MANILA, Philippines - UK’s sexiest boy band, The Wanted, has sent its Filipino fans into an online frenzy for the past couple of weeks with the announcement of its first Manila concert on Sept. 14 at NBC Tent, Taguig City. The band’s ferociously infectious tunes, rock solid friendship and laddish charms have instantly turned its members into Manila’s “most wanted boys.” The British-Irish boy band is behind the mind-blowing tunes All Time Low, Glad You Came and the hottest summer single, Chasing the Sun.
Let’s meet them.
• Max George
Born on Sept. 6, 1988 (age 23), Max grew up with his family in Manchester. Before music, he had been a football player with Manchester’s Preston North End. He was a member of Avenue, a five-piece boy band which gained popularity in the third season of The X Factor before signing into The Wanted.
• Nathan Sykes
Born April 18, 1993 (age 19), and known as the “baby” of the group, Nathan grew up in Abbeydale, Gloucester with his younger sister and mother, who was a music teacher. He started singing and performing at age six and attended Sylvia Young’s theater school at age 11. He continued to perform in various singing competitions and even attempted to represent the UK in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 held in Lillehammer, Norway. In the British qualifying finals, he sang Born to Dance coming third overall.
• Siva Kaneswaran
Born Nov. 16, 1988 (age 23), Siva grew up in Blanchardstown, Dublin with his Sri Lankan Tamil father, Irish mother, twin brother Kumar and six other siblings. He started modeling at 16 and appeared in various ads where he was eventually spotted and recruited into The Wanted.
• Jay McGuiness
Born July 24, 1990 (age 22), Jay grew up in Newark, Nottinghamshire. He attended Holy Trinity Roman Catholic school in Newark. At the age of 13, Jay went to Charlotte Hamilton School of Dance. He has a non-identical twin brother named Tom and three other siblings.
• Tom Parker
Born Aug. 4, 1988 (age 24), Tom grew up in Bolton. He learned to play the guitar at the age of 16 after trying out his older brother’s. He went to Manchester Metropolitan University and studied Geography, but eventually pursued a professional career in singing. Tom joined a Take That tribute band and toured Northern England, before joining The Wanted in 2009.
Ticket prices are VIP P6,340 and Gold P4,230. Call SM Tickets at 470-2222 or visit www.smtickets.com.
(The Wanted Live! In Manila is presented by MCA Music [Universal Music Philippines]. Co-presented by Fox and StarWorld. Sponsored by: Banco De Oro. Media Partners: MYX, Monster Radio RX 93.1, Manila Bulletin, Candy Magazine, Business World, HerWord.com, Yahoo! Philippines and Manila Concert Scene. Special thanks to: Astroplus. The Wanted’s albums are out now in CDs exclusively under MCA Music available at Astroplus and Odyssey Music & Video or online via iTunes and www.MyMusicStore.com.ph )