Latest twist on K-pop from boyband 1:43
Girl fans delightfully yell in chorus when they appear and perform in public, while a few of their critics are said to mock them for allegedly being a copycat of Korean pop (K-pop) groups.
But make no mistake, 1:43, a quartet of straight Tagalog-talking young men who happen to look like Korean natives, is original in its own right. Its upcoming album, "Kalye Pop," or intriguingly called K-pop for short, shows that the band intends to sing very Pinoy songs.
"Our latest album is composed of songs reminiscent of tracks popularized by bands like Eraserheads and Parokya Ni Edgar," noted band member and spokesman Anjo Resurreccion in a chat with Yahoo Entertainment after their mall gig on March 2 at SM Center Las Pinas Event Center.
Pinoy at heart
The group performed before a delirious crowd of girls, many of them singing along to its biggest hit yet, "Sa Isang Sulyap Mo," and sprinting their way to the stage once given the chance, obviously for some fan moments.
The new all-original, all-Tagalog album contains two songs which already earned radio airplay, "Ikaw at Ako" and "Hayop Sa Ganda."
The most Korean-looking of the four, Gold Aquino, expressed his idea of "Kalye Pop."
"Gusto namin yung mga kanta ay makakanta ng kahit na sinong Pilipino at lahat makakarelate. Iba't ibang genre ang madidinig nila dito, may pop, may novelty, etc."
1:43 manager Chris Cahilig explained further the inspiration of the group's latest set of songs.
Social commentary
"It is a kind of social commentary, that you may look Korean or foreign but at the same time Pilipino ka sa puso mo. We want to put this out as accessible music, yung madaling tugtugin kahit ng mga taong nagakakasiyahan lang sa kalye."
Cahilig, an experienced publicist immersed in literary criticism, told Yahoo Philippines that he put up the group in 2010 without intending to create a local version of Korean acts.
"It just turned out they somewhat look like Koreans which on the superficial side, allowed us to address what the market currently looks for. What we concentrated on was the inclusion of very Filipino stuff in their music."
Singing idol prototypes
Last March 2, 1:43 was up on the bill with online sensation Kimpoy Feliciano and rising rapper Geo Ong. They were guest artists at the launch of a talent search called "Dreams Get Real," presented by McJIM Classic Leather which looks for male singing talents (solo or group with at least male majority members) who have what it takes to become stars.
With all four (completed by Yuki Sakamoto and late acquisition Argee Golding) aged 25 and below, 1:43 serves as prototype of what the talent search is looking for: student-talents aged 15 to 25. They should not have any recording or management contract.
Dreams Get Real
Cahilig, who is also project head, stated, "'Dreams Get Real' provides a lot of help that a new artist would need to break into the music scene. This contest gives the all-important initial support for them to become professional musicians and set the stage for OPM stardom."
The champ gets to win P50,000 cash, recording and management contracts and the privilege of recording a single and releasing a music video.
Weekly elimination rounds will happen on March 16, (SM City Clark), March 23 (SM City Calamba Event Center), and March 30 (SM Manila). Additional dates may be added to accomodate more participants.
(For rules and mechanics, check out https://www.facebook.com/OfficialMcJIM)
