Up-and-coming talents join The Squad Plus

MANILA, Philippines — Four of the 13 newly-launched Star Magic’s Squad Plus artists, namely Sam Cruz, Anji Salvacion, Angela Ken and KD Estrada, were introduced to select members of the entertainment press via a recent virtual media conference.

All four possess the looks and talents that can easily win the hearts of adoring fans. Sam, the daughter of Cesar Montano and Sunshine Cruz, is one of the stars in the TFC mini-series Unloving You. Showbiz watchers are familiar with Anji who rose to fame after her stint in Idol Philippines and her role in Kadenang Ginto. Angela wowed netizens with her original composition Ako Naman Muna that instantly went viral after she uploaded it on TikTok. KD, on the other hand, impressed music fans with his single Saves It and a number of cover songs. It was only recently when Sam, Anji, Angela and KD performed on one stage as regular performers in ASAP Natin ‘To.

During the media conference, Sam shared how she learned she was chosen to be a part of the Squad Plus. “My mom just talked to me about it. Sabi nya, ‘Sam, do you wanna join because they’re asking for you to join Squad Plus?,’ and I was like, ‘Is this real?’ (laughs). I was really excited because I’ll actually be able to work, meet a lot of people, and learn new things.”

Equally excited and, at the same time, nervous was KD who still couldn’t believe that he will get to perform with artists he’s only been seeing on TV before “and now, I’ll be with them regularly. So, it pushes me to improve myself more,” he said.

Anji, on the other hand, expressed delight on what God has blessed her with. “I didn’t expect to receive a call (sometime in November) asking me if I agree to be part of the Squad Plus and to my surprise I asked, ‘Sure ba ‘to?’ hahahaha. That’s why, I’m so thankful to God and to ABS-CBN for giving me this opportunity. I’m truly happy for this.”

Angela agreed that the piece of good news was a pleasant surprise. “Nakakataba ng puso na mabigyan ng oportunidad na maipakita ko ‘yung talento ko sa maraming tao.” In fact, the official lyric video of Angela’s Ako Naman Muna already gained over three million views on ABS-CBN Star Music’s YouTube channel.

Angela knows that most Filipinos are excellent singers and they have the ability to convey emotions through songs. In her case, the 18-year-old singer-songwriter from Cavite sings not just for people to hear her voice but also to inspire them. “Whether I am singing my own song or the song of other artists, I want the listeners to feel the message of the song not just the melody na sasabihin ay kasi groovy o ang ganda ng tono kaya sige d’yan tayo. I want everyone to see the message of every word na mabibigkas ko.”

For those unfamiliar, Angela tried out in the local version of The Voice but got rejected three times. Her luck finally came after netizens flooded her social media accounts with positive remarks for Ako Naman Muna.

KD believes that in order to stand out, one must offer something different. “For me, I don’t think you have to be a biritero to be famous but you just have to have a certain appeal with your voice and love everything that you do.”

Anji is not afraid to try different music genres “because I want to be versatile. That’s why I would be happy to explore and discover what else I can do as a singer. My mom always tells me to be confident and to stay true kasi ngayon parang pare-pareha na ang boses at ‘yung iba minsan gumagaya na sa ibang artist. I would like to experiment by singing other genres but without losing my own style.”

When asked if they are ready to handle intrigues or nasty comments from bashers, the four showed a sense of maturity in their answers.

“My dad and mom have always been reminding me to know how to respond to an issue, if there’s any, and how to act on it,” said Sam. “But ever since I was little, I’ve always been told to think before you speak and I think it goes both ways in social media — think before you post — so if ever I stumble across an issue, I have to know the background story to everything before I give an opinion to avoid issues and problems like that.”

KD, for his part, said, “I guess with bashers and everything, it just boils down to self-control because I tend to respond talaga but I don’t mean to respond like some bashing. I guess, if ever I have to address something, I have to address it properly and not to like get mad or anything.”

Angela knows that she cannot please everybody. “My parents and grandparents would always tell me that there are some who will pull you down when they see that you are succeeding in what you do. But instead of allowing yourself to be affected, they always remind me to use them as a ladder or motivation for them to realize that they are wrong in putting you down.”

Aside from their respective showbiz careers, Sam, KD, Angela and Anji also value education. They continue to juggle their career and studies, especially now that all of them are attending online classes.

Angela, who is a Grade 12 student at Josiah Christian Values High School in Imus, Cavite, plans to take up Industrial Engineering in college. Sam, on the other hand, is in Grade 10 at Dela Salle Santiago Zobel. Anji takes the STEM strand at Ama University Online. KD is a graduating senior high school at Meridian International (MINT) and he will be taking up an accounting and business management course in college.

Expect Sam, KD, Angela and Anji to appear in various Kapamilya shows in the coming days.