Giordano Philippines invites everyone to join World Without Strangers campaign

MANILA, MAY 27, 2014 – A world without strangers is an ideal world where people are not divided by race, class, religion or culture. It is a world where everyone welcomes each other as if they are friends or family. This is what Giordano Philippines stands for, and it longs to do so by developing apparel for everyone regardless of ethnicity, nationality or culture.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary in the country, Giordano Philippines invites everyone to join them in this quest for a World Without Strangers (WWS), beginning with the WWS photo booth which will run in selected malls all over the country from May 16 to June 1, 2014.

Catch the WWS photo booth at Trinoma (May 23), SM Megamall (May 24), Alabang Town Center (May 25), Ayala Cebu (May 30) and SM Davao (June 1). The first leg of the campaign took place at the SM Mall of Asia (May 16), Glorietta (May 17) and SM Pampanga (May 18).

The photo booth will be situated in the mall for a whole day. Those who want to participate in the campaign need to sign a form, giving their consent for Giordano Philippines to use to use their photos on social media and other Giordano marketing collaterals. And participants will get to bring home their own copy of the photo.

“The Giordano brand and apparel have always appealed to anyone – from those who shop in Dubai’s glitzy malls to the laidback college kids in Sydney, Australia. Our timeless style and quality materials bring together people of different cultures and backgrounds,” said Beatrice Lim, Giordano Philippines’ VP for Marketing.

“Here in the Philippines people still come from different divides, and through this campaign we hope to break that. We want to show everyone that we can live in a world without strangers,” she said.

For more information about the campaign, please visit www.facebook.com/GiordanoPhilippines.

ONE DIRECTION ON THE ROAD AGAIN TOUR 2015

BREAKING NEWS!!!
1D Family,  the long wait is over!

For the very first time in the Philippines, the international pop sensation will make teenage dreams come true with the ONE DIRECTION ON THE ROAD AGAIN TOUR 2015 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds on March 21, 2015.

Get ready to sing to your heart’s content and swoon over the world’s biggest band, One Direction, as they gear up for an epic stadium tour in Australia and Asia including the Philippines in 2015!

The English-Irish boy band has been crooning chart-topping hits to rapturous fans in sold-out concerts from all over the world. Last year, One Direction released their record-breaking third album, Midnight Memories, which saw them named as the IFPI’s Global Artist of 2013 for becoming the best-selling musical act in the world. They even made music history in America, as they became the first ever band to have their first three albums debut at No.1 in the US Billboard Chart.

Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik are set to visit a multitude of cities and countries for the first time, including a leg of the tour in South Africa and the UAE. They have just completed the first leg of their massive, sold-out Where We Are stadium tour, where the boys garnered an overwhelmingly enthusiastic reception from their fans in South America. The UK and Ireland leg kicks off at Dublin’s Croke Park on the May 23, before moving to Europe and the USA throughout the rest of 2014.

Don’t miss out on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of the country’s biggest music event for 2015! Be sure to head on over to a special Launch Event at the Mall of Asia Arena on May 23, 2014 from 8 AM onwards to be one of the first to purchase tickets at these prices:

VIP/Hot Ticket Package – P17,000
Diamond- P14,000; Titanium- P7,000
Gold -  P3,500
Silver - P2,000
General Admission – P1,000

Additional E-Plus Tap to Pay and SM Ticket charges apply.
Watch out for the launch of the VIP/Hot Ticket Package which includes the ticket, a 1D wristwatch with pouch, a laminate card, and lanyard.

Ticket buyers will also get a commemorative E-Plus Tap to Pay card exclusive to this concert and an option to personalize their tickets to this event!

For those who cannot attend the Launch event, tickets start selling at 2 PM in all SM Ticket outlets on the same day. Please call SM Tickets at 470-2222 or log on to www.smtickets.com

ONE DIRECTION ON THE ROAD AGAIN TOUR 2015 at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds is brought to you by the country’s top promoters MMILIVE, Ovation Productions, Futuretainment and other notable partners as they come together to bring you this much awaited event!
For sponsorship opportunities, please call (02) 846-1933 and (02) 571-8568.
For more information, visit mmilive.com and ovationproductionsmanila.com.

One Direction’s new album “Midnight Memories” is available in major record stores nationwide! Also available for download on iTunes and Spinnr!

Be updated with your favorite local and international artists! Visit Ivory Music & Video’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ivorymusicandvideophilippines

LOOM Craft Craze at SM BF Paranaque

Johnoy Danao sells the music in first mainstream album

Dubbed as the must-have OPM album of the year, Johnoy Danao’s first mainstream album Samu’t-Sari boasts of songs that tackle love in its different faces. This is Johnoy’s first album under a major record label, and he chose Universal Records to take care of his songs.

