Last season on the Netflix series, Bling Empire viewers saw Dorothy Wang make the move to New York City in search for love. Bling Empire: New York follows another group of wealthy, socialite, and hilarious Asian-American from the Big Apple where real estates is based on address.
The empire expands and is ready for your viewing. This season, there's more parties, fun, and new faces. One of the episodes you'll want to catch is Episode 9 where a Filipino-inspired party is attended by Kane Lim and friends. A familiar face you might recognize is Filipina artist, vlogger, and influencer Heart Evangelista.
Her cameo on the show was first confirmed by Lim himself, "Philippines, you asked for it, you got it! Guess who will be [in] ’Bling Empire’ [season 3]. Tune in tonight!” he earlier said."
The series is produced by Jeff Jenkins Productions with Jenkins, Russell Jay-Staglik, Elise Chung, Lenid Rolov, Ross Weintraub, and Reinout Oerlemans exec producing.
Cover Photo Credit: Heart Evangelista Instagram
If you caught the latest episode of Monarch, then you saw the duet between Ace and Ana played by Inigo Pascual and Emma Milani. They sang an acoustic version of Harry Style's hit, "Watermelon Sugar." The full video isn't out yet, but the Monarch social channels have released a snippet that will leave fans wanting more.
Catch Inigo on the guitar and vocals while we see how well their voices mesh together. We can't wait to see how their characters' relationship grows throughout the season and hope this is the first of many duets.
Cover Photo Credit: Emma Milani Instagram
This women-empowering track, "1Nightwitu" by Singaporean-Filipina Ysa Yaneza is ready to take the music scene by storm. The track is an island-tinged, dance-pop track that celebrates women empowerment and encourages young ladies from varying cultures and upbringing to embrace their sexuality and value their self-worth. It's also the lead single from her upcoming self-titled EP, YSA.
A music video was also released at the same time with the song's premiere, which was shot by filmmaker Jaig D. Guzman. Shot in Metro Manila, the visuals showcased the singer having the time of her life with friends and some she met in a club. “For this music video, I was drawn to earthy tones, giving those late Y2K vibes,” says the indie pop star. “What the director brought was kind of a modern twist to all of these nostalgic inspo that I had. I wanted the music video to really convey female empowerment.”
Co-written and produced with LA-based artist, Shubu and arranged with Stuart Hawkes helped give the track a fuller, more intricate musical direction. They'll be more music coming soon leading up to the release of the EP so stay tuned!
Cover Photo Credit: NYOU
Promoting the premiere of his new Syfy series, Reginald the Vampire, Jacob Batalon joins the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to talk about the show, living in New York, and rooming with Tom Holland.
The Spider-Man: Homecoming actor reminisces on his early acting days at drama school and walking the streets of New York with friends. Jacob shared he used to walk around Manhattan hoping one day to be on a show like The Tonight Show and now here's here. Jimmy Fallon calls him family and says only good things coming the young actor's way.
While sharing a snippet of his new series, Jimmy asked how his journey has been so far and how he's dealing with being in box-office breaking films. Jacob shared how the Spider-Man cast like Tom Holland and Zendaya are now family as they started the journey together so young. He was even roommates with the web-slinger himself for the first film. We're so excited to see the series and what else is in store for Jacob!
Cover Photo Credit: Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon Twitter
What a dope way to start Filipino American History Month! Miss Texas representative R'Bonney Gabriel was crowned Miss USA 2022 last night (Oct. 3) at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, NV. The 28-year-old trailblazer is the latest Filipino American titleholder to win the pageant and represent the USA in the annual Miss Universe extraordinaire.
"Oh my God, it's an honor," Gabriel shared with Houston Life. "I'm getting messages on Instagram and just social media of Filipina girls and women telling me they're so excited, they're so happy." "They're crying tears of joy because they are inspired to go after pageantry or something," the model added. "Like I'm paving the way for them to just go after whatever they want no matter what it is. So it's an honor."
