(Photo source: Instagram)
For now, at least, sensational “boy band” TNT Boys is at the top of their game. But is it all downhill from here? That depends on what else is on offer following a successful run singing other people’s songs.
Most truly successful global phenomenons are original acts. At some point, the “boys” will have to come up with their own material to truly make waves of the tidal nature. This involves something that the Philippines’ performing arts industry has long struggled with. While there are a lot of copycat singing and dance groups, very few make it to the rarefied heights of elite global creative talent.
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The clock may also be ticking for the awesome vocal range of these young boys. The ravages of puberty are just around the corner for Francis Concepcion (12), Mackie Empuerto (13) and Kiefer Sanchez (14). Will both range and quality survive the hormonal attack? It is likely that the owners of the franchise, the Philippines’ mighty ABS-CBN media empire, will need to work hard to squeeze every dollar out of their investment during their most productive years.
The challenge of managers of TNT Boys and other manufactured acts like them, for that matter, is to steer them off that all-too-familiar trajectory of eventual self-destruction often seen in young performers who’ve had a taste of fame at such tender ages. Get Real Post writer Zaxx some time back cited the case of erstwhile Filipino global performer Charice Pempengco (a.k.a. Jake Zyrus) who went on to follow a poignant career template…
There is just something with Pinoys that gets them into this all too familiar trajectory. Upon reaching what could have been the pinnacle, they suddenly push a self-destruct button and go spiraling down into the open sea. It’s like the shock of watching the Challenger space shuttle explode in a great ball of fire. Why do many Pinoys have to throw away such promising potential?
Charice Pempengco at the height of her fame before it all went pear-shaped.
In the report The Life of a Child Star: Why Some Go Crazy and Other’s Don’t, the chilling risks young stars face almost fits to a tee the profile of up-and-coming acts like TNT Boys.
A big reason why child stars break down is because they get used to all the attention that comes with fame, and then suddenly lose it when they grow up. Being famous often inflates one’s ego, and children are no exception. They are complimented all the time and given gifts, and fans write to them and shout when they see them.
The question is, who accounts for the health, safety and well-being of these boys as they traverse the career equivalent of a tightrope stretched across two skyscrapers? Specially nowadays when mental health has gained the profile that it has, perhaps it is time that a bit more scrutiny is applied to high-pressure pursuits engaged in by such young an impressionable kids under the “management” of a cold multinational corporation such as ABS-CBN.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
Are they talented? yes, are they that good? maybe, do they match the quota for minorities in most Reality TV Programs in the West? I dunno, are they manufactured? definitely. If they’re just performing for only this competition, good on them but if they are forced into popularity and situations arises where they’re being taken advantage off or being exploited, definitely bad. Child entertainers in the Philippines mostly don’t go end up like Gary Coleman, MaCaulay Culkin or Michael Jackson, they were exploited and taken advantaged of at a young age.
We hope that these boys, will not become TNT (tago ng tago) in the U.S. Some Filipinos here in the U.S. , are really tago ng tago, for many years.
i wouldn’t mind at all should these boys’ voices transform themselves
from pre-pubescent tinny vocal range
to that of a full-bodied masculine tone
along the explosive reach of a JackJones, GinoVannelli or a MichaelBolton
but most of all
may they keep their feet firmly planted on the ground while reaching for the stars
completely unaffected by gained popularity
uncorrupted by the scourge of American-wrought culture of rampant homosexuality and drug abuse
in Jesus Christ’s Name !
Isn’t commodifying talent a form of corruption? Hence the self-destructive tendencies? They’re especially vulnerable at a young age. Surely they get the impression that they’re only as good as the cash they attract, or something to that effect.
Even Justin Beiber got his education by way of “home schooling”, but I wonder what this home schooling does if the student have no peers around him/her that will tell the truth about him/her, when all he/she hears only are all praises and adulation?
The point is, the parents or guardian of these boys have the responsibility of giving the education they need to prepare them to face the reality of life, an improvement of what they already have.
These are the statements that I will give to this trio…
Buried deep within you, beneath all the years of pain and anger, there is something that has never been nurtured: the potential to make yourself a better man. And that is what it is to be human. To make yourself more than you are. Oh, yes — I know you. There was a time you looked at the stars and dreamed of what might be.
Other Filipinos will latch on to them and hope that as being fans and supporters of these, they hope to gain praises and adulation for themselves. Similar to how they latch on to politicians.
When it comes to Charice Pempengco and other gender-turners, I think they are driven by a desire to make cognitive dissonance work. Something like the “impossible dream,” proving that if I was a girl before, I could be a boy if I want to, and that is proof of success in life. Probably that drives SJWs and other supporters of gender-fluidity. Even Bruce Jenner. I’m sure reality will bite them in the arse when they least expect it.
Interesting – how pride+testosterone could play a key role in bringing about the beginning of the end for these super-charged Trinitrotoluene boys, just as it did in the tragic demise of her majesty- erstwhile international singing sensation/superstar Charice.
Anyway that was a superb performance. Glad the posted video did not end with MI’s signature “this video will self-destruct in 5 sec”, which is a good sign.
With no assurances on when built-in obsolescence will kick in, we’ll all just have to … enjoy it while it lasts.