When a door closes, a window opens. This is true especially for Angeli Mae Flores, who found herself going through several nods and let downs before finally landing as one of the members of the first Pan-Asian girl group in the world—Blush.
After a six weeks of extensive trainings and rigorous performances, Angeli emerged victorious as one of the ten finalist out of the 3,500 who auditioned for Project Lotus, an Asian Talent search held in Hong Kong last year.
During the competition, Angeli performed the song Walk On By with four other contenders from India, Korea, China, and Japan. They went against another group who performed Kiss. Among the noted judges who deliberated on their performances were Lea Salonga, Karen Wok, and Jonathan Wang. Chosen for their vocal prowess, charisma, dancing ability, and overall stage presence, the ten finalist were narrowed down to the final five: Angeli, Victoria Chan from China, Natsuko Danjo from Japan, Lee Ji-Hae from South Korea, and Alisha Budrhani from India. The five girls were later on proclaimed as the group Blush by their managers.
Angeli is set to conquer the international stage with the rest of the girls of Blush and prove why they deserve to be in the limelight. In a report from The Star, Angeli was proud to say that Blush’s music is a reflection of where each member came from; stressing on their “different influences,” such as Japan’s hiphop, Korea’s electro-pop, India’s chant, and China and the Philippines’ ballad, as the thing that sets them apart from other groups.
Asked of her experience while working with girls from a completely different background, 22-year old Angeli admitted that it was hard conversing with the rest of the girls during their first weeks of being together because of the “language barrier.” Despite their cultural differences, Angeli shared that she learned how to adjust by getting to know the girls better.
Showing true star potential at the tender age of 14, Angeli joined several singing contests on Philippine television such as Star for A Night (where she competed with co-finalists Sarah Geronimo and Mark Bautista). At 18, she tried her luck on Pinoy Idol, the Philippine counterpart of American Idol, where she made it to the top 11. Although she did not make it to the final cut of these talent search shows, the disappointments did not deter Angeli to chase her dreams and pursue a career in the music industry. Determined to reach her dream of becoming a successful singer, Angeli decided to send a video demo via Facebook for Project Lotus, which eventually became her ticket to success.
Project Lotus was spearheaded by FarWest Entertainment Chairman and CEO, Jon Niermann—also the former President of Walt Disney Asia Pacific and the host of the Asia-based talk show, Asia Uncut. Niermann was also joined by Eliot Kennedy, a Grammy-winning songwriter and music producer who has worked with big stars like Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Spice Girls, and Robbie Williams, among others.
With hopes of Blush becoming the first ever Asian girl group to make it big all over the world, especially in the US, Jon said in a press conference that Blush is a girl group like no other. According to him, each girl from Blush sings without the help of auto-tune or any sound-enhancing technology. The group also does not have a specific leader which gives an opportunity for each member to have their own moment to shine. Audience can also find it easy to relate to Blush as they are primarily an English-singing group, targeting the universal market of women of all ages.
Jon’s wife and Blush’s manager, Stacey Niermann, said in a press conference in Makati City last April 6 that she is confident that Blush would go far in their career; for they made sure that they only picked the best of the best.
“They are world-class and of course, the Philippines specifically. We knew that this country would give us the most talented singers of all the countries we’re going to. Angeli’s voice is unbelievable, as all the other girls are as well. Each brought their own personality and individual talent to the group. We wouldn’t be taking them to the world if they’re not world-class.”
Currently bound for Los Angeles, Blush is set to promote their first single, Undivided, which is led by the powerful voice of Angeli. The song was produced by Darrel Brown (producer for Bon Jovi) and Steve Schnur (producer of over 150 soundtrack albums including songs of Florence + Machine and Busta Rhymes). It also features the famous rapper and producer, Snoop Dogg. Listeners are sure to hear tracks of good quality when it comes to Blush for behind their songs are other certified hit songwriters and producers which include Tal Herzberg (The Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga), Electronic music expert, Wolverine (Britney Spears), Morgan Page (Katy Perry, Deadmau5, Madonna), and a lot more.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(SF July 8-14, 2011 SomethingFilipino pg. 2)
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