Warner Music Philippines’ rising stars Lola Amour and Arthur Miguel recently celebrated a new mark in their careers, basking in their humble beginnings as local artists last November 24, Thursday, at the label’s Media Showcase held at boutique theater Sine Pop in Quezon City.
Lola Amour
Recalling the jam-packed venues with fans screaming the words to their songs at the Fallen Tour Thanksgiving, the pop-rock-funk-band Lola Amour shared their unexpected success after “Fallen” exponentially increased streams on Spotify and became viral on social media platforms like TikTok a year after it was released back in 2021.
“It was really surprising to us to see that many people in the malls because before the pandemic di naman ganoon karami yung nakikinig samin (not that many people listen to us),” the band’s vocalist, Pio Dumayas said.
What started with 500,000 monthly listeners before “Fallen” went viral, has blown to 2 million listeners within just a few months. “Nagulat kami na bakit namin napupuno to [concert venues] when it’s our first time in these places (we were shocked as to why the venues were full when it was our first time in those places),” Pio added.
Lola Amour, who describes their music direction as “against the grain”, is also known for their other hits “Maybe Maybe” and “Pwede Ba”.
Guitarist Zoe Gonzales, a consistent mention for being the jester during the tour, unfortunately was not able to make it to the showcase due to conflicting schedules. The band shared stories about their lives outside Lola Amour.
Day Jobs
Other than their steady success as a band, what probably screams “dedication” and “passion” more is that despite the pressure of coming up with new songs and shows to attend, the five-man crew is actually climbing more than just the ladder of their musical career.
Angelo Mesina, who plays the trumpet, came to the venue in his scrubs– he is already in his 4th year in medical school. By day, Pio Dumayas is a video producer for a media outfit, bass player Raymond King runs their office merchandise family business, while David Yuhico who recently joined the band last year, is not only the man behind the keys for Lola Amour but also the sound effects of a video gaming company based in the United States.
However, when the hobby-gone-pro-band, who met way back in high school, was asked whether or not they’re ready to conquer the bigger stage, Raymond King gave a clear “yes” and said that enhancing their musical production is something they wish to accomplish in the future.
“If we were to perform in an arena or a bigger place that involves lights and other aspects of production, that’s something that I’m looking forward to and excited to collaborate on.” Dumayas told the press.
After “Fallen,” which peaked at No.15 on the Spotify Philippines charts and has garnered almost 25 million streams, “Dahan-Dahan” is also ready to conquer the same feat. Watch the official lyrics and music video of their latest single here:
Arthur Miguel
From covering songs, exploring his musical identity through his idols (and even parent’s Air Supply CD collection), to finally finding his tone that led him to his own success story, Arthur Miguel has now arrived. He now has 1.7 million monthly Spotify listeners and almost a million subscribers on his Youtube channel–everyday people who can relate to his authentic musicality.
Despite the lack of live shows due to the health and safety protocols implemented at the height of the pandemic, it did not stop the 22-year-old artist from writing his heart out until he found himself starting a new journey after signing with Warner Music Philippines last year.
“Dahil kay Kuya T.J. Monterde na shinare yung cover ko [of “Malay Mo Tayo”], dun na siya nag start na nakikita ko yung mga covers ko tumataas na yung views (After T.J. Monterde shared my cover, that’s when I started to see my videos gain more views), Miguel said.
The singer-songwriter also gave a special mention to two artists who inspired his direction and skills in writing compositions—Taylor Swift and Moira Dela Torre.
Following the success of his hits “Ang Wakas” and “Dito sa Ilalim ng Buwan”, Arthur Miguel finally released his debut album entitled “Pasahili” last October 26 which came with a star-studded music video trilogy highlighting his storytelling capacity as an artist.
“Arthur’s a storyteller, he does it through his music, and we wanted to illustrate that depth in the music videos as well,” said Dean Marcial, an award-winning director and co-founder of the Brooklyn-based company, Calavera, USA, which received various awards from SXSW, Sundance, and the Tribeca Film Festival.
At the showcase, Warner Music Philippines also premiered two of Arthur’s never-seen-before music videos for “Di Man” and “Pasahili” which was also directed by Dean Marcial, and was featured during the Warner Music Global Showcase that rarely had Filipino representatives in the past.
Also a major milestone in his career is the collaboration with international artist Pink Sweat$ for the track “I Feel Good”, along with other artists Patrickananda, Bunga, and Rahmania Astrini.
You can stream his covers and original hits through his official Youtube channel, Warner Music Philippines’, and other streaming platforms.
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