Bamboo Mañalac

Filipino rock icon Bamboo Mañalac was born as Francisco Gaudencio Lope Belardo Mañalac. He is a son of a political legend in Mindanao and comes from an influential Muslim family. He grew up with his mother staying mostly at their home in the northern part of the Philippines.

Born in San Francisco, California on January 19, 1978, Bamboo broke the silence of the Philippine music scene as he became the frontman of the band Rivermary which is composed of Perfecto de Castro on guitars, Mark Escueta on drums, Nathan Azarcon on bass guitar, and Rico Blanco on keyboards and backing vocals. The band was conceptualized by Lizza Nakpil and the award winning Philippine film director Chito Roño. Rivermaya started to hit charts with their self-composed songs “Ulan”, “214”, and “Awit ng Kabataan”. Despite the fame they are into, in 1998, after three successful albums and series of US and Canada concert tours, Bamboo decided to leave the band and stayed at United States to continue his studies.

After the departure of Bamboo, his Rivermaya bandmate Nathan Azarcon also decided to leave the group and joined the band Kapatid. While Bamboo was still in the US, he began to talk to Nathan about the possibility of forming a new band. With Bamboo, Nathan, Ira Cruz, and his friend, Vic Mercado as the members of the band, they debuted in late 2002. “Bamboo” which became the name of the band, was decided for its strength and durability and also to have Filipino feel in it.

Being one of the Philippines’ best music icons, Bamboo being on the band “Bamboo” got nominated and won different music awards. He won Vocalist of the Year at 13th NU Rock Awards (2004-2005) and SOP Pasiklaban (2006). Everyone thought Bamboo band will stand firm until the end but a shocking revelation from KC Montero in his Twitter account last January 10, 2011 leave the fans puzzled as he stated that the band decided to have it quits.

On January 11, 2011, just a day after the rumor of calling it quits, Bamboo published an official statement in the band’s official website. He said, “As a group we’ve come to a point where you have to trust your gut, your heart and your head and accept that all things change. The hardest part as always is to know when to pack it up and part ways. We’ve learned that this journey is not only about us but includes all who came along for the trip. Family, friends and of course our front row believers who were there for the best reason of all. To simply listen. So it didn’t come easy winding down to this decision. So here we go. IT’S OFFICIAL. THE BAND. IT’S OVER.”

Bamboo, after having failures as a member of a band, decided to have a solo career. He released his debut album “No Water, No Moon” consisting of 12 tracks with “Questions” as its career single. The album reached gold in February 2013 after selling more than 7,500 copies.

Projects come in hand as he was also casted on ASAP last February 2013 and confirmed as coach and judge in The Voice of the Philippines and The Voice Kids which is currently airing at ABS-CBN during weekends.

Watch video of interesting Facts about Bamboo.

Madonna

Madonna Louise Ciccone, popularly known as Madonna was born on August 1958 in Bay City, Michigan and moved to New York in the late 1970’s in the pursuit of a career in modern dance. Nothing seems to be stopping her and her performance, even now at her late 50’s. The 1980’s was the decade Madonna’s career bloomed. She was first in pop/dance music groups called the Breakfast Club and Emmy. She had her demo tapes passed to Sire Records (a Warner Bros. Records Affiliate) in1982, and was later on signed by the label, releasing a self-titled album in the next year. Her next albums then became commercially successful, with both the albums “Ray of Light” in 1998 and “Confessions on a Dance Floor” in 2005 earning Grammy Awards. She has sold more than 300 million records worldwide.

Both a singer-songwriter and entrepreneur, her songs “Like a Virgin”, “Into the Groove”, “Papa Don’t Preach”, “Like a Prayer”, “Vogue” and “Frozen”, among many others, she wrote and produced herself. She found the entertainment company Maverick, including the label Maverick Records in 1992 with Time Warner as a joint venture. She also signed a $120 US million dollar 360 deal with Live Nation in 2007.

Sometimes referred to as the Queen of Pop, she was regarded as one of the most prominent cultural icons in the pop culture industry for decades. She has gained popularity for always changing her music and image, almost always pushing the boundaries on both, gaining praise on her diversity and innovation with her productions even bagging the “Best-selling Female Recording Artist of All time” title by the Guinness World Records. She was also dubbed the “Best-selling Female Rock Artist of the 20th Century” and she second “Best-Selling Female Artist in the United States” by the Recording Association of America. Only falling behind The Beatles, Billboard put her in the 2nd top spot on the “Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists” and also declared her the “Top-Touring Female Artist of All Time”. She is one of the founding members of the UK Music Hall of Fame and was included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during her first year. She has also ventured into the movie industry, starting off with 2 low-budget films, “A Certain Sacrifice” and “Vision Quest” in 1985, but her acting career was bombarded with criticisms and low box-office worth. Her most notable screen roles would be in “Desperately Seeking Susan” in 1985 and “Evita” in 1996, for which she won a Golden Globe Award for “Best Actress in Motion Picture Musical or Comedy”. Because of all this, she was also chosen as one of the “25 Most Powerful Women of the Past Century” by Time.