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Greetings from Manila in the Philippines!
I am here to attend MTV Music Evolution Manila 2016 this coming Friday and here’s how you can book a trip to visit the mega music event too.
MTV Music Evolution Manila 2016 will be taking place on 24 June at SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds. The artists line-up include iconic international pop band and prolific hit-maker OneRepublic, Billboard Hot 100 artist, American singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha, Korea’s favorite K-pop idol female group, Apink, L.A.-grown electric dance trio Far East Movement, Philippine pop superstar father and son-tandem Gary V feat. Gab Valenciano as well as Filipino pop darlings James Reid and Nadine Lustre.
They are all slated to set the stage ablaze at the one-night only live music event, enabling fans to experience and discover the evolution of pop music and its dance influence that keeps fans moving.
Recorded live for global telecast under the MTV World Stage global series, MTV Music Evolution Manila 2016 will reach an international audience of more than three-quarters of a billion households in over 160 countries. MTV Asia VJs Alan Wong and Hanli Hoefer will be hosting the event, along with MTV Pinoy VJs Yassi Pressman and Andre Paras.
MTV Music Evolution: Manila Asia Special premieres on MTV on Tuesday, 19 July at 7pm (TH/WIB), 8pm (PH/SG) and 9pm (MY).
ONEREPUBLIC
OneRepublic released their debut set Dreaming Out Loud in 2007. The album included the smash single “Apologize”, which shattered digital sales and airplay records worldwide and received a Grammy nomination. The band’s sophomore album, 2009’s Waking Up, produced three singles: “All the Right Moves”, “Secrets” and “Good Life”.
OneRepublic’s third studio album Native, was released in March 2015 where it debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. The set produced the hit singles “If I Lose Myself”, “Feel Again”, “Love Runs Out”, “I Lived” and “Counting Stars”, which reached #1 at Top 40 radio and has sold over 10 million downloads. OneRepublic has toured the world headlining dates in the U.S. and Europe and is currently working on a new album.
BEBE REXHA
Following years of dedication and diligence, that grind paid off in 2013 after 26-year-old Bebe Rexha of Albanian heritage and youth in New York City, penned “The Monster” in a Harlem studio. The single eventually became a worldwide hit for Eminem and Rihanna – going RIAA quadruple-platinum. Bebe would write and feature on Cash Cash’s “Take Me Home”, an idea she envisioned back in her bedroom in New York. After relocating to Los Angeles, she went on to co-write and sing on Pitbull’s “This Is Not A Drill” in addition to writing Tinashe’s “All Hands On Deck”. Her 2015 debut EP with Warner Bros, “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” boasted the singles “I Can’t Stop Drinking About You” and “I’m Gonna Show You Crazy”, which racked up over 52 million streams in only six months. That same year, she co-write and carried instantly recognizable hooks for the multi-platinum hit “Hey Mama” by David Guetta, Nicki Minaj, Afrojack and G-Eazy’s 2016 Billboard Hot 100 platinum smash “Me, Myself & I”, which saw over 133 million views on YouTube.
To date, she has accumulated over 10 million overall single sales, a cumulative radio audience reach of over seven billion, over one billion combined YouTube/ VEVO views and 800 million Spotify streams, in addition to earning praise from the likes of USA Today, Billboard, MTV and more.
On the road, she has toured supporting Ellie Goulding, Nick Jonas and scorched the stage of 2015 Vans Warped Tour, emerging as one of its biggest breakout acts. However, everything set the stage for her 2016 single, “No Broken Hearts” [featuring Nicki Minaj], which has already over 47 million YouTube views within a month. The unshakable and undeniable anthem introduces her forthcoming full-length album with a bang. Produced by Grammy Award®-nominated production team The Invisible Men, the track sees her robust, raw and real voice take the spotlight. Over a slick, smooth and sultry bounce, Bebe delivers a massive refrain freestyled in the vocal booth and punctuated by a fiery verse from Minaj. Merging booming production, cinematic storytelling and a powerhouse voice, she nods to influencers as diverse as Michael Jackson, Lauryn Hill, Tracy Chapman, The Cranberries and Kanye West.
