1. The 1975 – January 24 Coming to the Philippines the second time around due to high public demand, this indie rock band is the first leg of the 5/5 British Invasion Manila. The group consists of Matt Healy (vocals, guitar), Adam Hann (guitar), George Daniel (drums, backing vocals) and Ross MacDonald (bass). They just finished their tour last last week, and because of the love of the crowd, they said they would come back again once they finish their upcoming album. |
2. The Vamps – February 1 One of the bands who rose to fame by doing covers on Youtube, consisting of Brad Simpson (lead vocals and guitar), James McVey (lead guitar and vocals), Connor Ball (bass guitar and vocals) and Tristan Evans (drums and vocals). They are the second leg of the British Invasion. In fact, they just had their concert yesterday and even guessed in local TV shows and did a meet and greet. |

3. Ed Sheeran – March 12
The third act of five who has been part of the music industry since circa 2005 is finally coming to the Philippines for his second tour, the X tour. Sheeran's popularity abroad began in 2012 as his singles, “The A Team” and “Lego House” started to play on the radio and the former was nominated for the 2013 Grammy Awards. He also wrote (and is writing) songs for the fourth act—One Direction. I guess it's safe to say that everyone's excited to see Ed Sheeran in Manila since the tickets were sold out in just a few hours.
4. One Direction – March 21
The only act to perform on MoA grounds for TWO days, this boy band is finally coming to Manila after fans have waited for four years! One Direction, or shortened as 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band signed by Simon Cowell, completed by Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. The biggest known boy band rose to fame as they joined X-Factor individually and were grouped by Simon. Propelled to international success, they have a whopping amount of fans (known as Directioners) worldwide. To the Filipino Directioners out there, there is only 47 days left!
5. Sam Smith – May 10
The last leg of the British Invasion, Smith ends the 5/5. He rose to fame in 2012, when he was featured in Disclosure’s single, “Latch” which reached #11 on the UK Singles Chart—he later released an acoustic version of the single, a part of his album. The Philippines will be part of the In the Lonely Hour tour this year.
These are some of the biggest artists in the industry, and us Filipino fans are so lucky that all of these beautiful celebrities are gonna grace us with their presence let alone their talents. To the people who are going to 5/5, well, luck you! This is such a great way to spend the year, with great music and good looking guys.
- Jiona Lagmay and Kim Alivia