MANILA, Philippines - Suddenly, the Band Imago is all over the show biz landscape.

Just last year, its third album, ?Blush? (Universal Records), became a hit and has been certified gold?a rare feat in this age of piracy. The album contained a number of well-written songs.

The bouncy ?Taralets? was widely heard on radio, and was even adapted as a senatorial candidate?s jingle. The poetic ?Sundo? established Imago vocalist and main songwriter Aia de Leon as a major artist equally adept in the rock and pop idioms. It was incidentally the song KC Concepcion chose to sing on TV, after a celebrated return from her studies in France.

Another track from ?Blush,? the cryptic ?Walang Misteryo,? was sung by the Sex Bomb Dancers in one episode of the GMA 7 afternoon TV soap ?Daisy Siyete.?

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN?s early morning sign-on program ?Umagang Kay Ganda? has Imago performing its soundtrack theme.

The most recent proof of the band?s growing popularity is also being seen on TV: Imago as the new endorser of the fastfood restaurant Tokyo Tokyo. The company?s management reportedly expressed interest in the band after hearing ?Taralets??slightly reminiscent of Japanese pop tunes. Imago was commissioned to write a song and shoot a video for the food chain.

The song (?Let?s Go! Tokyo Tokyo!?) is made more memorable by video director Marie Jamora?s treatment that utilized lots of bright colors?a nod to Japanese youth fashion.

It is also included in a recently released repackaged edition of ?Blush,? along with a new track, ?Love Is in My Hair? (from Auraeus Solito?s film ?Pisay?) and a few covers.

The band couldn?t be happier since forming in 1998. Drummer Zach Lucero was only 19, and Aia, his girlfriend, was 18. Guitarist Tim Cacho and bassist Myrene Academia were Zach?s college schoolmate and co-DJ at NU 107, respectively.

Asked about the band?s newfound success in the pop mainstream, Zach said: ?We don?t consciously set out to write music with pop accessibility in mind. We do it the way we want it. Our roots are in rock, but if a song turns out to be pop, then, by all means that?s good.?