MNL48 back with 7th single, to perform at PPOP Con

One of the earliest P-pop groups, MNL48, returns to the music scene via their seventh single No Way Man, “a dance-centric song with a message that mirrors the girl group’s can-do attitude in the midst of challenges.”

The all-girl collective is “so happy” and “excited” for their comeback after two years of releasing River in 2020.

Center girl MNL48 Abby leads No Way Man, a one-year in the making track, with Senbatsu members Sheki, Jamie, Ruth, Ella, Jan, Andi, Jem, Yzabel, Princess, Lara, Coleen, Rianna, Lyza, Dana, and Dian.

The title itself speaks of what the song is about. As what Jem said in a virtual call, “If you listen to it, it will encourage you to go on, to fight and to believe that there’s always light in every dark situation.”

“We personally experienced (the hardships) as a group. Nabanggit din po sa music yung rainy day, blue and red ocean which are metaphors of life struggles,” she continued to explain. “The red ocean, those were our darkest days, problems, struggles and hindrances (that we encountered). And now, we believe and we really feel that yung blue ocean po is slowly coming to us because of No Way Man. And we hope that once we reach our blue ocean we never go back na sa mga red ocean days namin.”

Besides the challenging choreography, the single is also a reflection of the girls’ painstaking rehearsals for the song, according to their coach, Angel. “We’ve been training for a year for this and it’s really hard for them to catch up because we had to do it online. They’ve experienced a lot of things and the lyrics really speak of everything that we’ve been through,” she said.

The members admitted this is one of the difficult dance steps they learned as performers. “Actually, ang ganda nga po ng development. Kasi yung dati tayo sobrang limited yung mga movements, very cute,” shared Sheki. “With No Way Man, nagpo-progress yung movements ng mga girls. And that’s the time we realized within ourselves that, ‘Kaya ko pala ‘to. May ibubuga pa pala ako. And I think that’s the best thing na natutunan natin sa No Way Man.’”

As one of the “senior” girl groups in the Philippines, Sheki said they experienced many “firsts.”

“Maybe because we are the first P-pop idol here in the Philippines and as seniors, naranasan namin lahat ng mga first — first achievement, first bashing, first lahat. Nahirapan po kami na i-establish yung group namin sa Pilipinas. But sobra po akong naniniwala na yung pinaka-na-contribute namin dito sa Pilipinas is our uniqueness po talaga,” asserted Sheki.

Just like the massive K-pop invasion, “We were able to spread a new culture and influence them. We all know na nag-usbungan na po talaga yung P-pop groups. I’m very proud po na ang MNL48 ay kahit papano talaga parang nakapagbigay tayo ng help sa kanila and na-follow nila yung footsteps natin kahit papano (especially) yung impact and influence namin,” added Sheki.

They also considered the other P-pop all-girl groups as their sisters. “Before, we feel like a loner,” commented Jem. “We feel like we don’t have anybody na kapag may nam-bash sa amin na, ‘Ano na namang girl group ito?’ Wala kaming kasama. Parang kami lang.’”

But now that the P-pop all-female acts, such as BINI, Calista, G22, among others, are also making waves, they are “very happy.” “It sounds so cliché but we are so happy, we are so proud na hindi na lang kami. Marami na kami. So kung meron man sa amin na aatake na meron man diyan, marami na kaming kasangga,” said Jem.

And yes, they are also open to collaborating with any P-pop idols with one goal in mind, “P-pop rise.”

As such, expect a full blast performance from the ladies as they, together with other P-pop groups, unite for the 2022 PPOP Convention this April 9 and 10 at the New Frontier Theater and the concert at the Araneta Coliseum, respectively.

MNLoves, the fanbase of MNL48, can also look forward to the release of a music card with mini photobook and a handshake ticket that will be available soon.