Young Celebrities to Reward IG Fans with Stylish Vivo S1 for #OOTD

Fans of Darren Espanto, Vern Enciso, Verniece Enciso, Chie Filomeno, and Julie Anne San Jose are in for a treat!

The young showbiz personalities are so excited with the upcoming launch of the stylish Vivo S1 smartphone that they are giving their Instagram followers a chance to get their hands on the first-ever handset in Vivo’s latest S series.

From August 26 to September 8, interested participants should post their own OOTD (outfit of the day) that mirrors the Skyline Blue or Diamond Black color schemes of the new S1 phone. To qualify, they must tag their favorite celebrities and Vivo in their OOTD posts.

The celebrities will then choose from the creative IG posts to determine which of their fans will receive the new S1 smartphone.

The Vivo S1 has a 6.38" Full HD SuperAMOLED screen that houses an in-display fingerprint sensor. It packs a 6GB RAM and 128GB ROM which are powered by a fast-charging 4500mAh battery.

The mid-tier smartphone has a 32MP AI selfie camera and an AI triple lens set—16MP main, 8MP secondary, and 2MP wide-angle camera—for amazing photos and videos.

But the feature that will definitely catch everyone’s attention is the S1’s sleek back cover design which showcases a gradient glossy finish on the Skyline Blue variant and a diamond cut design on the Diamond Black variant.

With its cutting-edge features and superb finish, the Vivo S1 is clearly not just a smartphone, it’s a fashion statement!

So, what are you waiting for? Put on your best OOTD that reflects the Vivo S1’s Skyline Blue or Diamond Black theme and get ready to impress your celebrity idol!

About Vivo

Vivo is a leading global technology company committed to creating trendsetting smart mobile innovations and services. Vivo is devoted to forming a vibrant mobile internet ecosystem, and currently owns and operates an extensive network of research operations, with R&D centers focusing on the development of cutting-edge consumer technologies including 5G, AI, mobile photography and next-generation smartphone design.

In recent years, Vivo has taken frequent efforts in the sports field and is committed to promoting the mutual penetration of the brand’s diverse fields and diversifying its brand image. Vivo Philippines announced its partnership with the NBA by the end of 2018.

Currently, Vivo has over two hundred million users enjoying its mobile products and services around the world. Vivo is present in 18 markets globally and features offline retail stores in over 1,000 cities worldwide. In the Philippines, Vivo is the top3 smartphone brand in terms of market share with 1.5 million users nationwide.

For inquiries about Vivo, visit the Vivo website at vivoglobal.ph or check out their Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/vivophil), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/vivo_philippines/), and Twitter (https://twitter.com/vivo_phil) accounts.

Darren Espanto Surprises His Fans with the Release of "Be with Me" Deluxe Edition

The Total Performer Darren Espanto releases the Deluxe Edition of his album “Be With Me” on May 5 surprising his fans. It debuted at #1 on iTunes Philippines album charts on the date of the release.

Prior to the release, he held a Twitter Party last May 4 then announced on midnight of May 5 the coming out of the Deluxe Edition. The same day, Espanto sold his album himself at two Astroplus branches: Mall of Asia and SM Megamall for those who want to get hold of his CD album first.

“Be With Me: Deluxe Edition” features his new single “My Baby & Me” featuring Malaysian teen singer Nik Qistina. It was highlighted on Spotify’s “New Music Fridays” playlist. Also included is his collaboration for Qistina’s song “Young Hearts (Stripped)”.

“It was such an honor for an international artist like Nik Qistina to have guested in my song after I did the duet with her for ‘Young Hearts’. It was nice that two people from different countries can work together and make beautiful music. I’m so excited about this collaboration which I hope will open more doors for me especially in Southeast Asia,” Espanto said.

Other bonus tracks in the album are: “I’ll Be There” with Jed Madela, Acoustic versions of “7 Minutes” and “Alam” and the viral hit, his cover of Sia’s “Chandelier”.

