Filipino Youtube Sensations

Since the beginning of Youtube in 2005, many young social networking and internet savy has been hooked to its entertainment. Filipinos around the globe never fails to participate in this global phenomenon. Videos and music has been uploaded in this social networking site for convenient entertainment in just a click. Music videos, live performances, and lot of nothingness has been uploaded by each user and globally spread out for the sake of fun and leisure. 


Filipino talents wouldn’t pass this severe entertainment line. As a young and entertainment thirsty kid back in the early year of youtube, the first videos I browse were of Regine Velasquez’ and Mariah Carey and Utada Hikaru. Watching their live performances back to back to back would satisfy my cravings for music and amusement. Also, youtube helped me watch concerts of Destinys Child, Justin Timberlake, Missy Elliot and many more.


Now, almost 10 years since the birth of the networking site, Youtube also gave birth to the entertainment industry’s biggest name today, with the likes of Justin Bieber, Marie Digby, Rebecca Black, Jessie J, Greyson Chance, and our very own Maria Aragon and Charice. Youtube is continuously introducing new talents to the world - from singing to dancing to acting to theater to how tos etc.


Now let us celebrate the greatest Filipino Youtube sensations that marked their fame via worldwide world. The simple video uploaded to give us entertainment, love and inspiration. Let’s roll the red carpet and make way to the ‘Famous Filipino Youtube Sensations’.

Singing 

Singing Multitudes of Filipinos know how to sing. Singing has been a passion for everyone in the Philippines. Since the earliest days of radio and television, singing contest are there left and right. These contests gave birth to the names of Donna Cruz, Kyla, Regine Velasquez, Sarah Geronimo and many more. Thousand of hopefuls joins singing contest for fame and living.


But after the birth of Youtube, a twist arrived. Passionate singers went online and uploaded their videos. Some are lucky enough to gain fame and global attentions. And this is the start of Filipinos making mark on the worldwide web. 


 Charice Pempengco 





The kid turned lady, dubbed by Queen of Talk Oprah Winfrey as ‘The Most Talented Girl in the World’. After being third place in a local singing contest in TV, Charice and fans never lose hope. 2007 was the most remarkable year for this young caliber, after performing in Korea’s Star King; she was invited by America’s Most Popular Talk Show host Ellen DeGeneres to perform to the latter’s show.


Charice performed back to back big ballads that made Ellen and her audiences wowed to this kid and even gave her a standing ovation. Since then the rest is history for Charice, concert around the world, guestings, top charting album and singles (first Asian singer in history to land in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 albums chart) and landed a role in Glee. Charice could have been the female counterpart of Justin Bieber that made it big to the Hollywood, both are children of youtube. 






 Maria Aragon, Darren Criss, Rin on the Rox




Canadian born Filipino kid Maria Aragonpave her way to youtube sensations after her version of ‘Born This Way’ became viral. Entertainment blogger Perez Hilton pitch the video to Lady GaGa and the latter twitted this youtube video to her official twitter account and reached over 11 million views in no less than a week. She was also invited by the pop star to share the stage and sing in GaGa’s Canada leg of her concert tour.She was also invited in Ellen DeGeneres’s show and became a worldwide sensation. Next thing she knew she have an album and back to back specials. 






Darren Criss over a million hits and millions of view earned after his theater performance of ‘A Very Potter Musical’ has been uploaded to youtube. Now, the theater actor, singer and composer became American household name via Glee. This cutie is a product of Filipina mother and European father. 






Rin on the Rox earned hits after hits after hits after singer their covers of popular songs ‘Hush Hush’, ‘Halo’ and many more. Almost 46 million hits have been gathered for this Fil-Am duo that landed an appearance in Ellen’s show. 




 Aj Rafael, Jeremy Passion Manongdo, Gabe Bondoc





 





Aj Rafael is a Filipino American and certified youtube sensations and internet superstar. Arthur Joseph to his family and friends is a simple kid from California that dreamt of making it big and singing it to the world. With God’s perfect timing and superb talent, AJ made it big across the globe, with millions of hits and sold out concert in the key cities in globe including in Manila. Aj continue to inspire young hopefuls to never stop to fulfill their dreams until it come true. 



Jeremy Passion Manongdo is another Fil-Am who makes it big in Youtube land. With over a million of subscribers Jeremy, also known as ‘Passion’ became one of Youtube stellar. The name Passion was chosen by Jeremy for "the passion I had for music and the passion and love I had for my Lord and Savior Jesus. Without Him, I am nothing, and I'm forever thankful for His love and His blessings." His influences, as referred to on his Soundclick site include Christina Aguilera, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and many more.




Gabe Bondoc is a pop/acoustic singer based in California. He rose to fame through his acoustic sessions covering famous songs in his youtube channel with millions of hits. He gained a lot of attention with his laid-back attitude, smooth voice and amazing guitar skills. Even country pop superstar Taylor Swift became a fan this Fil-Am with his version of ‘Love Story’. 