“Releasing an album independently was a great experience for me,” admits Johnoy. “But, I realized that working with a label, gives me a chance to reach a wider audience. Limited din kasi talaga pag ikaw lang mag-isa. Kahit anong sipag mo, may hangganan sa maaabot na tenga.”

Johnoy, who has established his own strong following in his years as an independent artist, is proud to be in the Universal Records’ roster of artists, which includes OPM President Ogie Alcasid and Noel Cabangon.

“I had a very pleasant experience working with Universal Records’ resident producer Ito Rapadas when we we were working on last year’s PhilPop album,” says Johnoy when asked why he chose Universal Records to be his first mainstream label. “Plus, I really respect the artists in the roster. They are the people I look up to. I am in good company.”

When asked what the buyers of his album should expect from the album, he quips, “Samu’t-Sari is my way of introducing my music to a wider audience.  It is never about me, my face, the visuals. It is all about the music, the voice.”

Johnoy adds, “iba’t-ibang kuwento ang napapaloob sa album na ‘to. Iba’t-ibang tunog rin ang maririnig. Pero, lahat nasa iisang tema ng pag-ibig. Kasama din dito ang mga Beer at Sundo, na parehong paboritong i-request sa akin sa mga gig.”

When asked why, of all OPM songs, he chose Beer and Sundo to be included in the album, he replies, “Ang ganda ng mga kantang ‘to. Ito yung mga kanta na alam mong pinag-isipan. Ito yung kanta na minsan iniisip ko na, ‘sana ako nagsulat nito.’”

Johnoy describes the entire album as easy listening, perfect for sentimental moments or road trips.

Johnoy considers Buntong-hininga and Bakuran two of his favorite cuts from the album.

“Buntong-hininga kasi magaan, maaliwalas, at napapanahon sa init ngayon,” describes Johnoy. “Bakuran (his collaboration with Aiza Seguerra) naman at sumasalamin sa kung paano tayo lahat nagmamahal.”

Johnoy is also happy that his version of the 2013 PhilPop entry Kung Di Man is included in the album. The song, which was interpreted by Ney Dimaculangan in the festival, was 1st runner-up in last year’s PhilPop.

Ikaw At Ako, perhaps the most notable Johnoy Danao song, is also included in the album. The said song was used as theme in one of the episodes of Maalaala Mo Kaya.

Johnoy expressed pride over his Samu’t-Sari album because he added different elements in every song in the album.

He cites, “we used Tuba in Salubong, Bassoon for Malayang Bilanggo… All songs have their own individual highlights.”

Gloc-9’s Myx Music Awards bodes well for mainstream Pinoy music

Gloc-9 won four major awards in the Myx Music Awards 2014 (MMA2014), the most for any artist who was nominated.

But what is more important about this win, is not so much the fact that Gloc-9 won in four out of six categories that he was nominated in, nor that he won four times more than any other artist.

It is that Gloc-9 won it for a song like “Magda.”

The idea of Magdalena is not new. The legend that is Freddie Aguilar introduced us to “Magdalena” in the early 1980’s, a folk song about the plight of a girl who was misunderstood because of the work she was forced into doing. In the Aguilar song, Magdalena is seen as “sawimpalad,” living a wretched life, where her story is one of choicelessness.

Gloc-9’s “Magda” does not point a finger at this woman’s life. The songwriter tells this story with compassion and understanding. Spoken from the perspective of her childhood sweetheart Ernesto, the story is allowed its romance, as it is allowed its heartbreak and undoing. Because Ernesto speaks of Magda, we are given the chance to see Magda as a spit of a girl, as someone who left her childhood behind. In the present she is a woman who is trapped in the cage of her own doing.

The song does not judge Magda, as it does make her human. She is treated as solitary and independent, she is allowed her own individuality, her own voice.

This is Gloc-9 at his most creative, where his decision to use another character to speak about Magda allows for a distance, a non-judgmental stance about her character. It is this creativity that was awarded by the MMA this year. But more importantly what they were honoring was this rapper-songwriter-artist’s decision to tell a story we would rather not hear, of a woman we would rather be blind to.

And this is really the value of Gloc-9’s quadruple wins in this year’s MMAs. He won for the song “Magda” in the context of mainstream original Pilipino music that makes hits out of repetitive lovesongs and novelty. He won for “Magda” at a time when the originality and relevance of original Pilipino pop music is being questioned.

Each MYX Music Award is composed of 60% audience votes and 40% artist or peer votes. And on a year when Gloc-9 wins big for a song like “Magda,” we are being told how the audience and the members of the industry as well, are in fact ready for difficult stories and complex songs.

Winning those four MMAs for “Magda,” as such, is not just a measure of Gloc-9 as artist. It is a measure of what the audience of local music is ready for. One hopes original Pinoy mainstream music heeds this call for creativity and relevance.