It was a typical Tuesday work/school night, but that didn’t stop the most avid fans of rock sensation juan karlos, rising P-Pop stars BINI, hit hip-hop act PLAYERTWO, and folk pop ensemble Sugarcane from beating the December rush to have a good time with their ults. Here’s a recap of the Backstage Pass Live gig by Rakuten Viber.
The invite-only gig at Baked Studios had an intimate vibe where the artists and a small crowd of lucky fans could instantly connect. Think handshakes, high fives, fist bumps, and of course, all the sing-alongs! The show served as a celebration of all their interactions on Backstage Pass Channel, the messaging app’s popular music channel that gives fans a virtual backstage experience through exclusive content and updates directly from their faves on their Rakuten Viber chat. How fun is the Backstage Pass Channel? juan karlos, BINI, PLAYERTWO, and Sugarcane revealed some of their favorite moments:
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juan karlos and his millions of jowa. The Ere singer praised Rakuten Viber for understanding the value of the superfans. “As an artist, it’s great to be able to reach out to people with the Backstage Pass Channel and even perform with other artists during the live gig,” said juan karlos. “Parang siyang jowa actually, kasi bawat galaw ko ina-update ko talaga ‘yung fans, even literally what I was doing backstage during shows. It’s nice because it was a safe, intimate setting and that’s the kind of environment artists love.”
Blooms “mentoring” BINI. BINI knows that all eyes are on them, scrutinizing their every move—and apparently, even their fans, also known as Blooms, aren’t afraid to call them out! “Sulit po yung Backstage Pass experience kasi open talaga yung relationship namin sa Blooms,” explained BINI member Maloi. “Blooms were able to talk to us openly and even tell us if we’ve made any mistakes when performing. Na-appreciate namin ‘yun since sila talaga nag-aangat sa amin.”
PLAYERTWO and the ulam roll call. For a new group like PLAYERTWO, their time on Backstage Pass was a chance to introduce themselves in a personal way. “A lot of our fans didn’t even know we were Filipino at first,” quipped PLAYERTWO rapper-producer Wave P. “We enjoyed how they were able to send super simple questions like ‘Ano ulam n’yo?’ to the channel and just have a chill interaction off that.”
Sugarcane finding a family with Sugarfolks. The Leonora hitmaker understands that an up-and-coming band who got their big and unexpected break this year needs all the support they can get to pursue their dreams. “It’s thanks to Backstage Pass that we really felt we got a better relationship with our fans, to the point na halos naging family na rin,” shared Sugarcane keyboardist Luis Beato.
“We knew artists could already interact with fans through social media, but it could also be difficult to manage. We created a secure, healthy environment for artists on the come up to have conversations with their fans and translate those digital interactions into real life experiences,” shared David Tse, the Senior Director for APAC at Rakuten Viber, adding that the success of Backstage Pass is part of their superapp offerings.
To elevate the overall Backstage Pass experience, Rakuten Viber launched the Backstage Pass Chatbot where fans can join exclusive promos and contests for event tickets, buy exclusive merch, and enjoy more surprises from their favorite artists. “Music is an effective tool to reach people. If we do this right and successfully promote up-and-coming artists locally, we might even soon be able to help promote them on a global stage. There’s a lot to look forward to in 2024,” Tse added.
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