Josh Groban concert with special guest Lea Salonga

Lea Salonga

Filipino fans shall once again be treated to world-class entertainment as Ovation Productions, on its 40th year, proudly announces that Tony Award-winner and Broadway royalty Lea Salonga now joins multi-platinum singer-songwriter Josh Groban at his special post-Valentines Manila concert this 2019. Two of the most powerful and distinct voices in the industry come together for the Bridges Tour live on February 22 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

 

The unmistakable voice behind global hit "You Raise Me Up" brings his internationally recognized one-night-only show to the Philippines, backed by the magnificent ABS-CBN Orchestra, Josh’s own 5-man band, and the Ateneo Choir. This latest tour kicked off in the United States last October, marking Groban’s first tour since his sold-out Stages Tour in 2016. 

Josh Groban's brand new album Bridges was released in September 2018 to critical acclaim, featuring the singles “River,” “Granted," and “Symphony" and duets with such notable artists as Andrea Bocelli and Sarah McLachlan. Bridges Tour Live in Manila is extra special as Josh will perform songs off this record, a captivating duet or two with Lea Salonga, and his greatest hits "All I Ask," "Broken Vow," "She’s Out Of My Life," "You Raise Me Up," "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "To Where You Are," "Awake," "You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up)," "Believe," among many others.

 

Josh Groban’s Bridges Tour Live in Manila with special guest Lea Salonga is produced by Ovation Productions. Tickets now available via www.smtickets.com and all SM Tickets outlets. For inquiries, call +63 9171495959 or follow Ovation Productions online.

 

Facebook: @ovationproductions

Twitter: @ovationprod

Instagram: @ovationprod

Mr. Pure Energy gives back

With a renewed zest for life and music, Gary Valenciano gears up for ‘Gary V, Mr. Pure Energy on XS,’ a fund-raising concert for the benefit of Xavier School charities.

Just three months after his double health scare, Gary Valenciano is back to doing what he loves best: performing for the people.

It’s his way of giving thanks for receiving a second lease on life, so to speak. Mr. Pure Energy, despite of all that he has gone through the past several years, has so much to thank for.

One, Gary V survived an emergency heart bypass surgery due to blockage of his left anterior descending artery caused by his type 1 diabetes, which he has been battling for almost 40 years.

Two, the veteran artist has successfully beat cancer of the kidney. 

Through his strong faith and the unwavering support of his loved ones, the good news that Gary V was praying for came sooner than later. “Nakatanggap ako ng message galing sa doktor ko na [I’m] cancer-free and no need for chemotherapy, radio therapy, wala talaga. It’s really, really good news. It’s gone.”

And three, the 54-year-old OPM icon has been blessed with a great family. He’s got a very supportive wife, Angeli, and equally talented kids Paolo, Gabriel, and Kiana, who would always be by his side no matter what. 

With all the blessings and the miracles that he has received, the multi-awarded artist feels that it is time for him to give back. 

Mr. Pure Energy will be staging “Gary V, Mr. Pure Energy in XS” a fund-raising concert on October 13, 2018 at the Xavier Sports Center in Greenhills, San Juan. Proceeds from this concert will go to the Xavier School charities. 

“Gary V, Mr. Pure Energy in XS” will be an event to remember. Not only will this concert mark Gary V’s return to the performing stage after being away from the spotlight for months, it will also be extra special as his daughter Kiana Valenciano will be joining him on stage as his special guest.

For ticket inquiries, call 911-5555 or visit www.ticketnet.com.ph

Filipina rising star Jomary Torres once dreamed to play basketball as pro

Jomary Torres

Football is widely regarded as the most popular sport in the world, but in the Philippines, basketball has become woven into the cultural fabric of the country where the overall lack of height does not interfere with the love of the game.

Filipinos have perennially been hooked on basketball as a love affair has bloomed between its people and the orange bouncing ball since it was first introduced by the Americans in the early 1900s.

Basketball courts have mushroomed in the most nondescript streets of the metro as shooting rings can be found installed on tree trunks and even light posts.

The Filipinos’ leaning towards basketball is strongly evident in teams formed within village leagues, while countless inter-department tournaments are held at workplaces and schools.

Like many other Filipinos in the archipelago, homegrown mixed martial arts prospect Jomary “The Zamboanganian Fighter” Torres had a simple dream of becoming a basketball player when she was a young girl.

“I really wanted to play basketball,” she shared. “Most men play basketball in our country. Since it is like our national sport, I was fascinated by it.”

