Kristofer Martin, Derrick Monasterio, TOP Receives Awards

Having been able to do things in front of the cam might have been rewarding for artists but Kristofer Martin, Derrick Monasterio and TOP One Project has been doing the legwork since their respective careers started on GMA's stable. 

Kristofer, is not a stranger to show business and started at an early age in the other channel. He's been awarded a few but this one from PMPC proved how he's worked hard these couple of months and how he wanted to hone his craft as an actor. He got the nod of the press club for his portrayal in a Magpakailan Man episode done a few months ago. You could feel how enormously eager he is to still learn despite winning this even if he's well rewarded and trusted with shows by GMA. I'm sure he'll have more accolades to his belt with ease and get a lot of attention with the KrisJoy pairing that's being given a title of #ExGoals at times they're seen on screen. I love Kris and Joyce so much, I was a little rude during the question and answer trying to get Kris to answer my questions, for that I have to apologize. But remember I love you two! Congratulations again on the Best Single Performance by an Actor Award!

Derrick Monasterio can no longer call himself a newbie as he's now the recipient of the New Male Recording Artist of the Year for 2016, also by PMPC. This good looking boy is an eye candy, has unbelievable charm that would sweep girls off their feet. He's also starring in the show Tsuperhero which you can watch every Sunday pre-primetime on GMA. His outlook on his career probably came true because of how he is VERY driven. I interviewed him about his singing in the past and this was one thing he would want to achieve, how fortunate could he be? He's blessed because I believe he's one of the most humble, very sincere guys who want to succeed in things he wants to do. I personally want him to do just that, and be blessed because he deserves it.

TOP One Project comprised of Adrian Pascual, Joshua Jacobe, Louie Pedroso, Mico Cruz and Miko Manguba has already done a successful concert at the Music Museum. Aside from that, they've got a brand new spanking album, a surprise music video and now they're being rewarded for it. They just got the Group of the Year Award from the same award giving body and it didn't come at the most opportune time because they've been supported sternly by the network, GMA Artist Center and the throngs of fans who believe in them. The boy band has already impressed a lot of people with their undeniable talent in singing, their choreography and knack to produce original music. They've also kept humble all these years and they're still improving, they're not done yet even if they already won an award mind you. That just signals there will be MORE things to come to these guys very soon!

Here's our interview with the guys over at GMA's blogcon a few weeks ago. Enjoy!

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Meet T.O.P. : The Winners of To The Top!

Louie Pedroso, Joshua Jacobe, Miko Manguba, Adrian Pascual and Mico Cruz. The boys of T.O.P.

The winners of recent GMA boyband reality show To The Top is now called T.O.P. composed of Louie Pedroso, Joshua Jacobe, Miko Manguba, Adrian Pascual and Mico Cruz. They have already made rounds in different malls and establishments and felt that's where they truly feel the love and support of their followers. We met with them over lunch yesterday to find out more about what their plans are in the next few years, but all just seem so optimistic.

These guys are very talented as some of them write, arrange music, choreograph their own dance moves and of course sing as a team. I have the impression that they're really dividing the exposure equally and says if ever one of them would show good reception from fans, they would eagerly support their colleague and make it a positive experience because all they want to do right now is inspire people with their music. 

Here's an excerpt of their interview on HD video:


To the Top: TOP boys interview by kumagcow

Adrian says he personally expected to win because they're pretty confident about their talent, about the things they did in the competition and he says it's the same as with his crew. They wanted to win and even if it doesn't work, they'll grab the opportunity. Adrian started modeling on runway, did VTR's and runway but now that he's part of T.O.P. he's going to do good in choreography and writing songs and hopes it would be included somehow in future albums. Asked if he ended up doing solo shows, he felt it was going to be something detrimental if he did that now that they're in a group. The hardships they went through he says wasn't a joke and hopes even in the near future, they would still be able to perform as a group because that's what they wanted to do to begin with. I could see his hesitation if he or any of the other guys left and hopes that doesn't happen at all. That to me feels like they're very tight, no matter how tough the situation is, they promise to stay together and perform their absolute best. If he's going to go solo, he's not for it. He's not gonna go Justin Timberlake or Zayn Malik.

