KNOWING THERE’s a premium on youth, Boss Vic del Rosario has formed three new song-and-dance groups consisting of teeners for Viva Records. First is the all-boy group XLR8, then the all-girl group Pop Girls, and the mixed boy-girl group RPM, standing for Real Pinoy Music. The ages of its members range from 15 to 18. And Boss Vic’s idea of gathering them together is working well as they’re all gaining their own hordes of doting followers in “Party Pilipinas”. They all have their own debut albums and they’ll perform together in their first big concert at the Aliw Theatre, “P-Pop Explosion”, on Friday, April 1, 8 PM. XLR8 is composed of 8 teen boy: Aki, Kiko, Caleb, Arkin, AJ, Carlo and twins MM and MJ. Aki and AJ (half brother of Aga Muhlach) will soon go into acting on TV5’s remake of “Bagets”. The Pop Girls is composed of 5 teen girls: Rose, Schai, Nadine and new recruits Joanna and Angelie who replaced two twin sisters who opted to focus on their studies. RPM is composed of 7 teens: Carl Trazao, Chris Salcedo, Pio Balbuena, Vince Yap, Anna Luna, Samantha Page and Yanna Garcia.
They were formed through a series of auditions. All good-looking and talented, it’s forbidden for them to fall in love with each other. “Bawal po,” says Samantha of RPM, who’s one of the most voluble in the group. “Dati nga, di kami magkakakilala at all. But now, we’re all good friends dahil lagi kaming magkakasama sa rehearsals and gigs. But bawal ang mag-boyfriend-girlfriend. Dapat, work muna.”
What’s the difference of RPM from the other two? “Una nga, boys and girls kami,” says Pio. “Ang music namin is more mature and edgy. Sa dancing, may lumilipad sa amin, si Chris. We’re envisioned to be the Black Eyed Peas of the Philippines.”
Produced by Viva Concerts and presented by MyPhone and Mang Inasal, tickets to “P-Pop Explosion” range from P400 to P1,500. Get them from SM, tel. 470-2222, Ticketworld at 891-9999 or Viva at 687-7236.
