Reid’s Titanium and other feel-good items

Congratulations to James Reid who might be better known as Clark, the heartthrob of On the Wings of Love these days but who is at heart, also a singer. His recording of Musikaw went Titanium at SBS Pop Asia last Nov. 26. 

That means the song has stayed in the No. 1 slot in the Hashtag Hits show for at least eight consecutive days. Eight songs, plus a challenger tune vie for the Titanium award everyday and fans vote for their favorites on Twitter and Facebook. Number one turnover is quick but some like Musikaw gets to stay longer at the top and are then proclaimed Titanium.

 SBS Pop Asia is an Asian pop station that broadcasts the latest pop hits and news about pop idols from countries like South Korea, Japan, Republic of China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma and the Philippines. It is on the air daily from Sydney, NSW, Australia on digital radio, online and on mobile devices.

The previous Titanium winners were huge South Korean acts like Super Junior M, Swing; GOT7 A; Beast, Good Luck; Infinite, Last Romeo; Super Junior, Mamacita; and Infinite again with the song, Beck. Reid bested more South Korean acts in VIXX and EXO to attain the honor.

Reid recorded the R&B dance tune Musikaw, featuring rapper Pio, as one of the finalists in the recent Philippine Popular Music Festival (Philpop). The song was composed by Melchor Magno, a 20-year-old Marketing Management student from Laguna. It was arranged by Kidwolf Barbossa and produced by Civ Fontanilla and Alwyn Cruz for the Philpop commemorative album. 

Meanwhile, speaking of Philpop.  Here is good news for all songwriters and aspiring songwriters out there. Philpop is set to issue its call for entries to Philpop 2016 soon. Join the contest. You might win a million bucks and have a hit song.  You might even go Titanium yourself. 

Big congratulations, too, go out to Rachelle Ann Go for winning for Best Performance in a long running West End show, Female at the Broadway World UK Awards last Thursday. She won the vote of fans for her work as Fantine in Les Miserables.  She also won for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Gigi in Miss Saigon last year. Also a winner was Jonjon Briones who won for Best Performance as an actor for Miss Saigon for the second year in a row.

Sarah Geronimo has finished recording her latest album and what do you know?, one of its highlights is a duet with the pop/rock band Hale of the monster hit The Day You Said Goodbye fame. The song is The Great Unknown and it is also the album’s title cut. It was composed by Roll Martinez who also arranged the song with Hale. Sarah and Hale’s lead vocalist Champ Liu Pio sound great together. Expect a double monster hit out of this one.

The album The Great Unknown also features Kaibigan Mo, a duet by Sarah with close friend Yeng Constantino, who is also the composer of the song. The other tracks included are Misterio composed by Thyro Alfaro and Yumi Lacsamana, Unbroken by Melvin Morallos, Kapit also by Martinez, Baby You’re The Reason by Geraldine Lim, Only For You by Edmund Perlas, Gabby Wilson and Oscar del Amor, Tala by Nica del Rosario and the first single release, Ako’y Para Lamang Sa ‘yo by ex-Freestyle lead vocalist and songwriter, Totop Suzara.

His ex-girlfriend Rachelle Ann of Les Miz fame is not the only one making a big splash in the UK. Christian Bautista is also primed for some big things in the British Isles. He has already conquered parts of Asia so he is going to Europe next. The singing champion has recorded a new single titled Who Is She To Me composed by Mike Shepstone and Clive Lukover and produced by Christian de Walden. 

The song is set for a Dec. 14 release in the UK and Christian is now gearing up for the big promo blitz. He has already been interviewed by BBC Radio, which has picked up the song for its playlist. Fans can now check out the music video, also shot in the UK on YouTube.

From one Bautista to another. This time, this is about the other singing champion Mark Bautista. Theater’s new leading man has just arrived from a successful series of shows in Australia. He is now getting ready for another stint with Bituing Walang Ningning, The Musical at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila. 

You bet. Thanks to popular demand, Bituing Walang Ningning will be back again on stage. Based on the huge ’80s box-office hit, the musical is written and directed by Freddie Santos. It also stars Cris Villonco, Jon Santos, Ronnie Liang and new discovery Monica Cuenco in the lead role of Dorina. Scheduled dates are Dec. 3 to 14 and Jan. 7 to 31.