The “Be With Me” album boasts of top-notch producers Kiko Guevarra, Jungee Marcelo, Jay-R, Kiko Salazar and a line-up of international and top Filipino composers. Darren also composed two songs: “Home” and “Hanggang Hi Hello” signaling his growth as an artist. The Standard version came out digitally worldwide but the CD was released in Singapore (where he had a promotional tour in 2016) and Korea.

Espanto recently won the Favorite Artist and Favorite Male Artist award at the 2017 MYX Music Awards and has achieved countless trophies from prestigious award-giving bodies. He has likewise Platinum (Darren) and Gold Record (Be With Me) albums, has 9 #1 singles, the youngest performer to hold a solo concert at Mall of Asia Arena, still in demand for concerts and gigs here and abroad, is one of the mainstays of ABS-CBN variety show ASAP and got noticed by international artists Nicki Minaj, Ashton Kutcher and Fantasia Barrino.

“Be With Me: Deluxe Edition” is now on digital downloads (iTunes, Spinnr) and streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, Spinnr) and in CDs at leading record stores.

For bookings and inquiries, please contact Kerwin Rosete of MCA Music artist management at +632 9162504, +639209682991 or email mcabooking@umusic.com.

*This is Press Release

Darren Espanto Bags 2 Awards at Star Awards for Music

There’s no stopping The Total Performer Darren Espanto as he adds 2 more from the list of his many achievements. He recently won at Star Awards for Music bagging the Male Pop Artist of the Year and Cover Design of the Year (for the album “Be With Me”). Held at Novotel Hotel at Araneta Center, the award is given annually by the Philippine Movie Press Club.

Darren just released his latest single “Alam” from the album “Be With Me” with its music video premiering this month on VEVO. The single is composed by veteran songwriter Jungee Marcelo who also penned hits for Gary Valenciano, Daniel Padilla, Zia Quizon, Sitti and Lyca Gairanod among others. His previous singles “7 Minutes”, “Starlight” and “Parachute” peaked at #1 on the countdown of music channel MYX and various radio stations in the Philippines.

“Be With Me” is now out through digital downloads and streaming via Spinnr, iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify and VEVO and in CDs at Astroplus and Astrovision outlets. For inquiries, contact MCA Music artist management at 9162504 local 107 or 0920 9682991 or email mcabooking@umusic.com.

You can also check MCA Music via facebook, Instagram (mca_music), Twitter (mca_music), Snapchat (mca_music) or Vine (mca_music).

Multiple Nominations to MCA Music Artists for the Upcoming 29th Awit Awards

The list of nominees for the 29th Awit Awards has been revealed. The Awit Awards is a prestigious award-giving body, spearheaded by PARI (The Philippine Association of the Record Industry, Inc.), that gives recognition to Filipino performing artists and people behind the making of Filipino recorded music. MCA Music, the number one music company in the Philippines, is proud of having a total of 31 nominations this year led by Jason Dy with six nominations.

MCA Music nominees under Performance Awards: Darren Espanto for “I Believe” and Jason Dy for “Milagro” are both nominated for Best Performance by a Male Recording Artist. "Puedepende" by Edray and “If I Were a Boy” by Sassa Dagdag are nominated for Best Performance by a New Female Recording Artist and Juan Karlos Labajo "Para Sa Yo" for Best Performance by a New Male Recording Artist. Talents from The Voice Kids Lyca Gairanod with “Puede Nang Mangarap”, Elha Nympha with "Ikaw Ang Lahat Sa Akin” and Reynan Dal-Anay with "Magkaisa" are nominated for Best Performance by a Child/Children.  The First Philippine Kid Rock Band, Square One with “Letra” is nominated for Best Performance by a Group recording artist.