APINK
Apink started in 2011 with Son Na Eun, who was featured in Beast’s “Soom”, “Beautiful” and “Niga Jeil Joha” music videos in late 2010. Park Cho-rong, who appeared at the end of Beast’s “Shock” Japanese music video, joined next, as the group’s leader. This led to the addition of Oh Ha Young and Jeong Eun-ji, where the latter was introduced through a video of her singing a rendition of Jennifer Hudson’s “Love You I Do”. The final two members, Yoon Bo Mi and Kim Nam Joo, were introduced through the group’s reality show, Apink News.
The group has since gone on to release five Korean extended plays and one studio album. In April 2011, Apink released their first extended play (EP), “Seven Springs of Apink”, and performed a song from it, “I Don’t Know”, on Mnet’s M! Countdown. In the same year, they also released their first digital single, “It Girl” and a second EP, “Snow Pink”. Their rise was quickly recognized when they were awarded the “Best New Female Artist” at the 13th Mnet Asian Music Award and the “Idol Music Rookie Award” at the 19th Republic of Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards in the same year.
Over the last four years, the group has fast-tracked their success. In 2012, they released their first album, “Une Annee” and two digital singles, “April 19” and “Bubibu”. Their third EP was released in 2013, “Secret Garden” in 2014, they released their fourth digital single, “Good Morning Baby” and two EPs, “Pink Blossom” and “Pink Luv”, where the latter was released in November 2014 and was #1 on Gaon’s weekly album chart. In the same year, Apink released their first Japanese-language single, “NoNoNo” in October 2014.
The group has also performed live and on TV shows, including some members appearing on TV drama series. The girl group popularity is clearly acknowledged well in the industry. With more than 20 music awards and more than 25 music program awards under the belt, their accolades have included “Best Newcomer Artist” at the 26th Golden Disk Awards, “Newcomer Award” at the 21st Seoul Music Awards, “Hot Performance Award” at the 3rd Gaon Chart K-pop Awards and the “Top 10” at the SBS Music Awards last year.
FAR EAST MOVEMENT
Far East Movement has always had dance music in their DNA; their early breakout hit “Like a G6” established the LA trio as major dance commodities around the world. Since then their ever growing catalog of music has been supported by celebrated artists such as Skrillex, Diplo, and Afrojack. They have also performed at some of the most prestigious festivals like Ultra Music Festival and Electric Daisy Carnival, continually showcasing FM as one of the most exciting touring acts in dance music.
The group has stayed busy this year with a slew of collaborations on reputable labels such as Ministry of Sound, DimMak, and Ultra. Their current collaboration “Break Yourself” with Hook N Sling is a staple on video channels of all formats so much that Pusha T has just joined the fray on the official remix.
Their project “Cool Water” with producer Autolaser gained major support from dance blog ThisSongisSick.com and was featured as the first song on their Soundcloud page for weeks. FM has also expanded their scope by managing six artists under their company Transparent Agency who have had releases on OWSLA, Armada, and Dim Mak themselves. They also just opened up a new joint label with Trap City, the largest Trap Channel in the world (over 2 million subscribers), named BredNButter with a myriad of releases slated to start at the end of the year. Throughout it all, Far East Movement still loves to make their own music and are hard at work on their next full length release slated for later this year.
GARY V (GARY VALENCIANO)
Gary Valenciano entered the world of Philippine entertainment in the 1980s, appearing as a solo artist on television shows. From his early beginnings, the multi-talented musician, singer-songwriter, composer, producer and dance choreographer built one of the most notable and long-standing recording careers in the Philippine music landscape: to date, Gary V has released over 32 albums in the Philippines and internationally. Renowned for songs that both lyrically and musically appeal to a wide range of audiences, and over several generations, it is no wonder that Gary V is also one of the most awarded musicians with over twelve citations at the Philippine Awit Awards for Best Male Recording Artist and with albums collecting Gold, Platinum and Multi-Platinum Awards for record sales.