Dancing 

Justin and Jeremy Garcia, Jabbawockeez









Justin and Jeremy Garcia is Filipino twin toddlers became household names in the US after the viral videos posted by mom and dad caught the attention of The Huffington Post, NYmag.com and CBS news. Currently, they have more than 6 million hits for their dancing video ‘Hey Ya’. Just recently, they were featured in US Entertainment show, The Insider. 




Jabbawockeez is a seven member male hip hop crew bested in America’s Best Dance Crew season 1. Known for their masks and gloves, this crew is composed of Filipino and American members. Their performances in the reality show became viral in youtube and facebook. They have reached million hits in less than a month and still counting. 

Comedy/Parody 

Mikey Bustos, Bekimon, Lady Gagita and Heronce








 


Mikey Bustos is a Fil-Canadian stand-up first took his tricks to the worldwide world in 2006 and became famous for tutorial on Pinoy accent. Up to this very day his Filipino Accent Tutorial weaving 5 million hits. Just recently, a local product gets him for an endorsement here in the Philippines. 


Bern Josep Persia is most popularly known as Bekimon. The mother beki of Gay Lingo rose to fame after his viral self help and feel good videos posted in his youtube account. Speaking the hilarious language and strange word spellings Bekimon language became popular to the Philippines. After his viral videos he landed a role in ABSCBN drama series and many appearances. A


Vinzon Booc a.k.a. Lady Gagita and Harold Palermo a.k.a. Haronce are two friends created a sensation out of boredom. Uploaded their parody of Lady GaGa and Beyonce’s ‘Telephone’, they garnered thousands of views in one sitting. Even acknowledge by Ryan Secreast as one of the biggest and grandest GaGa follower. 






Filipino never fails to surprise the world with lots of entertainment. In less than a year, with this high-tech media streaming, another big name will be born and will show the world how talented a Filipino is. This form of social networking can even replace the watching habit of people. Come that day, lets welcome the new sets of Filipino Youtube Sensations.

The AJ Rafael Concert in Music Museum

Dream come true – that is how I could express the feeling I have today. I would like to begin this post thanking the amazing people who are behind this overflowing bliss, Kuya Carlo Camilo Moselina Valenzona and Madam Christian Melanie Lee and to Mr. Chuck Gomez for this ostentatious surprise that that had for me. I woke up having an inbox message to watch AJ Rafael live! It isn’t obvious that I am a huge fan of AJ for in less than a month, I have 3 blog posts for him.

AJ has been an inspiration for many especially for me. He was the soundtrack of my college life alongside with Andrew Garcia and JR Aquino, Gabe Bondoc and bunch full of YouTube sensations. Right then the first time I heard him, I said that he will make it big. But he didn’t – He was even bigger than I expected! Up to this very day ilajil (AJ’s youtube channel) has more than 8 million followers in YouTube alone and I am not yet counting his Facebook, Twitter, MySpace etc.

AJ’s story has never been a secret to everyone. Then, a neophyte singer born to be a star, posted videos in his myspace account, then comes hit after hit after hit, Aj became who he is now. But in spite of his huge success and fame in World Wide Web, he never failed to look back to where his roots are. Born from Filipino parents, he inherited his passion and cravings for music to his mother and father. And now that he is in his root country, he is proud to be Filipino – proving to the world that we are extra talented.

His South East Asian concert was started in Indonesia and routed to some neighboring countries like Malaysia, Singapore and ended in Manila. He is joined by two pretty 

acoustic sensations Krissy and Ericka. And his Manila leg was a super successful concert. Mind you, the line in music museum was as much as any big star could have. 

At any sort, no doubt that AJ is a big star. The venue was so full of young audiences that are mostly teens and teen at hearts. A funny thought came to my mind that today’s young generations are not just hooked with Kpops and all that. 98 percent of the audiences are teens and the other 2 percent could have been parents and guardians.

Krissy and Ericka was the front act when they performed mash ups of Superbass and California King Bed and followed by two of their original compositions and another pop mash up. AJ entered the stage with his opening song Heart of Worship by Hillsong. The crowd goes gaga over him when he first entered the stage. And after the opening/doxology song, the concert has officially started. AJ and his band went to the stage and the audiences are getting exciter, screaming AJ’s name. Wearing a white top and black vest plus his trade mark glasses, AJ and his band started the show. It was roughly an hour and a half of musical extravagant, singing along AJ’s hits over the years. Most of the songs sung were part of AJ Raf’s latest album Red Roses – released worldwide. Songs performed from the album are Emma Watson, Red Roses, We Could Happen, Without You, 500 Days, She Was Mine, Here All Alone and When We Say (JuiceBox). Keana Panganiban Valenciano had a special participation when they had a duet for the song Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang. Before the curtain has rolled down, AJ performed couple of songs more to ignite the cravings of his Filipino fans. The concert ended up with AJ’s encore songs – Showstopper.

I would never forget what he said that when you have a dream, never fail to grasp for opportunity to make them come true. He is living evidence that talent and perseverance plus faith to God and passion for his craft can lead you to where you want to be. He has been an inspiration and will always be. Tonight has been a make dream come true for me. You may find it simple but this simple dream rejoices my soul and ignites my spirit.

I got home with an autograph signed album of AJ and much more important is the memory that I will cherish all my life.

