MANILA, Philippines - (CORRECTED) A day before the Manila leg of his Moonshine Jungle concert tour, Grammy award-winning artist Bruno Mars faced members of the media to personally hand his donation for the victims of typhoon Yolanda.
In a media event held at a resort and casino complex in Pasay City, Bruno (real name Peter Gene Hernandez) announced his donation of US $100,000 to the youth victims of Yolanda.
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The money, given to ABS-CBN's Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation Inc.'s Bantay Bata, will be used in medical missions, scholarships, and post-traumatic stress debriefing of the children affected by the super typhoon that hit the country last November.
The 28-year-old singer--who shot to fame thanks to songs such as "Just the Way You Are" and "Grenade, as well as for lending his vocals in the hit 2010 Travie McCoy song "Billionaire"--was in the country last 2011 as part of the concert tour for his first album, "Doo-Wops & Hooligans."
"I'm really excited to be back here in Manila. It was one of the most special moments in my career, coming here a couple of years ago and playing a sold out show with my whole Filipino family watching," Bruno said. "So growing up in the Philippines and seeing me sing up there was really special for me."
He added, "I'm really happy to be here. I can't wait to perform for the audience. I promise that I'll be back so here I am. Mahal kita, salamat."
During the event, Bruno also received the double diamond album certification for "Doo-Wops & Hooligans" and the double platinum album certification for his second album "Unorthodox Jukebox," which contains hits such as "Locked Out of Heaven" and "When I Was Your Man."
Dance crew Poreotics, which will serve as the opening act in the Manila leg of Bruno's concert, also graced the media conference. The six-man group won the fifth season of the reality show "America's Best Dance Crew" and was also part of the music video for Bruno Mars' "The Lazy Song."
Iya Villania, who hosted the media event, also couldn't resist the urge to take a photo with Bruno Mars.
The said media gathering is only one of the events leading to the Moonshine Jungle event concert on Saturday, March 22. Bruno appeared during his pre-concert party on Friday at Republiq in Resorts World Manila in Pasay City.