia
Saturday, June 24, 2017
I thought I was oblivious about her but she was apparently already on my playlist (last year I think) and I am quite choosy. I revived my iPod and found "Hurts So Good" in it then listened to her more. World music or in their term "Galilean Music" is fondly played in bars and clubs in Manila. It's not totally foreign at all. These are the types where you just clearly have to listen to it and close your eyes, as it takes you places, to where it would bring you so much joy... believe in every heartbreak, in romance, sometimes humor, in stories she tells in her lyrics.
KUMAGCOW
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