Talking to Louie and Mico, they told us this is what they wanted and the preparations that they do before every show is no joke. This life is a little tiring, but it just becomes a great experience because they love what they do. They are part of Kundirana and they already know how to sing with a group and feels it's better when you can do harmonies, dance, and with other people attacking the single song. They joined some contests in the past but found their passion here. Michael Angelo Cruz aka Mico is a full blooded La Salle boy and originally hails from Meycauayan, parents of who have a business. Leonard Louie Espinosa Mendoza is also from La Salle but went to UST for Psychology. He did gigs in occasions, but this is his first competition and there are great singers so he was a little hesitant. Now that he's part of it and won the show, he promises to make the best of it. They tried a few acting gigs but they'll establish this boyband first, and says this is their priority. They enjoyed one episode with Starstruck  guys and gals and says it was also fun so who knows right? They'll be coming out with their music videos very soon btw! So watch out for that!

Joshua and Miko aka Mark Joshua Jacobe Marcelo and Jamico Allan Manguba is still on cloud 9 after winning the show. Miko started in De La Salle Inner Soul where he started performing and arranging music. Joshua on the other hand started playing the guitar when he got it at 12 years old, started in an organization in Gravity in Adamson University where he got a break and did front act performances with Julie Ann San Jose in some of her concerts and shows. He also arrange songs much like Miko and contributes when there are high notes in the arrangement. Miko is doing standards, choosing the quality of songs overall and says that's where they'll make their group different from the previous Filipino boy bands. Both of them, their lives have changed and it's all positive. They read the bad things on social media, but they brush it off and just maintain their image now that they are a part of the group. They are inspiring people, they have to be careful and says "thank you" to their detractors for at least giving their attention. They'll be proving them wrong, they have different genres and they complement each other. This group is going places and are confident if one can't do a thing, the others would be fine with it. To the top trained them not to stand out alone, but do it as a group.

They'll be doing shows this weekend, make sure you visit their facebook page for updates about that!

For more information about their artists:

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To The Top Contestants Faces First Elimination This Weekend!

Tough competition in all sectors in GMA 7's To the TOP! (photo credits GMA 7)

The competition becomes tougher and tougher as the days go by. Aside from the rigorous dance choreography training, they've been slaving away these past few weeks with covers so they can do classic boy band songs that have hit the world by storm these past few decades. The first cycle tried their very best to give justice to songs from Backstreet Boys and N'SYNC. 

Check out this performance by Team A doing "I Want It That Way!" by Backstreet Boys which topped the charts in 1999 from the album Millennium.

In front of the press a few weeks ago, Team B performed Get Down by the Backstreet Boys. A song that topped the charts a little earlier in 1996. Obviously, they did some parts of it with their own spin plus a whole lot different in choreography.

Miko Manguba, Mico Cruz, Edric Ulang, Lharby Policarpio, Adrian Pascual and Cholo dela Cruz tried to do something else than Backstreet Boys and preferred to make Team C's performance POP. Yes it's that song by N'SYNC done in 2001. They were my choice for this specific week.

As if that wasn't tough enough, they went full blast with Cycle 2 and dedicated specific songs to their families. Starting with this one by Team A's performance of Somebody to Love by Justin Bieber. This is hard to perform LIVE as you can see and the choreography was equally daunting. I could see some of them struggled on the tough parts.

  

Team B on the other hand chose to perform Without You which was originally done by Usher and David Guetta. Their formations were quite complicated and we need to give them credit for that!

This time, Team C heavily invested in small choreography, more in harmonics, props and singing. It looked clean on video and yes, girls in the studio loved them!

To The Top is the first multi-platform boy band competition in the Philippines. For this week, they're going to have the first elimination this Sunday. So if you want to support your own bets, make sure you use these hashtags for August 15 (Saturday) - #TTTAPOAcapella, and for August 16 (Sunday) is #TTTFirstElims. Tell them what you feel on Twitter and Instagram and show your support! This week's number is all about APO Hiking Society and they'll be performing a capella, so they have to work hard to get heard.

Make sure you watch them today at 9:55 PM and tomorrow Sunday at 9:40 PM. You can also get updates via gmanetwork on Facebook, @gmanetwork on Twitter and Instagram, gmanetwork on YouTube and their main Website http://gmanetwork.com.

For more information about their artists:

Official GMA Artist Center

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Visit their official website

http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter