Boy groups with a difference - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby A. Gil

An unfortunate incident marred the recent promo tour of Asia by the boy group a1. Four teen-aged girls were crushed to death in Taman Anggrek, a shopping mall in Jakarta, Indonesia when some 1500 fans panicked while they were trying to get close to the British boy band. The stampede occurred when the crowd tried to escape the crush by rushing to the exits. Aside from the fatalities, two other girls were injured. The group promptly cancelled the remainder of their tour.

The same thing nearly happened here in the Philippines when a1 was forced to cancel an appearance at one of the leading record shops because about 20,000 fans showed up when the organizers were prepared for only 1000. That decision surely saved the lives of many and I dread to think of what could have happened had somebody been careless enough to try to accommodate and control that crowd.

Danger always lurks during such situations but that is not reason enough for teen-aged girls to stop idolizing boy bands. Here are two new additions to the list. Both aver that though they have now joined the ever-growing ranks of boy groups all over the world, they are in truth different from the others and have something new to offer the public.

Five talented young men make up Plus One. These are Nathan Walters, Nate Cole, Gabe Combs, Jeremy Mhire, who is part-Filipino, and Jason Perry and they have the best endorser that other artists can only dream of. David Foster, producer of mega-sellers for Whitney Houston, Celine Dion and other top stars leads a line-up of industry veterans who helped put together the group’s debut recording titled The Promise.

The name of the group denotes the way they make a difference. Plus One to these guys means "Plus God". They want to have the Lord with them in everything they do and they want to affect people’s lives in a positive way. This is why although the boys’ music has the usual bits of pop and R&B and lush harmonies, the songs they sing have a strong message of faith that is doubtless due to the Presence of the sixth Member.

Check out these songs in the album for the inspirational messages. I Will Rescue You, Written on My Heart, Soul Tattoo, When Your Spirit Gets Weak, Run To You, My Life, Be, My Friend, God is in His Place and the title track, The Promise. Now if you are still looking for that stuff about love and whatever it is that young men yearn for, there is the lovely ballad, Last Flight Out.

SonByFour is a Latin boy group from Puerto Rico but it is nothing at all like the Menudo of the ’80s. Members Angel, Georgie, Pedro and Javi are no toothy, wide-eyed teeny-boppers. They are men, Latin men and they sing with all the soul and the passion we have always associated with those dark and handsome males from Europe and South America.

They also know their way around their music. The arrangements of the songs in their first album Purest of Pain, mixed their native salsa and other Latin rhythms with pop sounds like R&B, hip hop and dance. The whole package is unmistakably Latin but of a different, very contemporary and universal style that is teasingly flirtatious. Check out the way they use those castanets.

The singing is definitely first rate but without the lush innocence usually heard from boy bands. Think Ricky Martin or better yet Mark Anthony times four and you will have an idea as to what SonByFour sounds like. Best of the batch is the soulful ballad Purest of Pain, which is featured twice in the album. These are the English version that was released here as the single and the original Spanish titled A Puro Dolor.

Another notable cut is the gorgeous remake of You Are So Beautiful. This was the song composed by Billy Preston way back in the ’60s and which was popularized by rock star Joe Cocker. SonByFour puts out a different but also beautiful rendition.

The other songs included are All I Ever Wanted, Two to Tango, Miss Me So Bad, Purest of Pain, Sofia, Hard to Say, Vida Mia (You’re My Life), Where Did Our Love Go, Can Someone Tell Me, Cuando Seas Mia and With You.

Plus One provides a good excuse for fans to indulge their boy band fancies even during this season of Lent but save SonByFour for the less solemn times.