For Creative Awards: “Puedepende” by Edray and “Milagro” by Jason Dy both composed by Jungee Marcelo are nominated for Song of the Year and for Best Pop Recording and nominated for Best Ballad Recording- “Break My Heart Some More” by Jason Dy composed by Soc Villanueva and Kennard Faraon. “Why” by Pupil, composed by Ely Buendia and “Leader for a Day” by Nicole Asensio, composed by Ira Cruz are both nominated for Best Rock/Alternative Recording, “Ligaya” by Sitti is nominated for Best World Music Recording, “Tayo Ay Maglaro” by Lyca Gairanod, composed by Jamie Rivera is nominated for Best Novelty Recording, “Kung Wala Ka” by Reynan Dal-Anay, composed by Jeffrey Salin-Ay Mambucon and Eynard M. Pajalla and “Puso Ko’y Namamasko” by Jason Dy, composed by Jungee Marcelo are both nominated for Best Christmas Recording, “Laman Loob” by Stick Figgas, composed by Lester” Klumcee” Vano, Loonie and Ron Henley for Best Rap/Hiphop Recording, “Pero” by Conscious & The Goodness composed by Mike Constantino is nominated for Best Jazz Recording and “2 Have U” by Jason Dy is also nominated for Best R&B Recording.

For Technical Arrangement Awards Category , Para Sa’yo” by Juan Karlos Labajo arranged by Ferdie Marquez, “Leader for a Day” by Nicole Asensio arranged by Ira Cruz and “Pero” by Conscious and The Goodness arranged by Jesser Sisson are nominated for Best Musical Arrangement. Nominated for Album Packaging Excellence Award is “Zilch” by Pupil, designed by Ces Olondriz, album concepy by Erwin Romulo and Jason Tan and photography by Tim Serrano.

Nominees for Music Video of the Year are “Walang Anuman” by Nicole Asensio, “Why” by Pupil and “Laman Loob” by Stick Figgas.

MCA Music was already on a good spot with a roster that dominated the nominations. According to the Awit Awards objectives, the organization promotes the Philippine music industry, artistry and legacy and to recognize the Filipinos’ undying passion for music. Awit Awards honors performing artists and people behind the making of Filipino recorded music. They also aim to champion music-making and production and one of its main advocacies is to fight the rampant piracy in the Philippines.

For bookings and inquiries, contact MCA Music Artist Management at +639209682991 or email mcabookings@umusic.com. For more information on MCA Music artists- log on to the following sites: Facebook- MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines), Instagram- mca_music, Twitter- @mca_music.

Darren Espanto - Be with Him

Darren Espanto, the guy with amazing pipes and billed the “Total Performer,” seems to have everything going for him at such a young age.

From a runner up in The Voice Kids, there was no stopping Darren from reaching the top after the competition.

A Platinum award for his debut album Darren, three no. 1 singles, countless awards from award giving bodies in the Philippines and concerts and gigs left and right are just some of Darren’s achievements. Add to that, international artists Nicki Minaj noticed him and so did Ashton Kutcher and Fantasia Barrino for his videos of him singing in a radio station bus showcasing his powerful vocals. The videos have gone viral. Flying from his hometown Calgary, Canada to Manila for a dream paid off.

He knows he wouldn’t be there without the support of his fans- the Darrenatics. That is why for his sophomore album, released just in time he celebrates his 15th birthday, he wants them to still be with him with the album title Be With Me.


“The Voice Kids” alumnus and platinum-selling recording artist Darren Espanto
“I want to take you guys along my journey as an artist, as a musician and I just wanna express myself through music. Since music is my passion, I just wanna share what talent God gave me,” Darren said.

With top-notch producers Kiko Guevarra, Jungee Marcelo, Jay-R, Kiko Salazar and a line-up of international and top Filipino songwriters, the standards of this sets this album from his previous one.

“It’s a bit different from my debut album that it’s more mature. The recording process for this album was actually a lot of fun. I got to work with a lot of very talented songwriters and each song has a different message and a different sound to it,” Darren said.

The first track from the album 7 Minutes by songwriters Cimo Frankel, Jochem Fluitsma, Mark van Tijn, Ramon Marco debuted at no.1 on iTunes Philippines on its first day of release and in Darren’s words, “about having just little time to show how much you care for that person who is about to leave.”

“Starlight”, by Singaporean songwriter Amir Masoh (Jacky Cheung, Ziana Zain), likewise topped iTunes Philippines Singles Chart on its first day of release.