Having played in fiestas and for her school, Torres thought that she could eventually find a way to make a career out of her hobby.

“It’s natural for Filipinos to play basketball. You can see hoops everywhere. We play the game every single day. Like many of my countrymen, I was good at it. I thought of playing in the professional ranks and have the chance to earn money from it,” she stated.

However, circumstances in life would not allow Torres to pursue a professional career in basketball.

Torres and her older brother were actually left under the care of their grandmother since they were infants.

Despite not having a stable business as a source of income, Torres’ grandmother found ways to provide, such as picking up extra work at a school cafeteria.

“Instead of letting my grandmother work even more just to get me through college, I decided to stop going to school and find a job to help her out,” she said.

Out of desperation, Torres did not hesitate to take a job in Taguig, Metro Manila, where she worked as a nanny.

During her time as a babysitter, Torres met Ruel Catalan, who frequently trained at a gym near the school where the child that she took care of was studying.

While waiting for the child to finish school, Torres swung by the gym to watch the action firsthand.

For three years, the usually-active Torres was contained in a job where she could not feed her competitive spirit and could only envy them from the sidelines.

Watching people get fit, all while satisfying that craving for competition through mixed martial arts enticed her.

In 2015, Ruel introduced Torres to his older brother, Rene Catalan, multiple-time Wushu world champion and head coach of Catalan Fighting System.

“Coach Rene invited me and gave me an offer to consider. I tried training, and I have been there ever since,” she recalled. “I was a bit fat before. I only got fit here.”

After receiving an offer to join the team, Torres did not think twice to leave her job as a nanny and trained to become a full-time mixed martial artist.

With no martial arts background, it came as a shock for her when she was immediately booked for a match.

As homage to her hometown, Torres took the nickname of “The Zamboanginian Fighter” as her alias when she had her professional debut in August 2016 at a local event in Pasay City.

Torres pulled off the unanimous decision victory over compatriot Krisna Limbaga, and from then on, the Catalans knew that they had a potential star on their hands.

“I trained for two months and was surprised when I was told by my coach that I would be competing,” she bared. “I took on the challenge so that I could experience a real match, and thankfully, I won.”

Torres has emerged as a promising mixed martial arts talent from the Philippines and has compiled an undefeated professional record of 4-0.

The 22-year-old Zamboanga del Norte native directed her career path to ONE Championship in 2017, winning her first three assignments in astonishing fashion.

When she made her promotional debut against Rika “Tinydoll” Ishige in August 2017, Torres stole her thunder on that fateful night by submitting the Thai martial arts heroine in the second round of their exhilarating contest.

Three months after she forced Ishige to wave the white flag in her maiden ONE Championship appearance, Torres out-grappled Indonesia’s Nita Dea en route to a unanimous decision victory.

Her most recent triumph came at the expense of Team Lakay’s April Osenio, whom she finished in just 40 second with a thunderous slam last January.

Torres will once again be strutting her wares under the bright lights as she takes on Priscilla Hertati Lumban Gaol in a three-round atomweight clash on the undercard of ONE: CONQUEST OF HEROES in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 22.

Given the success that she now basks in, Torres believes that she is destined to strap on four-ounce gloves.

“I am happy to be part of this sport. It’s now considered as the fastest-growing sport in the world. Making a mark as an international competitor of mixed martial arts gives me a sense of fulfillment. I truly believe I am destined to be a professional fighter. I have no regrets,” she assured.

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

UST rules Maynilad-backed BVR on Tour Manila Open

University of Santo Tomas ruled Tour Manila Open, the sixth leg of the Beach Volleyball Republic’s BVR On Tour Series for 2018.

University of Santo Tomas ruled both the men’s and the women's division, with UST’s Krung Arbasto and newcomer Jeron Requinton fashioning out a 21-19, 21-14 conquest of National University's Bryan Bagunas and James Natividad in the Finals.  In the women’s division, Growling Tigress Sisi Rondina and Babylove Barbon scored a 21-18, 21-19 win over Perlas' Dzi Gervacio and Bea Tan in the gold medal match.

For the bronze, Smart's team of Grethcel Soltones and Alyssa Eroa carved out a 21-12, 21-14 victory over Kempal's Roma Doromal and Chantal Rodriguez in the women’s division. University of Perpetual Help System Dalta's Jayjay Solamillo and Gilbert Balmores also achieved a podium finish, rallying from a set down to escape with a 12-21, 21-19, 18-16 win over Air Force's Ranran Abdilla and Jessie Lopez.

