Director
Hoopdreamz
I HAVE JUST returned from an amazing tour of the Philippines. We made big headlines over there for all the right reasons, with the success of our local Filipino-Australian talents on show. I had been planning this trip since early February.
With much-needed support from Establish Events and Travelaccess, we were able to make this tour happen.
Genesis Cerezo, Australia’s Got Talent grand finalist and reigning Australian beatbox champion, was welcomed by the Philippine entertainment industry with open arms. He was joined by Urbanstar singing champion Shavaun Marie, MAS production manager Maribelle Salinas, PR manager Leonard Dela Torre and yours truly.
Upon arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) at 6am our five-man entourage were welcomed by the Department of Tourism and ABS-CBN for an early morning interview.
It was a sign of good things to come. Later that day, we were joined by another Aussie talent, X-Factor Australia Top 24 finalist Kelebek, a 17-year old half Filipino, half-German singer/dancer.
Genesis, Kelebek and Shavaun Marie appeared in numerous television and radio shows, including:
* TV Patrol (ABS CBN)
* Rated K (ABS CBN – to be aired on the 17/3)
* The Tim Yap Show (GMA 7)
* Banana Split (ABS CBN – to be aired this Sat, 16/3)
* Radio Republic
* Radyo Singko with Christie Fermin (TV 5)
* PBA game Ginebra vs. San Miguel (TV 5)
* Showtime (ABS CBN)
* ASAP (ABS CBN)
* Unang Hirit (GMA 7)
We were able to connect with two Australian-Filipino stars, Iya Villania and Anne Curtis, on Asap, as well as half-NZ-half Pinoy star Eruption at Showtime.
Pinoy celebrities Vice Ganda, Billie Crawford, Vhong Navarro, Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, James Yap, Piolo Pascual were all in awe of Genesis’ amazing beatboxing abilities.
Socialite Tim Yap was so pleased with Genesis that he invited him to grace the 1st year anniversary of his exclusive club Prive at The Fort, while another rising musical star, Kenjhons, invited all three Australians to perform with him at his mall tour in SM Marikina.
The icing on the cake was a live pre-game performance at the sold out basketball game between Ginebra v San Miguel at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, where 16,600 people cheered from the moment they grabbed the mics and walked on to centre court.
On behalf of Genesis and Shavaun Marie, I want to thank all our Filpressyd peers for your support. A second Philippine trip is in the works. Stay tuned.