Aside from his prowess in music, the Philippine pop icon is almost always also cited for his signature high-energy concerts. In his recordings and live appearances, he has performed and worked with some of the most respected global singers including Kool and the Gang, Brian McKnight, Ricky Martin, Michael W. Smith, Cliff Richard, and George Duke. In response to Philippine fans all over the world, he has also toured extensively in Asia, Europe and America, and held concerts in over 20 countries. He also won BEST MALE CONCERT PERFORMER for two consecutive years for his concerts “ARISE” (which also won for Best Concert of the Year) and “ULTIMATE” in 2015 and 2016.
To this day, he continues to produce and record music for his fans. In 2015, he won yet another accolade in producing and singing the “Best Song Written for a Movie/ TV/ Stage Play” at the 28th Awit Awards for “Ipagpatuloy Mo, Galing ng Pilipino”. His album “WITH YOU” received the Best Inspirational Album for 2015 at the Catholic Mass Media Awards.
GAB VALENCIANO
Dance champion Gab Valenciano broke into the Philippine music scene as a notably talented dancer and performer who would follow in his father’s footstep as one of the country’s most highly acclaimed pop icons. A music producer, he was one of the regular music arranger/producers for the dance segments of the top-rating music variety ASAP on ABSCBN. Since then, he has broken the mold and carved his own path to local and international stardom and renown by taking on projects that pushed his creativity even further. The percussionist, drummer, musician, performer, producer and choreographer started in Philippine live performances and shows, appearing in a myriad of concerts and TV specials alongside Gary V as well as many other household names like Sarah Geronimo, Rachel Ann Go to name a few. Practicing as a music producer and arranger for several artists like the Supahdance crew, Sarah G and Jericho Rosales, he continued to work on his craft, garnering acclaim for Best Dance Recording Producer, Performer and Composer at the 2011 Awit Awards for “Move”. He flew to the USA to finish an Associate Degree in recording engineering and music production in 2013-2014 at the Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida.
Online, he regularly releases work for millions of fans from his self-edited, produced and scored YouTube Channel for which he is dubbed as “Super Selfie King”.
Aside from his various Philippine projects involving hosting, acting and live performances, he has also delved into the realm of directing, having worked with American Idol sensation, Jessica Sanchez for one of her most current releases, “This Love” in 2015. Online, he regularly releases work for millions of fans from his self-edited, produced and scored YouTube Channel for which he is dubbed as “Super Selfie King”. His most notable collaboration was with global pop superstar Beyonce in 2014 when the female pop star was inspired by his super-selfie projects and produced her own super-selfie music video 7/11 which has garnered over 340 million views on YouTube. HE received an MTV VMA nomination for Best Choreography for the video in 2015. He was likewise flown to the Philippines to join You Tube Fanfest as one of their sensations in May 2016.
JAMES REID
Singer-dancer-actor James Reid debuted his self-titled album in 2013 featuring original compositions. His string of R&B-dance inflected hits launched him as the biggest male teen sensation in show business today. His love for R&B is also reflected in his most recent album, “Reid Alert” including the hit dance track “Huwag Ka Nang Humirit” and hit duet with Nadine Lustre, “Hanap-Hanap”. “Hanap-Hanap” will be Reid’s fourth hit collaboration with Lustre after “No Erase”, “Rocketeer” and “Bahala Na”. Reid also sung the EDM flavored “Musikaw” from the Philpop 2015 album. In January of 2016, he released his third and most recent single from his album, “Randomatic” featuring BTS video with Lustre.
NADINE LUSTRE
Formerly a member of all-girl teen singing group, PopGirls, Nadine Lustre broke out into the world of mainstream Philippine pop music with her debut in the movie “Diary ng Panget” which also starred her real-life sweetheart, James Reid. The movie featured hit tracks such as “No Erase”, “Paligoy-ligoy”, “Bahala Na”, “Hanap-Hanap” and Lustre’s memorable delivery of the widely popular “Para-paraan”. In 2015, her self-titled album and hit “Me & You” was recognized by SBS Pop Asia with a Titanium Award alongside other hitmakers in the region, like Super Junior, U-KISS and EXO.
In the same year, Lustre, in tandem with Callalily vocalist Kean Cipriano performed the song “Sa Ibang Mundo” by Mark Villar for the 2015 PhilPop songwriting competition and earned the People’s Choice Award, as well as second place during the PhilPop finals night.