The women's and men's champions took home P20,000 cash prize, with the second and third placers received P10,000 and P5,000, respectively courtesy of Maynilad.

A total of 32 teams - 16 in the women's and men's division - joined the three-day spikefest where the best collegiate and professional beach volleyball players converged.

Water services provider Maynilad gave the Beach Volleyball Republic and beach volleyball a renewed boost by partnering anew with BVR for its just finished Tour Manila Open tournament at Sands SM By the Bay. Maynilad became the beach volleyball circuit’s official hydration partner beginning with the highly-successful FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour Manila Open last May. 

All players who participated in this leg were hydrated by ice cold Maynilad bottled water.

"We’ve been blessed to have long-term partner in growing this sport and I’m very happy that Maynilad has been there to support us in our legs this year," said BVR founder Charo Soriano."I would to thank the players who competed. We all know that you trained so hard for this tournament," said Soriano during the closing ceremony.

The Manila Open is the 32^nd leg of traveling beach volleyball tournaments organized by the BVR since it began in 2015.

Integrated PLDT, Smart network expansion boosts speeds, revenues

PLDT and its wireless subsidiary Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) have accelerated the rollout of the group’s fixed and wireless networks, boosting data speeds and company revenues in the first half of the year.

As of end-June, Smart has installed more than 3,900 LTE base stations, increasing the total count by 45% to over 12,600, and enabling Smart to improve its Long Term Evolution (LTE) coverage, as well as to activate LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), which offers even higher data speeds and capacity.

Aside from rolling out LTE and LTE-A across the country’s main urban hub Metro Manila, Smart has also successfully fired up LTE and LTE-A as far north as Batanes, Sagada and Cagayan, as well as in Palawan, Sorsogon, Cebu, Bohol, Leyte, Davao and Sarangani, to name a few.

With this rollout, Smart is on track to fulfill its commitment to the National Telecommunications Commission to provide high-speed wireless data services in over 90% of the country’s cities and municipalities by the end of 2018.

As of end-June, PLDT has likewise increased the coverage of its fiber-power fixed broadband network to 5.07 million homes passed and boosted its capacity to 1.86 million ports, nearing its full-year target of 2.2 million ports.  

Underpinning PLDT and Smart’s fixed and mobile network roll-out was the expansion of PLDT’s fiber optic transmission and distribution network. In the first half of 2018, PLDT increased its fiber footprint to 204,000 kilometers, rolling out over 29,000 kilometers of fiber cable further increasing the reach, capacity and resiliency of PLDT’s fiber network. These expansion projects greatly enhance Smart’s mobile network by providing high-capacity fiber connections for LTE base stations.

With its extensive fiber coverage, PLDT is transforming entire areas into fiber-enabled "Smart cities". Toledo City, Cebu was the first to roll out full coverage of fiber-to-the-home in the area, followed by General Santos City in Mindanao, Naga in the Bicol Region, and South Metro Manila which includes Paranaque and Las Piñas, East Metro Manila which includes Pasig and Antipolo, and central business districts like Rockwell Makati and Bonifacio Global City. Cavite became the first “Smart province” late last year. Recently, PLDT rolled out fiber in the tourist town of El Nido in Palawan with future plans of expanding to other municipalities to benefit residents, local businesses and industries, and the growing number of tourists visiting the island.

Fiber has also been rolled out in the Metro Manila cities of Pasay, Marikina, Taguig and Caloocan; in Northern and Central Luzon areas like Laoag, Baguio, Vigan, Tuguegarao, Tarlac, Cabanatuan and San Fernando; Southern Luzon areas like Laguna, Puerto Princesa, Sorsogon and Legazpi; and in Davao, South Cotabato, Cotabato, Koronadal, Zamboanga, Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat.

“The beneficial impact of these network roll-out efforts has been enhanced by the tighter coordination between our business and network organizations, and, between the fixed and mobile engineering teams. As a result, we are prioritizing the roll-out in areas where there are ready customers. Also, our deployment of network facilities – particularly fiber – more efficiently boost the expansion efforts of both our fixed and mobile network,” said Mario G. Tamayo, Senior Vice President for network planning and engineering for PLDT and Smart.

Data/broadband and digital services continued to be the main growth drivers for all three business segments Home, Individual Wireless, and Enterprise accounting for P39.6 billion in revenues, 54% of 1^st half 2018 total service revenues.

