The P-pop wave continues to grow with seemingly successive debuts of girl and boy idol groups.
The challenge now is how to stand out from the pack where aesthetics, attitude and performance are the rules of the game.
Comparisons are inevitable, but for new girl group Calista, they said they weren’t here to compete with anyone but themselves.
It must still be said that the management of the group pulls out all the stops by officially presenting them via a concert at the Big Dome on April 26, when the live events return.
Calista is managed by Tyronne Escalante Artist Management (TEAM) and produced by Merlion Events Production, Inc.
The creation of the group began during the pandemic, in March 2021, where more than 100 girls were scouted and auditioned before the number was reduced to just six, with ages ranging from 17 to 21.
She is the lead dancer, lead vocal and sub-rapper, who before joining the girl group did commercials. Denise is the lead dancer and lead vocalist, who has previously competed in international dance competitions and appeared in a music video for P-pop leader SB19.
Laiza is the visual, main rapper and main dancer. She has done TV shows and movies. Dain is the lead vocalist, lead dancer, and eldest in the group. She used to perform at mall shows and do modeling.
Olive is the lead, visual and youngest voice at 17 years old. A former beauty queen, she was groomed to perform and do workshops before joining the girl group.
Anne is the leader, main rapper, lead vocals and lead dancer. She has been exposed to the show since she was a child. For a time, she was a figurehead for established artists.
Like other P-pop groups, they practiced for months — almost a year, to be exact — before releasing their debut single Race Car last month.
She said their training to date has consisted of “dance rehearsals, voice workshops, personality development, PR workshops and physical conditioning.”
Olive also shared that the lineup intensified as their first gig approached. They specify however that, being still students, the mornings are devoted to school while the afternoons are reserved for training.
They also live together, which has allowed them to develop a family-like relationship. Anne, the team leader, said, “Great kilala na namin ang isa’t isa. The chemistry in the choreography and the performances is really there.
It was the girls themselves who chose their name Calista. Olive said: “Calista in Greek means the most beautiful. Then ‘cali’ (also means) caliber is the level of your abilities. The word can also refer to a feature of a handgun, they said, but the literal meaning aside, they want their image as a girl group to be “fierce, strong and at the same time feminine.” “.
It also set the tone for their debut song, Race Car, whose sleek music video features helicopters and sports cars. The MV was filmed over the span of three days at the Asian Aerospace aircraft hangar in the NAIA complex, Pasay; the rooftop bar at the I’M Antidote hotel in Makati City; and the Clark International Speedway in Mabalacat, Pampanga.
According to the girls, aside from the song signifying that the group has finally “started the engine” and is ready to go after a long wait, Race Car’s message “is all about their drive and courage” for go after what they want and reach the top.
Said Olive, “We can also compare it to life lessons in parang running and when you run you really want to win and reach the finish line. Same thing in life, na it doesn’t matter if you fail, you don’t stop there.
Laiza added: “With racing, there is a finish line. And for us, that finish line is our goal to be recognized by more people… not just locally but also internationally.
The first stop is their first concert, Vax to Normal, on April 26 at 6 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. Airing on TV5, it will also feature guest performances from Yeng Constantino, AC Bonifacio, Elmo Magalona, Andrea Brillantes, Darren Espanto and Ken San Jose. The concert is produced by Merlion Events Production, Inc. and conducted by Nico Faustino. Soc Mina is the musical director and Douglas Nierras is the choreographer.
Ahead of headlining Vax to Normal, Calista is on the roster of bands at the two-day PPOP convention, billed as the “ultimate gathering of P-pop fans,” at the New Frontier Theater and at the Araneta Coliseum from April 9 to ten.
Meanwhile, the members of Calista have described their music – from Race Car, which is written by Marcus Davis, to their upcoming releases – as having the “vibrant modern sound” and they “stick to that (for the record). ‘moment) but we’re very open to other sounds in the future. And we want versatility with our music.
They also expressed hopes of one day collaborating with artists outside of the P-pop sphere like Sarah Geronimo, Moira dela Torre, Morrissette Amon, Maja Salvador, and Gloc-9.
“We’ve been training for almost a year now,” Anne said. “So we are very excited to finally be able to show yung mga pinaghirapan namin to the public for almost a year. It’s very overwhelming on our side (to be able to debut). »
The pressure is also strong, but more of themselves, and not of being compared or trying to compete with other P-pop groups that came before them, including their idols SB19.
“We love them. SB19 is already here so we really admire them, they are like our Kuyas in the industry. They are our inspiration, that’s why the management created the girl group Calista to be like them. is to be like them one day,” Anne said.
“We really don’t want to be compared to girl groups because we each have our own styles and concepts. Every P-pop group excels in this area. We are in a league of their own.
For Calista, P-pop is not only a musical genre or a movement, it is also an identity. “P-pop is made up of talented people or Filipinos who want to show off their talents. As a P-pop group, we want to show off our Pinoy pride, creativity and ingenuity,” Olive said.
“We share the same goal with other P-pop groups (which is) to entertain, inspire and motivate others through our music, choreography and connection,” Anne said.
If you want to know more about the band and its music, you can check out https://www.calistasocials.com/.
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