New from Caleb, Joseph and others

Caleb Santos is a singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ and model. He plays keyboards, drums and guitar. He is an actor who was last seen in the teen horror flick, Dark Room. He studied music production at Siliman University in Dumaguete. As if all these were not enough for the tall and dashing Caleb, many doubtless remember that he was one of the original members of the first singing and dancing boy group in the Philippines, the XLR-8.

Back then during those XLR-8 days, the multi-talented Caleb was often referred to as the Justin Timberlake of the group. This was because of his strong potential as a soloist. And it looks like this is happening now. Caleb has just released I Need You More Today, his second single, a song that he also composed. Fans who have been swooning over his dimples and his cover of current favorites like Versace on the Floor, now have Caleb’s own original to enjoy.

Joseph Santos, on the other hand, just recently turned 19 years old and he celebrated the event with the release of his debut single Invincible for Viva Records. Produced by the famous Christian de Walden in Los Angeles, the uptempo tune is just right for the budding hunk, who now has a promising future as a singer. It is pretty much how he feels right now, invincible.

Joseph has Kapampangan roots but grew up in San Diego, California. He was actually dreaming of becoming a policeman and given his height of almost six feet and shy smile, would have looked very handsome in uniform. But then, friends and relatives urged him to join the Tawag Ng Tanghalan singing contest in LA. This was where Joseph was spotted by De Walden who sent him off to Viva posthaste. And San Diego lost a cop but fans out here gained a new singing idol.

Welcome, too, to a lovely 15 year old of im-pressive showbiz pedigree, Angelina Cruz. Now a contract artist of Universal Records, Angelina was discovered through her Internet uploads of her covers of current hits. She has now released her first single. This is a cover of Elvis Presley’s beautiful classic ballad, Can’t Help Falling In Love With You. 

Angelina is the daughter of Sunshine Cruz, who belongs to the Cruz clan of musicians, singers and actors. Among her relatives are Tirso Cruz III, Geneva Cruz, Donna Cruz, Ricky Belmonte and many others.  Her father is Cesar Montano, who is no slouch in the music department, too. He has done recordings and continues to perform in shows.

Speaking of new releases, here are some that you might find interesting. Edray Teodoro has recorded her own version of How Far I’ll Go and it is now available online. This is the Academy Award nominated song that Lin Manuel Miranda composed for the motion picture Moana. It was originally performed by Auli’i Cravalho in the soundtrack but there is also a pop recording by Alessia Cara. Edray, who had Bamboo as her coach when she made it to sixth place in The Voice Kids Season 1, does a commendable job in her own style.

From one Disney tune to another and from more kids from The Voice. Here are Elha Nympha and Noel Comia singing their own duet of the theme from Beauty and the Beast. The sensational Elha, who stunned millions in her recent appearance in Steve Harvey’s Little Big Shot, was discovered in Season 2 of The Voice Kids where she was also coached by Bamboo. She is now a regular in Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids. Only 13 years old, the girl sounds really amazing. If her career is handled right, she might just be our next singing superstar.

As for her duet partner, the 12-year-old Noel is from The Voice Kids Season 3 where he was mentored by Lea Salonga. Aside from singing, he also works as a model, voice talent and I must add, fantastic actor. The boy wowed everybody as one of Lea’s sons in the recent production of the musical Fun Home. He not only sang and danced very well, he was also absolutely charming.