“We have crossed an important threshold now that our data and digital services generate more than half of our total service revenues. Moving forward, our task is to accelerate our digital pivot by pursuing whenever possible converged digital initiatives across our business segments – Home, Individual Wireless, and Enterprise,” said Ernesto R. Alberto, Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer.

Fastest network in the Philippines

As a result of network transformation efforts, PLDT and Smart were recently cited for being the country’s fastest fixed and mobile networks for Q1-Q2 2018, respectively, by Ookla^®, the global leader in internet testing and analysis.

Earlier this year, independent mobile analytics company OpenSignal also cited Smart for being the fastest in the Philippines, with nationwide LTE download speeds of 12.5 Mbps, ahead of competition’s 7.7 Mbps. OpenSignal’s State of Mobile Network – Philippines report released in March 2018 also showed Smart dominating in all major regions, as its 4G/LTE availability also increased from 40% to 60% between the March 2017 and March 2018.

Smart’s wireless rollout includes the 700 MHz band for wider coverage and improved indoor penetration, and the 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz bands for additional capacity. Alongside its LTE and LTE-A deployment, Smart has also increased the number of 3G base stations on its network to over 10,400.

In addition to network upgrades, Smart is also working with device manufacturers to make more LTE and LTE-A-capable devices available in the market. As shown by the experience of other countries, the network roll-out must be accompanied by the adoption of LTE and LTE-A-capable mobile phones and devices so that more people can enjoy the improved service.

Customers can enjoy the upgraded network that Smart is putting in place in more areas with LTE and LTE-A-capable smartphones. Smartphones available with Smart include the Huawei P20 series, Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+, Huawei Mate 10, Samsung Galaxy J2 Pro, and Oppo F5.

These network expansion and modernization efforts are supported by PLDT’s capital expenditures program for which P58 billion has been earmarked for this year. About P31.5 billion of this amount has been allocated for the wireless network and P26.5 billion for the fixed line network.

From Canada to Philippines with Love: PhilCan Student Organizes Huge Book Donations to Public Schools

written by Rebecca Bustamante

Chris Mills grew up in the Philippines with a Filipina mother.  When he went to Canada for university, he was amazed at the high-quality text books available. 

Chris resolved that if he could get large numbers of such books to public schools in the Philippines, he would really have a big impact on student’s (and teacher’s) lives.  He spoke to a lot of people at his Canadian school to get his books-for-Philippines project off the ground but initially had a lot of difficulty. 

“I think everyone thought I was just a kid and couldn’t pull it off,” he says.

Everything changed when a key professor, Russell Turner, found out about the project and offered his support.  Russell is a well-liked professor at 2 higher learning schools -- Trent University and Fleming College, in the city of Peterborough, just outside Toronto in central Canada.

The half-Filipino “kid” went office to office with his friends at both schools selling his “Russell-sanctified” plan.  Amazingly, students, professors and college administrators all joined in and started collecting books.  An entire community of people soon worked together for the project. 

Many of the books are written by the world’s leading experts in their fields.  Typically, these textbooks cost Canadian students Php5k-15k a piece! 

Chris says he was “moved by how much Canadians really want to help Filipinos.”  So many books were donated that soon the problem Chris faced was how to collect and store the hundreds and later thousands of heavy books. 

Gladly, his fraternity pals (Tau Kappa Epilson) jumped to help.  The boys stretched their meager student finances to the limit delivering half-a-ton or so of books to other cities on weekends and in-between classes.  They reported that they “almost gave up drinking beer and chasing girls because we got so broke.”  On one delivery trip, Chris made sure to bring his Canadian friends to the new Jollibee in Toronto and experience some Filipino culture. 

The next problem the students faced almost stopped everything.  When they found out the cost to ship the large load to the Philippines, it was almost killed the project.  How could they ever pay?  Luckily, Filipino icon LBC came to the rescue offering to ship the entire load for FREE.  They were saved!

The most recent shipment of more than 1,700 books arrived recently with an estimated retail value of Php8m. 

Top-ranked Bulacan State University was chosen to receive most of this year’s shipment.  With 25,000 students, it is one of the country’s largest state universities outside of Metro Manila.

On hand to receive the shipment was Gilbert Gatchalian, the personable Vice-Mayor of Malolos (capital city of Bulacan province), Dr. Cecilia Gascon, President of Bulacan State University, and Ace Itchon, prominent Malolos-born business leader.

Chris Mills is looking forward to ramping up his project to deliver more books to schools across Philippines.  Chris says, “Canadians like helping Filipinos and are already asking me about next year.”