 “It’s about living in the moment and having just one life to live. It’s kind of like a “YOLO” you-only-live-once anthem, so it’s pretty fun, you could dance to it, it’s EDM. It’s a great song to listen to as well,” Darren said.

Another single “Parachute” penned by Berlin-based Jeffrey Abrego and Xavier Schmid, according to Darren, “Talks about just letting go and living in the moment. Just being free and doing what you wanna do and doing what you love.”

This also signals his growth as an artist having penned two songs in the album: “Hanggang Hi Hello” and “Home”.

 “I actually wrote two of the songs on this which is really, really different for me because I’ve always been so hesitant with sharing the songs I write, but now, I guess I was confident enough to share it and now it’s in my upcoming album.  I wrote “Hanggang Hi Hello” originally when I was eleven but then I changed some of the lyrics to fit my age now. And then ‘Home’ talks about just wanting to be home…and it’s a ballad. It’s actually one of my favorite compositions, I’d say,” Darren said.

Other tracks to watch out are “Alam” by Jungee Marcelo, “Be With Me” (Kiko Salazar), “Surrender” (Jay R, Flavamatikz of Q-York), “My Baby & Me” (Allan Eshuijs, Marco Rakascan, Maruja  Retana Fransen) and “Talking Bout Love” (Kris Coutinho, Ricardo Burgrust).

Darren considers doing the album Be With Me a learning experience.

“I got to learn more techniques in Be With Me and I got tips actually from each of the song writers that I worked with. And I guess I developed a new sound as well. So that’s how I developed in this album,” Darren said.

Join Darren as he continues his musical journey which with his talent will span for years.

Be With Me is now out through digital downloads and streaming via Spinnr, iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify and VEVO and in CDs at Astroplus and Astrovision outlets.

Catch Darren at his major concert entitled D Total Experience on June 25, 8 p.m, at Kia Theater with special guests Jed Madela, Maja Salvador and G-Force.

Call Ticketnet at 911-5555 for tickets.

*This is Press Release

More Guests at Darren's Birthday Concert Bared

It will surely be a fun night as more guests will join Darren Espanto at his first major concert entitled “Darren Espanto D Birthday Concert” this May 29 at the Mall of Asia Arena. TV Host Robi Domingo, G-Force and Asia’s Got Talent Grand Winner El Gamma Penumbra will be added to the list of guests aside from previously announced: The Voice of the Philippines Season 1 Champion Mitoy Yonting, The Voice of the Philippines Season 2 Champion Jason Dy and runner-up Alisah Bonaobra.

“I am so happy that Kuya Robi, G-Force and El Gamma Penumbra will be able to join me on this very special event,” Darren said. “I know you want to find out what we will do during the show but all I can say right now is I’m sure you will enjoy our number if you will watch my concert.”

Robi Domingo is a VJ, actor, dancer, and host. He first gained popularity as a reality show contestant by joining and ending up as the first runner up of the hit television show Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition Plus in 2008.

G-Force is a dance group described as innovative, hip, and fresh. The group regularly performs in A.S.A.P and other special projects of ABS-CBN.

El Gamma Penumbra is a shadow play group which was recently declared the winner of Asia’s Got Talent. The group not only impressed the judges: Grammy-winning producer/composer David Foster, Spice Girl Melanie C, Taiwanese star Vaness Wu and Indonesian singer Anggun but was also voted by the audience all over Asia as the first winner of the said contest.

If you are eager on what to expect during the show, then head on to the Mall of Asia Arena this May 29 at 8pm. Tickets are available at P4,230 for VIP, P3,700 for Patron, P2,640 for Lower Box, P1,270 for Upper Box and P430 for General Admission at SM Tickets at 4702222 or smtickets.com. For VVIP tickets worth P4,760, contact Ms. Liza Ong through mobile - 09989741153 or through email - liza.ong@umusic.com.