Gabriel, who is a well-recognized fashion designer, drew inspiration from her parent's multi-cultural background when creating her Miss USA interview outfit. “I designed this to pay tribute to my parents,” she posted on Instagram. "My mom is from Beaumont, TX and my father is from the Philippines. They got married in Manila Philippines. I hand-painted the same flower design from my mother's wedding dress onto my sleeves and tied it in a traditional Maria Clara Filipina collar shape. I have immense gratitude for the opportunities [sic] my parents provided me and wanted to express my love to them through this.” Best of luck, R'Bonney Gabriel!
Photo Courtesy of R'Bonney Gabriel's Instagram
P-Pop girl group KAIA heads in a new R&B-leaning direction with their new single "Dalawa," released under Sony Music Entertainment. Bringing in the 2000s-eque R&B melodies and wmsical beats, "Dalawa" embraces adventure with effortless vocals.
Standing out in sublime contrast with their previous releases, the five-member act’s smooth jam alludes to the idea of expressing infatuation in the most reassuring, youthful way. Written and produced by Jayson Franz, he brings a mellow and groovy style to the group's style. “Dalawa" is a song that tells a story familiar to many: catching unrequited feelings for someone close to you,” described by the pop group.
While it veers away from the upbeat, dance-pop tunes that we’ve been dishing out since our debut, this particular material sticks to our strengths as a girl group.
KAIA
The group was heavily involved in the demo recording, voicing their inputs on vocal arrangements and style of the song. “I wanted a different approach for KAIA this time around, but I made sure to take into consideration their individual and collective personalities,” shares Franz. They leaned more towards the Y2K R&B trend by adding string instruments and other sonic elements to the arrangement.
There was one moment during recording that made everyone excited for the song. “One of the memorable moments during the recording of the track was the first run of every member of KAIA,” adds Franz. “It was that moment when everyone knew that the song was really made for them. Each one of them has an own personality or taste in terms of the delivery of their lines.”
Listen now on all streaming platforms!
Cover Photo Credit: Sony Music PH
88rising, the pioneering and internationally-renowned music and media company amplifying Asian talent and culture, and Live MNL announced the 2022 Head In The Clouds Music & Arts Festival lineup in Manila. From December 9th through 10th, one of the biggest events of the year is taking place at SM Festival Grounds Parañaque City. Grab your tickets starting Wednesday, October 5th at 10am Manila time. 2-day GA passes are priced at Php 12,888 and 2-day VIP passes are Php 15,888.
So if you're wondering who's coming to Manila as part of the HITC lineup, you'll see a few of your favorites from headliners Joji, Jackson Wang, NIKI, Rich Brian, eaJ, and YOASOBI to also live performances from BIBI, MANILA GREY, Warren Hue, Ylona
Garcia, GUAPDAD 4000, ATARASHII GAKKO!, MILLI, Zack Tabudlo and many more. If that wasn't enough, check out special guest Grammy-winning hitmaker and electronic producer ZEDD.
I’m so glad 88rising is bringing the Head In The Clouds Festival to the Philippines and I’m incredibly grateful to be part of it! It’s been a while since I’ve seen my fans back home. Can’t wait to see each and every one of them!
YLONA GARCIA
Last month, Head In The Clouds hosted 70,000 people over two days at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in its fourth year in Los Angeles, California. 88rising earlier announced Head In The Clouds Music & Arts Festival will travel to Indonesia later this year, marking the debut of the festival in both Indonesia and the Philippines. “I am so excited to perform at the inaugural Head in the Clouds Manila. I missed y’all and it’s time to bring it to the Philippines,” says headliner Rich Brian.
Check out the full lineup below:
Joji
Jackson Wang
NIKI
Rich Brian
eaJ
YOASOBI
Adawa
Akini Jing
Atarashii Gakko!