If you are a deserving school, please contact Chris on his Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/chris.mills.37669528 . 

Shanti Dope brings Pinoy pride in international collaborations

17 year-old viral rap star Shanti Dope's flourishing artistry continues to burn bright as he brings Pinoy rap into the international scene.

As he celebrates one year in the industry, and more than 20 million views and streams for his hit song "Nadarang," the new gen rapper-songwriter adds collaborations with international artists to the long list of achievements in his young career.

Shanti is expected to bring his A-game in on the international remix of the song 'Crazy' by rising American singer Mimi. He joins NomaD and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member Krayzie Bone in the catchy hip-hop tune, also providing a unique Pinoy twist on his verse.

The song does not only feature Shanti himself as an artist, but also our very own language as he raps Tagalog on his verse. To be able to showcase the national language on a worldwide stage is a big feat for OPM artists, especially in the genre of rap, as Shanti continues to build bridges across different genres, platforms, and audiences through his music.

The rap prodigy will not only appear on thisinternational track, but is also slated to be special a guest (together with his mentor Gloc-9) in the upcoming Ultimate hiphop OG Bone Thugs-N-Harmony concert on September 5, 2018 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Mimi's 'Crazy (International Remix) [feat. Shanti Dope, Krayzie Bone, and NomaD]' is now available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon

Shanti Dope and Materyal EPs are now available on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Deezer, and Amazon under Universal Records.

Tickets for Bone Thugs-N-Harmony concert are out now via SM Tickets | bit.ly/BTNH2018MNL It’s gonna be an epic hiphop party with #BTNHManila ft. Gloc-9 and Shanti Dope, made possible by Ovation Productions.

It’s here!

“Crazy” (International Remix) by MiMi featuring Nomad, Krayzie Bone and our very own Shanti Dope 

LISTEN to the song on Spotify ➡️ spoti.fi/2P2lew1

https://www.facebook.com/universalrecordsph/videos/1960463097579513/

Smart and Ericsson to deploy 5G in PH

Smart and Ericsson team up for 5G in PH. At the signing were PLDT Chief Corporate Services Officer Ray C. Espinosa, PLDT chair and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan, Ericsson Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India Nunzio Mirtillo and Martin Wiktorin, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Pacific Islands.

Under the MoU, the 5G network will be first deployed in Luzon, the country’s largest and most populous island where about a third of the population work and live.

The 3GPP compliant 5G Trial System that will be deployed in Smart includes Ericsson 5G RAN, Core and Transport solutions. The 5G pilot deployment will allow Smart to explore industry partnership engagements, collaborate with schools and universities, and further develop competence in 5G.

“As 5G opens up more opportunities for new services and solutions to offer to our customers, we are investing in future-proofing our network and making sure that our network is ready for 5G,” said PLDT-Smart chairman and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan.

“Our partnership with Ericsson is part of our commitment to bring to the country the latest technologies to improve the experience of our customers, as well as boost the digital transformation of enterprises and industries,” he added.

“We are happy to partner with Smart to pioneer 5G in the Philippines. We believe first movers in 5G can reshape the market, grow market share and increase revenue streams. Combining improved capacity and ultra-low latency, 5G will help realize new use cases and business models and capture new revenue opportunities by addressing industry digitalization,” said Martin Wiktorin, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Pacific Islands.

All set for 5G. Gracing the MoU signing were Ericsson vice president and key account manager Anthony Valdez, PLDT-Smart Chief Technology and Information Advisor Joachim Horn, PLDT Chief Corporate Services Officer Ray C. Espinosa, PLDT chair and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan, Ericsson Head of Market Area South East Asia, Oceania and India Nunzio Mirtillo, PLDT-Smart Chief Revenue Officer Eric Alberto, Head of Ericsson Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Pacific Islands Martin Wiktorin and PLDT-Smart head of Consumer Business for Customer Development Alex O. Caeg.

Future-proofed network

“To be able to deliver 5G services to its customers in the future, Smart is upgrading its network’s Core and Transport elements. This includes upgrading to fiber the backhaul connecting the network’s cell sites around the country and deploying 5G-ready equipment in the ongoing LTE roll-out,” according to Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT and Smart Senior Vice President for Network Planning and Engineering.

“As we continue to ramp up the roll-out of LTE, LTE-Advanced and carrier aggregation technology nationwide, we are also making sure that these are already future-proof and 5G-capable,” Tamayo added.

