This boy band has more than just good looks

MANILA, Philippines – Boy bands are usually long on good looks, but not necessarily staying power. Problem is, the music business demands only the best. That’s why boy bands fade once its members reach a certain age.

That’s why GMA Artist Center’s breakthrough boy band T.O.P. (Top One Project) wants to crush this unflattering image. Adrian Pascual, Joshua Jacobe, Louie Pedroso, Mico Cruz and Miko Manguba agree they’re more than just girl magnets who can elicit shrieks and conjure dreams of happy-ever-after from female teens.

“We want to prove we’re not all about looks. Looks fade. What we also offer is talent and our passion for music,” they chorus.

It’s no empty boast. T.O.P. emerged grand winners of GMA’s reality show To the Top. Each member auditioned and trained under respected names like The CompanY and Ryan “Mr. C” Cayabyab, among others.

The band’s self-titled debut (GMA Records) was No. 3 on the Astro Charts’ top-selling OPM albums last May, less than a month after its release. A single off the album is No. 2 in the charts.

The album is nominated for Duo/Group of the Year and Dance Album of the Year at the 8th Philippine Movie Press Club (PMPC) Star Awards for Music.

Some of these recording newbies, like Manguba, Pedroso and Cruz, are veteran performers in their school glee clubs. They’ve squeezed in lots of time in rehearsing for a show and performing in while finishing their high school studies (as members of La Salle Greenhills’ music ministry Kundirana).

They know all about aiming for the correct pitch, hitting the right notes and interacting with the audience, not just making sure their costumes fit them well and their faces are well-scrubbed.

They’re committed to their craft the way an artist is committed to his life’s work. No wonder their goal is to leave a song that will leave a mark on the audience, and serve as their lasting legacy.

“A song that lasts reminds everyone of the singer,” they explain their search for that one legacy they want to leave behind.

The quintet also knows patience is a virtue, especially for newbies like them. So the group is willing to wait until they record that one big hit, that defining song.

Meantime, the group isn’t afraid of experimenting with their craft. Their show, T.O.P. in Concert, set at the Music Museum on Oct. 28, will see the quintet performing Ariana Grande songs, modernized OPM and pop tunes as a group, or together with Kapuso artists Kim Domingo and Aicelle Santos.

T.O.P. also wants to prove that though they move as one, each member is unique. Their concert poster, for instance, shows them wearing pullovers, but look closely, and you’ll see that each one has a different style.

That’s T.O.P.’s edge as well as its downside.

“We’ve grown so familiar with each other, we easily come into conflict with each other,” the members observe.

But they don’t let the friction ruin their friendship. At the end of the day, they’re one big happy family with one goal: To spread joy through what they do best -— making music, original and not.

You see the results in their album, TV appearances (Unang Hirit and 24 Oras, among them) and upcoming concert. Their recording contract less than a year after they first caught public eye, is also something newbies like them seldom enjoy.

The secret?

“Put your heart into your work. Don’t be ashamed to show the talent God gave you to make people happy. Pray. Continue learning,” they chorus.

The group is starting off on the right foot.