BIBI
Elephante
GUAPDAD 4000
JinxZhou
MANILA GREY
MILLI
Spence Lee
Stephanie Poetri
Warren Hue
Ylona Garcia
Zack Tabudlo
Very Special Guest
ZEDD
It seems like Dave Bautista is everywhere in films and now he's signed up to star in a Drew Pearce action thriller film, Cooler. The film is the first project to come out of the recently announced first-look deal between Infrared and Bautista’s Dogbone Entertainment according to Deadline.
It follows a South Beach bouncer Ray Sagona, played by Bautista who looks to redeem himself and get his family back. Now, he's on a race against time as he has to find a stolen safe before law enforcement retrieve it first. Ray's past comes back to haunt him and he has to find a way to survive his present. "Ray must survive an epic 36-hour odyssey across Miami Beach to get that safe back… one final Herculean task on his journey towards absolution."
“Dave is one of the most soulful and talented collaborators I’ve been lucky enough to work with — the chance to build an iconic character with him and make the kind of long-dark-night-of-the-soul thriller that I’ve always loved, is too good to be true. The fact that we get to do it all in Miami, guided by the epic cultural knowledge of Drake and Future The Prince, is frankly a mindblower. And there’s nobody more perfect to be our partner than Infrared, whose creative ambitions aligned perfectly with what we want this movie to be,” said Pearce.
Catch Bautista in other projects set to also release soon from Glass Onion: Knives Out 2 and M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabi. Not only is he set for acting, next year Bautista will produce and star in the Netflix film Unleashed. He will also shoot the Dune sequel, Guardians of the Galaxy 3, and MGM Lethal Weapon -esque buddy cop comedy opposite Jason Momoa which originated from a tweet.
Cover Photo Credit: Dave Bautista Instagram
BINI’s comeback single is a powerful song that features a more fierce image from the P-Pop girl group. “Strings” has a message about overcoming challenges and the music video depicts band members Aiah, Stacey, Maloi, Jhoanna, Gwen, Colet, Sheena, and Mikha falling from symbolic strings, before transforming to reflect their grit and determination. Watch the “Strings” music video below.
The release of “Strings” coincides with BINI simultaneously dropping their sophomore album “Feel Good,” which has seven tracks including the pre-album single “I Feel Good.” Check out the album below!
Get ready to groove into the weekend with James Reid's new track, "u & i." His latest song shows off his new dance-pop sound he's been teasing. We can expect more new music as James is set to release an album soon!
While we wait for the album to drop, James blesses us also with a new video featuring model, Kelsey Merritt. The steamy music video shows the two contrasting personalities in this epic love story where opposites attract. The two have a night long adventure that includes a stretch limo, dancing, and colorful lights. We're definitely here for this new era of James.
To celebrate, James and his Careless Music team went live on the Careless Music Tiktok account to debut the track, tease his upcoming album, and answer a few fan questions.
Cover Photo Credit: Careless Music Instagram
Moira Dela Torre just made a special announcement on her YouTube page! The famed Filipino singer-songwriter revealed that she will be embarking on a world tour in 2023. No further information has been released yet, but details regarding ticketing and tour dates should be made available to the public soon.
Moira made the announcement at the end of her recently uploaded “Dito Ka Lang” performance, which features a live band in an intimate studio setting. The full production also features the lyrics translated in English for viewers who don’t understand Tagalog. Watch the full video and catch the announcement below!
Filipino-African American artist Larrenwong hit up the COLORS stage to deliver a soothing performance of “Mama”, his highlight single from his newly released EP ‘Songs That I Hate to Sing’. COLORSxSTUDIOS is a unique aesthetic music platform showcasing exceptional talent from around the globe. COLORS focuses on the most distinctive new artists and original sounds in an increasingly fragmented and saturated scene. All COLORS shows seek to provide a clear, minimalistic stage that shines a spotlight on the artists, giving them the opportunity to present their music without distraction.
Larrenwong also did an interview with COLORS that can be found on their official website. In the sit-down, the bicultural artist discusses his Bay Area upbringing, growing up in a Filipino and African-American household, his early musical influences, and more. Watch a snippet below and catch the full interview here.
Photo Courtesy of Larrenwong’s Instagram