Under its current upgrades, Smart is installing 5G-compatible radio equipment across its network, which now has over 2,000 5G-ready sites.

Exciting possibilities

With its capability to deliver extremely high speeds coupled with low latency, 5G opens up exciting possibilities for Internet of Things (IoT) applications for Filipinos, particularly in healthcare and smart cities.

Smart has been testing 5G since 2016, when it achieved with technology partner Nokia 5G speeds of 2.5 Gigabits per second (Gbps) using 100 MHz with latency of just 1 millisecond over a ‘live’ network--the first in the Philippines.

Months later, PLDT and Smart announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with technology partner Huawei Technologies Phils. “to shape the strategic and commercial development of the 5G ecosystem in the Philippines.” In particular, the two parties were looking to identify and develop the areas of technological innovation needed to deliver 5G, which is expected to provide the foundation for the digital connected society.

In June, Smart launched its 5G TechnoLab, which is the company’s flagship facility for the research and development, standardization, and testing of 5G and is designed to be a sustainable environment for innovative services.

With Huawei, Smart also successfully breached 5G speeds of over 14Gbps in a test held at the 5G TechnoLab using 5G New Radio, in which the second set of global standards have been recently ratified.

Parent company PLDT has committed historic levels of resources for network transformation. For 2018, PLDT capex is expected to reach P58 billion, which includes allocations for the aggressive roll-out of its fiber broadband service, which also supports the stepped-up deployment of the mobile network by providing high-capacity links for cellular base stations.

Sabrina Carpenter Teams Up with Shanti Dope in "Almost Love"

American singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter has teamed up with Philippines' very own new generation rapper-songwriter, Shanti Dope. "Almost Love" by Sabrina Carpenter featuring Shanti Dope is now available in all digital and streaming providersHERE. Exclusively distributed in the Philippines by MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines) through Hollywood Records. 

Adding to the Asian flavor of Sabrina Carpenter's latest single, "Almost Love," is a unique collaboration with 17-year old, Sean Patrick Ramos aka Shanti Dope. “Almost Love” is the first single off Sabrina’s highly-anticipated third studio album Singular, coming later this year. Produced by Stargate, Sabrina Carpenter co-wrote “Almost Love” alongside Mikkel Eriksen, Nate Campany, and Steph Jones. Providing a fresh take on the single, Filipino rap genius Shanti Dope not only features on the track but also composed the rap verses in a truly 'Tatak Pinoy' style.

“It’s falling for someone and knowing that you’re inches away from love. It either has a happy ending, or no ending at all,” Sabrina tells Inquirer Super in a recent interview with Philippine Daily Inquirer. “It was very easy to write because in these young years of our lives they always say you lose people along the way, sometimes for no reason other than they were meant to teach you a lesson, and some of those are definitely ‘almost lovers,’” she adds.

Moreover, Sabrina Carpenter is set to take the spotlight this August for a series of tours in the Philippines to promote her brand new single, “Almost Love.” The 19-year-old American singer-songwriter and Disney Teen Star is behind the international chart-topping singles, “Why,” “Thumbs,” and most recently, Billboard Dance Club’s No. 1 Song “Alien” featuring multi-platinum selling UK DJ/Producer/Songwriter, Jonas Blue. 

Catch Sabrina Carpenter as she performs her pop hits Live and Acoustic at the following venues:

• Uptown Bonifacio Mall – August 24, 2018 (Friday) at 7:00PM
• Eastwood Mall Open Park – August 25, 2018 (Saturday) at 7:00PM
• Venice Grand Canal – August 26, 2018 (Sunday) at 6:00PM

“Sabrina Carpenter: Live and Acoustic!” is presented by MCA MUSIC (Universal Music Philippines) and Megaworld Lifestyle Malls.

Download/Stream “Almost Love” now via Apple Music, Spotify, iTunes, Spinnr or Deezer:

“Almost Love” by Sabrina Carpenter - https://lnk.to/AlmostLove

“Almost Love” by Sabrina Carpenter feat. Shanti Dope: https://MCAMusic.lnk.to/AlmostLove_SCxSD

Purchase the Limited Edition Fanzine, which includes a Download Code of Sabrina Carpenter’s singles, at the Astroplus/Astrovision selling booth during the showcase dates and get access to the “Sabrina Carpenter: Live and Acoustic” event. More details on the Show Access/Fanzine Signing/Meet & Greet mechanics to be announced soon on MCA MUSIC (Universal Music Philippines).