Black Eyed Peas coming for Big Dome show July 27

Both Black Eyed Peas member Allan Pineda, a.k.a. apl.de.ap, and hardcourt superstar Dennis Rodman have Filipino connections, their parents being residents of this country (living in Pampanga). But the similarity abruptly ends there.

During his two visits in the last three years, Allan sought out his biological Filipino mother (who gave up Allan to an American couple for adoption when he was small) for a fond reunion. So proud is Allan of his Filipino heritage that he proclaims "I am from the Philippines!" everywhere the Black Eyed Peas has a concert.

In contrast, when Rodman was here recently for exhibition games, he avoided meeting his father, curiously named Philander Rodman, and even went to the extent of having his bodyguards block his father from getting near him during a game at the Araneta Coliseum.

I’m sure Allan will again go out of his way to be with his mom when the Black Eyed Peas come back for a concert on July 27 at the Big Dome.

That’s the good news – the Black Eyed Peas’ repeat concert, to be produced by Viva Concerts & Events.

The other good news (especially for Black Eyed Peas fans) is that the quartet (other members are William a.k.a. will.i.am, Fergie and Taboo) has just come up with their latest album entitled Monkey Business. Described as "the direct descendant" of its predecessor album Elephunk, Monkey Business contains the type of songs the Black Eyed Peas loves to play "live." "It’s about a party," said William/will.i.am. "It’s very much about us."

The album was produced and recorded during the Black Eyed Peas’ never-ending road trip, inspired by a CD William/will.i.am bought in Brazil, containing a Dick Dale song called Miserlou.

"At first," William/will.i.am was quoted as saying, "I was angry. This wasn’t the kind of CD I wanted to buy. But then, that song was really hot so I said, ‘We should do a song like this.’ I started writing the song on my computer during a train ride and tightened up the beat on a plane to Tokyo. I recorded the vocals at a park in Tokyo. And that’s how Pump It (one of the songs on Monkey Business) came to be. It’s the beauty of technology now. You can record anywhere, anytime, any which way you want to."

The album didn’t turn out to be just monkey business. So far, it has already hit the double-platinum mark.

Rest assured that the Black Eyed Peas will sing Pump It and other selections from Monkey Business during their Big Dome concert on July 27.

(Note: Tickets to the Black Eyed Peas concert are priced at P5,000 for patron, P4,000 for lower box A, P3,000 for upper box A, P1,000 for upper box B and P500 for general patronage. For inquiries, call the Ticketnet at 911-5555 or the Viva Concerts & Events at 687-6181 locals 715 and 620.)

Jasmine Trias visits juvenile detention center

Here are excerpts from an interesting report from Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre (news editor of The Filipino Reporter):

LOS ANGELES – Of all the former American Idol finalists, the last one you would expect to see at a juvenile detention center is sweet Jasmine Trias (Corey Clark, maybe).

But that’s exactly where the third-season third-place finisher could be spotted a few weeks ago in Los Angeles. She wasn’t serving time; she was talking to and hopefully inspiring troubled teens.

"This is something that I’ve always wanted to do," Trias said. "Not only do I want to sing, but I want to get that inspirational message out to people and let them know that they can also do it. They still have time to turn their lives around."

Since her stint on Idol, Trias has also been speaking at grade schools in her home state of Hawaii, encouraging students to think about their future.

"I want to talk about how I was able to dream and make it a reality," Trias explained. "How I made the right decisions in life, how American Idol changed my life, and what I’m doing now."

Her first acting experience was in the Philippines, where she was a guest star on Filipino comedy sketch show OK Fine Whatever. Trias also starred in a short Filipino romance movie as the daughter of a well-to-do family who falls in love with the bodyguard her parents hired to protect her.

The film originated from a song on her first album. Trias said she was excited when she got the part because she was able to act in English and in Filipino.

"It was definitely a challenge for me, but it was so much fun to be on the set and to see how all of that works," Trias said. "I’m so used to being in a recording studio, so this was a new experience for me."

Now Trias is trying to take that experience to the big screen in America.

"I’m auditioning for this role that’s kind of like a cross between My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Lost in Translation but targeting a Filipino audience," Trias said.

Trias hopes to model her career after her idol, Jennifer Lopez.

Among the 100 Unsexiest Men in the World

Also from Edmund Silvestre, this report on The 100 Unsexiest Men in the World (lifted from The Phoenix newspaper of Boston, Massachusetts, which was, according to Edmund, "picked up by various publications all over the world"). Funfare will publish only the names (and their ranking) which may be familiar to local readers. To wit:

• #4 Dr. Phil

• #8 Osama Bin Laden

• #9 Jay Leno

• #11 Michael Jackson

• #17 Jerry Seinfeld

• #19 Chevy Chase

• #21 Ron Howard (director of The Da Vinci Code)

• #22 Clint Eastwood

• #23 Bill Gates

• #26 Tim Burton

• #39 Michael Moore (maker of the controversial docu-drama Farenheit 9/11)

• #45 Nick Nolte

• #46 Leif Garrett

• #49 Lyle Lovett (ex-husband of Julia Roberts)

• #52 Danny De Vito

• #56 Rob Schneider (the Fil-Am actor)

• #58 Bill O’Reilly

• #80 Art Garfunkel

• #94 Ralph Nader

• #99 Kevin Federline (Britney Spears’ husband) and, would you believe,

• #100 Brad Pitt!

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