MANILA, Philippines - Young JV credits his smooth sailing career to plain good luck.
The 19-year-old dancer-rapper who first broke into the scene as a wide-eyed newcomer in the recording scene is now a mainstay of A.S.A.P. XV. The pair of loose pants and T-shirt is still there. But the get-up has become more colorful, more with-it.
“I’ve been blessed,” he explains. “My exposure on A.S.A.P. every Sunday, guestings on Wowowee and Sharon have helped a lot.”
Yes, things are moving fast. Five months after he released his first album, Young JV is preparing his second CD. He promises more singing — aside from his trademark dance moves — this time around. He’s also eyeing international exposure for his single, Can’t Get Enough, which he is now negotiating for release under the Sony Def Jam label in New York.
If he aims high and dreams big, it’s because Young JV can count on his family’s support, not just to boost his morale, but his logistics as well.
“It helps that my mom (Elsa Kapunan) knows people in the music scene,” says Young JV. His family can afford to produce his albums, thereby giving Young JV more leeway in choosing the songs he wants to put in his CD.
Soon, this freedom of choice will apply to his dancers as well. Young JV has just launched the dance contest, called Ready or Not Dance Off. The winning group will get its own share of the limelight as Young JV’s permanent dancers and mainstays in his music videos.
Thus, they should be the best of the lot.
Those who want to apply must recreate and dance to the beat of Young JV’s latest dance single and music video, Shake, Shake.
The pluses of having his own dance crew go beyond just freedom of choice. It’s also a question of peace of mind.
“Sometimes, the dancers are unavailable and someone backs out because of sickness,” Young JV states. So he is forced to hunt for substitutes at the last minute.
This need not happen if Young JV has his own dance crew. He need not worry anymore about having no one to back him up on stage. He can just focus on giving his all to his dance moves, smiling at the girls in the audience and bringing the house down.
“The contestants need not copy my style,” Young JV relates. The more original they are, the better.
The response so far, he adds, is encouraging (application forms may be downloaded at www.youngjv.com and candidates must be at least 18 years old). Students from universities and colleges nationwide sent in videos. Candidates will be winnowed down to 32 dance crews, which will compete per elimination round (there are four of them) come June at SM Supermalls. The grand winner on July 10 at A-Venue, Makati will get P50,000 cash and a chance to perform with Young JV in his TV guestings and live shows.
The charitable Young JV is turning the affair into a fund-raiser, whose proceeds will go to his The Lahing Bayani Foundation for soldier’s orphans, most of them students he is sending to school.
This way, he reaches out to the young, not only on stage, but more importantly — off stage as well.
After all, they speak the same language — verbally and musically. It is they who groove rhythmically to Young JV’s R&B-rap numbers. It is they who are helping Young JV find his place in the mainstream music scene, even if his style happens to differ from their pop idols.
“I went to Boracay and Cagayan de Oro. Was I surprised at learning that I have fans there,” Young JV relates. He even recalls a time when he woke up one day and can’t believe he has so many things to do.
If the fans have spoken, so have the critics. Young JV’s Best New Artist awards from Wave 89.9’s Urban Music Awards and the Myx Music Awards are exerting pressure on him.
“I have to work harder,” he relates.
He’s taking up voice lessons twice a week with Jungee Marcelo. Young JV also rehearses for his act two hours a day, thrice a week.
In time, he hopes his efforts will be rewarded with a stint as front act for Chris Brown, who is said to be coming to Manila for a show. Collaborating with Charice and Gary V will also send Young JV to seventh heaven.
“I told Charice’s mom about it last Sunday, when Charice had a birthday celebration on A.S.A.P.,” recalls Young JV, who stood as one of the debutante’s 18 roses.
Speaking of celebrations, Young JV insists that, as compared to other races, Filipinos have more reasons to rejoice where musical talent is concerned.
“Shows of Korean artists may have impressive production values, but Filipinos are still ahead when it comes to talent,” he observes.
Young JV may not be a placard-bearing activist. You don’t see him in the streets, denouncing foreign influence. But deep within, the clean-cut heir of a landed family in Iloilo is burning with passion for things Pinoy. He is as idealistic as a young student skipping class to rally against foreign domination.
Let’s hope he stays that way.