All posts by Pol Pinoy

FOREIGN CONCERT ARTISTS UNITE TO BOYCOTT THE PHILIPPINES

July 23, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

LOS ANGELES, California (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Foreign concert artists continue to run afoul of the Philippines’ strict moral and other standards, and they are uniting to skip the country for their world music tours.

In 2012, a Lady Gaga Manila concert attracted widespread protest due to supposedly anti-Christian lyrics in one of the singer’s hits. And earlier this year, two members of One Direction paid bonds of roughly $4,500 before their performance in Manila, due to their casual admission of marijuana use in a video released last year.

This week, Grammy Award winner Chris Brown was barred from leaving the country after a one-day concert in Manila because of fraud charges brought against him by an influential church group. The charges stemmed from the singer’s non-appearance at a New Year’s Eve concert at the Philippine Arena, owned by the Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ).

Earlier today, Madonna, who had just announced she has chosen the Philippines as the only country in Asia that would be included in her Rebel Heart Tour, said she decided to cancel her February 2016 concert at the Mall of Asia in Manila, in solidarity with Brown.

The boycott could either deprive Filipinos of the chance to see their favorite international artists, or possibly enhance the careers of local singers and performers. After all, Filipino artists are among the best in the world.

International, Travel

SINGER CHRIS BROWN ESCAPES FROM MANILA, IS NOW SAFE AND SOUND IN HONG KONG

July 23, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

A jumbo jet's wheel well — A jumbo jet’s wheel well

HONG KONG (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Grammy Award winner Chris Brown has eluded immigration authorities in the Philippines and is now safe and sound in Hong Kong.

Brown was in Manila for a one-day concert on Tuesday and was prevented from leaving the country because of fraud charges brought against him and his promoter in connection with a New Year’s Eve concert last year. The singer failed to show up for the scheduled gig at the Philippine Arena, even after being paid $1 Million in advance.

Hong Kong authorities said that Brown arrived holed up in the wheel well of a China Airlines jumbo jet. That he survived the two-hour flight from Manila below freezing cold weather at oxygen-depleted heights without dying or falling out of the wheel well was in itself, a miracle, the authorities said.

However, this is not the first time a person has attempted to do this.

In 2014, a 16-year-old boy survived a five-hour flight from California to Hawaii after he sneaked into the wheel well of a Hawaiian Airlines plane.

Eyewitnesses said that early this morning, Brown asked immigration officers if he could step outside the airport terminal where he was being held in order to smoke a cigarette. Just like most airports, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport is a smoke-free facility. The officers led him into the tarmac, where he suddenly disappeared.

It was not until Philippine authorities received word from Hong Kong that they had realized what happened.

The immigration officers assigned to watch over Brown have been put on administrative leave pending investigation of the great escape.

International, Music, Travel

IN AFTERMATH OF CHRIS BROWN’S DEPARTURE HOLD IN MANILA, MADONNA CANCELS PHILIPPINE CONCERT

July 23, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Just days after she announced she was holding a one-day-only concert in Manila in February next year, Madonna said she was cancelling the Philippine leg of her Rebel Heart tour.

The shocking announcement came on the heels of the departure hold order for American Chris Brown, who was in Manila for a one-day concert this week. Brown’s departure was stopped by Philippine immigration authorities in connection with a complaint filed against the him for allegedly defrauding a concert promoter earlier this year. Brown failed to show up for a scheduled New Year’s eve concert at the Philippine Arena after being paid $1 Million in advance.

Madonna sympathized with Brown and said that what happened to the singer is an insult to the freedom and integrity of international performers. She said she was afraid that the same thing might happen to her when she visits Manila for the first time next year.

Madonna fans were extremely distraught over the news as they were preparing to purchase their tickets which go on sale on July 26. Ticket prices ranged from P3,150 to P57,750 ($71 to $1,312).