WHEN singers MJ Labenia and Lesha Litonjua and vlogger Tops Unay were declared the top three winners of Smart Launchpad, a search for the country’s most promising content creators, one of their prizes was a chance for a collaboration with international YouTube stars.
“This was one of the reasons why I joined Smart Launchpad. The chance at a collaboration with YouTube superstars is just so exciting,” said Litonjua during the awarding ceremonies held at First Pacific Leadership Academy, Antipolo City
The three were chosen from 100 finalists out of 1,537 entries from all over the Philippines.
The three will fly to Los Angeles, California early next year for a shoot/collaboration with The Filharmonic, a vocal group composed of six Filipino-Americans.
The a capella group competed in NBC’s hit musical competition, made the semi-finals and joined The Sing-Off national tour. The Filharmonic, consisting of VJ Rosales, Joe Caigoy, Trace Gaynor, Barry Fortgang, Jules Cruz and Niko Del Rey, was featured in the Universal Pictures hit movie, “Pitch Perfect 2.”
Proudly Filipino
The group expressed its excitement over the collaboration with Labenia, Litojua, and Unay.
The chance to work with their countrymen is something The Filharmonic is looking forward to. The group members are very proud of their Filipino ancestry.
“Our passion is to share our Filipino culture worldwide using our music and unique sound,” said Fortgang.
Tips on Owning It!
Beat boxer Del Rey urged content creators to “keep putting yourself out there and make your music heard. There will be ups and downs, but don’t give up, be yourself, do what you think is best for you and eventually you can make it.”
Smart Launchpad is a talent search and content creation program that encourages the youth to showcase what they do best – whether it’s singing or dancing, doing make-up tutorials, sharing travel tips or making people laugh.
To demonstrate its fast and efficient Internet, Smart took its Launchpad Upload Stations to different malls and schools all over the country.