“Darren Espanto D Birthday Concert” is presented by Talk N’ Text, Spinnr and MCA Music in cooperation with Brood Shoes distributed by Sports House. Special thanks to MUM Make-up Madness, Bangs Prime Salon by Tony and Jackey, Aficionado German Perfumes, C3 Events Place, Cravings, Clarence, Erase Certified Beauty, Eton International School and Placenta. With media partners: ABS-CBN, MYX, MOR 101.9, 106.7 Energy FM and Mellow 94.7. “Darren”, the album is now out under MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines) on CDs at Astroplus and Odyssey outlets. You can download Darren’s album on spinnr.ph.

For bookings and inquiries, please contact Sammy Samaniego at (632) 9162504 local 107, (0920) 9682991, (0917) 8565174 or email sammy.samaniego@umusic.com. For more information about Darren, log on to www.facebook.com/mcamusic.

Darren Espanto Of The Voice Kids And His Album!

He sings, he dances – a total performer in the making. Darren Espanto stood out among the first harvest of young belters and crooners of The Voice Kids. He flew all the way from Canada to make something special happen – to be the artist the country will be proud of. It was evident that even at an early age, Darren picked up melodies easily and sang along to different types of songs. His family helped him nurture his talent until he was able to discover that he’s more than just a singer. His grandma agreed and encouraged Darren’s family to try out for The Voice Kids. It wasn’t an easy decision to travel all the way to Manila but all their efforts were worth the journey. A turn from Coach Sarah Geronimo was all it took for the young performer to clinch second spot in the final. Even if he didn’t win the grand prize, everyone definitely noticed. 

During and after the competition, Darren raked in fans from all over the world, consistent in the trending topics list, and with millions of online views – he is an instant star. And he is just extremely grateful of the support of his family and fans. “I am lucky po because I have this talent. They [My family] always tell me that it is a blessing and I should be thankful of it,” The 13-year old teen from Calgary has more reasons to be appreciative of all the wonderful surprises that come his way. He has already checked sold out concerts, tours around the world, and an album (The Voice Kids The Album) off his long list of achievements. “I am very flattered po kasi nabigyan na po ng katuparan yung dream ko.” Add to this his first ever solo record under MCA Music simply titled “Darren”. It features the carrier single “In Love Ako Sa ‘Yo” composed by Vehnee Saturno. The hitmaker composer also contributed 3 more songs that fit Darren like “My Girl”, “Ewan Ko” and “Ah! Basta Gusto Kita”. Not to be missed are the tracks written by foreign composer like Keith Martin & Deon Hairston (“You Are The Only One”); Adrian Rezza, Lucas Rezza and Carvin Winans (“I Believe In Me”) as well as Filipino-American Brad Go (“Makin’ Moves”) and Filipino composer Kennard Faraon (“Stuck). Also included is the studio version of “Domino”, a song he performed during the blind audition. The packaging comes off as like a magazine with different pictures of Darren and a mini-standee inside.

“This is my gift to all my fans that supported me throughout my The Voice Kids journey and I hope it will also open up to new supporters and listeners,” Darren said. Darren is close to fulfilling his international career but there’s something about home that keeps him more driven to perform here. “Canada naman po will always be there. For now, sa Philippines na po muna ako,” He wants to use his singing as means of giving back to all the young Pinoy dreamers to pursue performing just like he did. “Gusto ko po makapagbigay pa ng maraming inspirasyon sa mga katulad kong bata. Makapagpasaya ng todo-todo,” With talent like Darren’s, the world seemed to fit in the palm of his hands. It’s exciting to see him grow into the likes of Gary Valenciano or even like his idol Michael Jackson. 

But he is geared to become the artist he’s dreaming to be. It won’t be long until Darren Espanto becomes a household name, proudly representing the country in the world stage. “Darren” is now out under MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines) on CDs at Astroplus and Odyssey outlets. It is also available through digital downloads via spinnr.ph and iTunes and streaming via spinnr.ph, Deezer and Spotify. “Darren”, the press conference is presented by Jollibee. 

For bookings and inquiries, please contact Sammy Samaniego at (632) 9162504 local 107, (0920) 9682991, (0917) 8565174 or email sammy.samaniego@umusic.com. For more information about Darren, log on to www.facebook.com/mcamusic.