Star Magic artists ‘excited’ for first US tour after pandemic hiatus

MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos here and abroad are in for a treat as Star Magic artists are gearing up for the talent management agency’s 30th-anniversary offering a concert titled Beyond The Stars, which kicks off this month.

The music extravaganza will feature “Tatak Star Magic” performances from Kim Chiu, Carlo Aquino, Charlie Dizon, Andrea Brillantes, Edward Barber, Zanjoe Marudo and Maymay Entrata.

Loveteams Donny Pangilinan and Belle Mariano (DonBelle) and KD Estrada and Alexa Ilacad (KDLex) will also join them.

To continue the fun, P-pop boy band BGYO, Janine Berdin, AC Bonifacio, SAB, Lian Kyla, Angela Ken, Kyle Echarri, and Gigi de Lana are expected to grace the event with hosts Eric Nicolas and Shanaia Gomez.

The show will kick off on July 23 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater of Resorts World Manila, while schedules for the US tour are as follows: Kings Theater in Brooklyn, New York on Aug. 6; the Warfield Theater, San Francisco, Aug. 12; and the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Aug. 14.

The stars can’t wait to show off what they have prepared for the audience. TV production and Star Magic head Laurenti Dyogi said in a virtual call that the event is in line with the mandate of Star Magic and ABS-CBN to “continue to develop, groom and train new artists and bring them to a certain level of excellence that we would be very proud of, into a level that’s of international caliber.”

“As we celebrate the 30 years, part of the legacy, (is) we continue touring the world, starting off, we get done with Middle East, and we are doing the US right now. And we are honored to be celebrating three shows in both the East and the West Coast,” he shared and added that they are “excited to bring the new breed of talents and stars to the US and hopefully to the rest of the world.”

Zanjoe expressed his enthusiasm to be part of the tour and excitement to see Kapamilya fans in the US.

“Mas maraming bagong artists na makakasama na mag-perform dun,” he said. “We always give the same energy kung paano kami nag-e-enjoy every time we go to different cities. Ang sarap na experience yun. Abangan niyo kung anong gagawin ko dahil marami akong performances na i-she-share.”

Maymay recalled that her last out-of-the country show was in 2019. That’s why she is eager to perform this time for the Filipinos abroad. She said, “Kaya sobrang excited ako muli na makasama yung mga Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) at makapagpasaya sa kanila at siyempre ma-feel at home sila. Most of the OFWs have not come home due to the pandemic. We are also very excited because we have lots of surprises for them. Kailangan talaga expect niyo na yung pinaka… kasi higitan namin yun ng bonggang bongga.”

She is also looking forward to visit the best spots in the US, specifically, the Times Square in New York and Disneyland in Los Angeles.

Edward, on the other hand, is hoping that he could go to the Empire State Building in New York City since he is a huge fan of the Percy Jackson novels.

“Malaking part po ng stories na yan yung Empire State Building so I would love (to visit there). I’m not a fan of heights, but I’m a fan of views so I would love to go sa mga may pinaka-best views,” he continued citing San Francisco Bay Area and LA, “where everywhere is a view. Kahit saan, happy na ako, kuntento na ako.”

As a first-timer in the US, Belle is thrilled to be on this trip as well. “This is something that I’m really looking forward to and it’s something that I’m really excited (about), just to experience a whole new different country,” said the actress. “I’ve been stuck here in the Philippines for almost four years. I haven’t been able to travel around since the pandemic. But now (that) I’m given an opportunity to do that, I’m really excited.”

DonBelle was supposed to have a project during the pandemic but it didn’t push through, said Donny. “Kaya medyo na-sad kami. But now that we are going abroad, not just for work, kasi marami kaming time to go around as well, so sobrang excited kami.”

“First time namin mag-abroad together and to go through my first time there na yung mga sightseeing, eating in these places, seeing a lot of experiences with our co-artists, it’s a dream come true. We’re just excited to go through it all together,” he went on.

AC, Janine and Lian Kyla were equally enthusiastic as well for different reasons.

“I’m so excited na nag-re-ready na po ako ng mga outfit and plans (for the trip). Actually, I’m really excited to be able to go with my Star Magic family, not just the artists but also all of our staff there and handlers,” said AC.

She continued, “I’m very excited to go there as a family and just do what we all love — perform and make people happy and inspire other people. Now, we get to do it for people who are in the US ‘coz we’ve been used to doing it for people in the Philippines for three years now. So, I’m very excited to just be able to show what we love to do to everyone in the US.”

Janine agreed by saying, “We’ve been looking forward to tours for the past two years ‘coz we’ve been stuck in our house. But now, mag-she-share na tayo ng energies with our Kapamilya in the US and I’m very, very excited po. Sa plans ko po wala naman po talaga akong gustong puntahan talaga because I think lahat ng pupuntahan namin parang yun na yung pinapangarap ko.”

She is looking forward to the “immersion” with her Star Magic family.

“I think if I could rank it, from one to 10, it would be 10.5 (laughs),” described Lian Kyla of the excitement she felt over the tour. “I think all of the cities have a lot of amazing things to offer. But I actually want to ride the tram in San Francisco again. I think that would be really fun to do aside from eating and spending time with the Star Magic family and really getting to meet the Kapamilyas live and be able to perform, that would be really awesome.”

(For those interested in watching the US shows live, visit mytfc.com to avail tickets. Meanwhile for the Manila Leg, call SM Tickets at [02] 8470-2222. For details, follow Star Magic’s official social media accounts.)