January is about to end soon, and my band K24/7 is having a great start of the year. Our album New Era is selling well on its first month (considering that for now, we are directly selling it during our shows), and the gigs are going well (considering that some of us in the band missed a few gigs due to illnesses).
The Disenchanted Kingdom morning radio show was a blast, and the updates & discussions opened up during the show were really funny. King DJ Logan and Cleo gave us an interview & the opportunity to promote New Era. Later on, we played a game called "Porno Poryes", where we have to guess if the flick title is an actual porn movie or not. The record holder is Mark, a mainstay of the show, with his 8 out of 10 score. We're not really a bunch of porn connoisseurs haha, but we somehow had the instinct of guessing whether it's a legit title or not. And boy, are we good guessers, we got 9 out of 10 and we beat Mark's record haha! But still, hands down to Mark, 8 out of 10 from an individual is respectable, while we broke his record as a group. We really had fun that morning, and we thank the crew from 99.5RT for having us as guests in their morning show.
Later that week, on Friday morning, January 22, we had a TV guesting on ABS-CBN's morning show Umagang Kay Ganda. We were requested to sing I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas. The morning show required us to sing an upbeat song to help jumpstart the morning. We also got to see and talk to Donita Rose, one of the hosts of the show, which was cool because she's one of the most gorgeous Pinays in my book, plus she's a really nice person. There are videos of that TV appearance uploaded by our friends on Facebook.
The morning radio and TV guestings we had that week seem to be good signs. We broke the record on the radio show game. We sung I Gotta Feeling, and the lines in that song go "I gotta feeling... That tonight's gonna be a good night." The night of January 22 was a big night in the local R&B & hip-hop scene. It was the awards night of Wave 891's 1st Urban Music Awards, which was held in Eastwood Mall. K24/7 is nominated in the Best Urban Band category. Actually, we weren't supposed to attend the event because we have a gig at Off The Grill that night. But management insisted that we attend (which is another sign), then we'll just leave in time for our OTG gig. The awards show was scheduled to start at 7pm. But as expected, show was delayed, and it opened at 9pm (!). The opening performance of Q-York, Kenjhons, Chelo Aestrid, and The Philippine Allstars was amazing!
At around 930pm, we decided that the rhythm section should go ahead to OTG. With me being a fast-moving and time-conscious individual, I was the first to leave Eastwood. But just as the rest of my bandmates were preparing to leave, the People's Choice Award was up next, and we were among the nominees.
We won. K24/7. Winner, People's Choice Award, at Wave 891's 1st Urban Music Awards.
We may not have won the Best Urban Band award, but the People's Choice Award means a lot because this was decided by the people; by the listeners. We are humbled by the award, for it showed that there are many people out there who believe in our band. We are sincerely grateful to our dear friends and followers for the love, care, and support, for believing in K24/7, and for sticking with us through these years.
To be honest, I thought that it's just another popularity or hatak thing. But later I felt and realized that it means more than that. We love what DJ Gia said when she was presenting the award...
"The People's Choice Award stands out because among the numerous choices the listeners have for this category, they choose and decide to vote for and support the individual/group closest to their hearts. This award recognizes the voice of the people and will be given to the individual/group that has won the love and support of the listeners of Wave 891. And for the nominees here with us tonight, I believe that's what really matters at the end of the day."
And that said it all.
In behalf of K24/7, I would like to once again thank all our dear friends, loved ones, listeners, and followers for the tremendous love and support. We owe you guys, and what we can do to give back in return is to simply keep working and performing harder, develop into better artists, and continue playing music that can inspire and hopefully empower and touch lives.
K24/7 would also like to congratulate all the winners and the nominees in the 1st Urban Music Awards. And of course, congratulations and thank you very much to Wave 891.
A great start of the year, indeed! I'm hoping that we can carry on the momentum in the coming months.
very well said... ^_^ just keep your feet on the grounds and we will keep on supporting you guys... you are all great! and you are amazing! Congratulations again!
Posted by: April | 26 January 2010 at 10:33 PM
exactly..i hope you remain your humble and for sure your followers will never leave you.
i did not notice you were not up there ;) congrats again!
Posted by: Maris | 27 January 2010 at 04:49 PM
April, Maris...
Thank you very much!
Posted by: Anthony Dio | 27 January 2010 at 05:39 PM
You know, days before the UMA, I kept asking the DJs at Wave if K24/7 will be performing at the UMA, just so I could have a clue if you're going to win or not. haha! Friday just felt right, and so you won. Congrats to you guys again! You deserve it. I hope you all stay humble, while still aiming for success. =)
Posted by: Jonessa Galo | 27 January 2010 at 06:42 PM
Jonessa... Thank you for your tremendous love & support! Yeah, last Friday just felt right, it's a huge blessing. God bless!
Posted by: Anthony Dio | 27 January 2010 at 08:11 PM
Very happy for the band :) It's been two years since I first heard of your band and up until now, I never became tired of listening to your new cd, attending your gigs, and youtube-ing your covers haha. I also love it that your band is more on the underground rather than in hardcore mainstream.
I made a short blog post wherein I mentioned your band and kind of plugged your gigs and new album :D If you have time, you can read it. Thank you :)
http://nomainstreamhere.blogspot.com/2010/01/shuttlecock.html
Posted by: Pau Matias | 28 January 2010 at 09:10 AM
Pau... Thanks for the appreciation and the kind words! I read your blog, and I also appreciate what you wrote about us, plus the plugs on our gigs and the album.
In regards to being underground or mainstream... Well, my bandmates & I don't really think about it. It's not really a conscious decision whether to go underground or mainstream. Maybe if I have to gauge where we are right now, we're likely somewhere between underground and mainstream. But bottomline is, it doesn't matter. I see ourselves as a bunch of persistent, blue-collar, professional musicians. We all just simply wish to become successful with our musical careers, and we try to work hard in becoming the best artists we can be. And like most true blue musicians, we just love playing music for as much as we can.
By the way, I listened to your music on your Soundcloud page. I think you have potential; your work is promising. Rejection sucks hehe, but it's part of life. We get rejections & criticisms as well; but it's all part of the game, and we take it as a challenge to become better in our craft. No matter what the challenges are, just continue doing your thing. We all start somewhere. :)
Keep it up, Pau, and I wish you all the best in your musical endeavours. Thanks again. :)
Posted by: Anthony Dio | 28 January 2010 at 05:44 PM
congats anthony and the rest of the band members! pls bring the award home for a weekend so i can see it. you deserve it! we're proud of you! love you! - rica & chiki, sofia, ella, marga
Posted by: Rodriguez | 30 January 2010 at 02:37 PM
Rica, Chiki, Sofia, Ella, Marga... Thank you very much! I think our trophy/award is with our manager, sure I'll borrow it. I love you all! :)
Posted by: Anthony Dio | 30 January 2010 at 04:33 PM