Congratulations to AJ Raf and I will say this .. see you soon.

AJ RAFAEL KICKS OFF RED ROSES TOUR

AJ RAFAEL kicks off his Red Roses Tour in Southeast Asia produced by Monsoon Productions. The tour kicks off on January 13 and will be visiting Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. The tour includes the AJ Rafael Band consisting of AJ Rafael, Noah Bartfield, Danny Morledge, Andrew Rhim, and guest artists Krissy and Ericka Villongco from the Philippines. The second leg of the tour, produced by Nojon Entertainment happens in Australia visiting Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

It should be noted that one of AJ’s major musical influences is Gary Valenciano whom he recently performed with live on ASAP 2012 when he was formally introduced to the mainstream Filipino music-loving market. AJ also took notice of Gabriel Valenciano’s and Kiana Valenciano’s cover version of Chris Brown’s “Yeah Yeah Yeah.” AJ saw their performance on YouTube and liked it and corresponded with Kiana via Twitter. Today, AJ finished collaborating with Kiana as they recorded a song with Gab as the producer.

AJ's ASAP 2012 guesting

Alongside the tour and through a partnership with PhilDev, AJ has adopted the CRIBS Foundation, a welfare institution committed to the care and recovery of abandoned and abused children in the Philippines. Proceeds from red roses at the Manila concert will go to CRIBS. AJ, during his trip is exploring additional ways to give back to the Philippines. AJ and his team are in discussions with the Ninoy and Cory Aquino Foundation on how to partner for future advocacy and campaigns.

“We are excited to have AJ Rafael perform for the first time for his fans in the Philippines, Southeast Asia and return once again to Australia, where they have been long time supporters of AJ. We are grateful for the opportunity to bring AJ’s music here. More importantly we are fortunate to have great partners to help us introduce non-profit organizations who need assistance in the Philippines. This first visit marks beginnings and new opportunities for many,” says Christina Luna, AJ Rafael’s manager.

AJ’s show in Manila happens at the Music Museum on Jan. 18.


To know more of AJ Rafael read this article:
http://kokakthefroglet.blogspot.com/2012/01/aj-rafael-on-asap-2012.html

AJ Rafael on ASAP 2012

“I was born to play music. I grew up to live for music. I have learned to breathe music. I already feel successful in a sense that I have touched someone else's heart with my music. I only hope to inspire more people to have music in their lives: that's all it's about. Popularity, money, attention, I mean all of that's nice (not that I get much of it), but that's all temporary... music is FOREVER.” –AJ Rafael. 

American-Filipino Youtube Sensation AJ Rafael, invites his fellow Filipinos and fans all over the world as he will take the center stage in ASAP 2012 this Sunday January 8, 2012. This will be a dream come true for all AJ Rafael’s fans (including me) to see him perform live. This appearance is part of his South East Asian tour with his band. On January 1, Aj posted in his official facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/ajrafaelmusic?sk=wall about his dream come true performance with Philippine pride Mr. Pure Energy, Gary Valenciano.

Aj, for all you know, is from California who dreamt to conquer the world with his passion for music. Slowly but surely, he misses no high notes and sing his heart to the world. His journey started when he is 4 years old when he learned how to play piano. He began his singing career in the summer of 2004 when he wrote his first song, “How’s San Diego Pauli”.  The following year in 2005, he had his first show where he gained the respect of local bands in Moreno Valley, his hometown. He began to play in local cities in which he had the opportunity to discover and learn more about the music industry. Later that year, AJ produced and recorded his first own album in his garage and was released by the end of 2005.

 (my supermega favorite AJ Raf song )

With the help of MySpace.com, AJ showcased his new songs to his friends and fans. In 2006, AJ was proud to start the MoVal Concert Chorale (MVCC), a choir which he founded and is currently directing. Through MVCC, AJ created the movement: Music Speaks. Music Speaks is a benefit show that supports families with Autism and contributes to the world renowned organization Autism Speaks. AJ began to perform in places out of Southern California starting in 2008, nationally and internationally. 

Within the past four years, AJ has performed throughout the United States at school venues and major theatre venues. AJ has had the opportunity to perform in other countries such as Australia, Canada, Austria and the Philippines. Wherever he goes AJ thoroughly enjoys indulging and expressing the art of music to people all throughout the world. 

check out his youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/ilajil

AJ Rafael has become one of the top musicians with the largest social networks online. AJ became a partner with YouTube.com with over 360,000 subscribers, has reached 40 million views on YouTube, over 200,000 Facebook fans, 11 million plays on MySpace, and 79,000 followers on Twitter. AJ is recognized consistently in the Top 20 on Billboard’s “Uncharted” Chart, since January 2011. His fans have shown their true influence when AJ’s “Red Roses” album was released in June 2011 in US stores nationwide and digitally on iTunes, charting in the Top 10 Pop albums and #13 on Billboard’s “Heatseeker” chart.

This only leaves one thing in my mind, never give up for your dreams. It can come true. With positive attitude, perseverance, and prayers - it can and it WILL come true .. its a matter of WILLINGNESS !