MANILA, Philippines?For the 15th NU 107 Rock Awards, Inquirer Entertainment was represented in the panel of judges by music writer/critic Pocholo Concepcion. The awards will be given out Thursday night at Silver City, Frontera Verde, Pasig.
Concepcion is predicting victory for at least two bands: Urbandub and Out of Body Special.
According to Cris Hermosisima, NU network operations head, this is the first time that a band from Cebu, Urbandub, has been nominated in 10 categories including Artist of the Year, Song of the Year (?Evidence?) and Album of the Year (?Under Southern Lights?). Five years ago, the group won Song of the Year honors with ?Soul Searching.?
Concepcion finds Out of Body Special ... well, special. He explains: ?It is not strictly a rock band, with R&B, hiphop and jazz comprising its multiple influences. Whether or not NU gave OBS precious airplay on account of its prestigious appearance in Time magazine in 2007, one thing is clear: The station has widened its support, not only of local acts, but of contemporary rock?s diverging styles.?
Speaking of firsts ? at least four of the Best New Artist nominees are in the running in several categories. Out of Body Special has six nods, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (?Is Love?), Vocalist of the Year (Carlos Magno) and Bassist of the Year (Nio Avenido). Angulo earned four nods, including Artist of the Year and Song of the Year (?The Best Mistake?). Taken by Cars got three nominations, including Album of the Year (?Endings of a New Kind?). Reklamo is also vying for honors in three categories, including Guitarist of the Year (LC de Leon).
NU honcho Atom Henares declares with obvious pride: ?At 21 years old, we?re the only station that hasn?t changed formats.?
