Their story began in the locker room

They are better looking than George W. Bush, who is the world’s lousiest war freak. They sing beautiful songs that talk about love, not war. George W. Bush is obsessed with war. C21, composed of David Pepke, Soren Bregendal and Esben Duus is a boy band whose music is a bigger contribution to the world than Bush’s desperate effort to save the eroding American world hegemony.

The C21 boys write most of their songs and play their instruments, which places them a notch higher than your usual boy band.

But is C21 a good boy band? Their debut single, Stuck in My Heart should be answer enough. It has captured the hearts of listeners worldwide.

Soren Bregendal, the group’s leader, explains his process of songwriting that allows him to compose winning songs such as Stuck in My Heart: "We are influenced by the style of radio music. We create pop sounds when we are at the most melodic end of our musical range – but we prefer to add a rockish edge to our music whenever we can."

Soren also has his own clear definition of which label, whether boyband or pop group, should be attributed to C21. He says, "We don’t really mind being associated with brilliant musicians such as ‘Nsync or Westlife. We are devoted to good melodies and have been given the opportunity to develop our own sound – just as we are involved in the writing and producing of our own music."

C21’s story began in the locker room of a football club which was where Soren was singing after a hectic game. The father of one of his teammates, Lars Quang, heard Soren sing and invited him to test his vocals in his recording studio. Soren brought his teammates Esben Duus to the recording and Quang at once recognized their potential. Soon, Soren and Esben met another talented singer, David Pepke and invited him to be part of the group.

Included in their self-titled debut album are Stuck in My Heart, Be With You Again, You Are The One, She Cries, Don’t Wanna Lose You, Cuts Deep Inside, Learning by Living, You Just Wait and See, Hanging on a String, Standing on the Edge, Deep Down, Could You Ever, Say It Again, Love Will Never Lie and an acoustic version of Stuck In My Heart, which incidentally is a big hit. Their second single, You Are The One is now in the top five of Star FM.

The Danish trio recently came to Manila and held a successful album showcase in Ratsky’s Tomas Morato. They also performed in SM Megamall and guested in The Buzz and MTB. Says Soren of their trip, "We’re enjoying Manila very much. The food, the people are great. In fact, when we were told that we were going to the Philippines, we immediately thought of the beautiful girls. And so far, we haven’t been disappointed yet!"

C21 the album is released by EMI Music Phils. and is available in CD and cassette formats. The C21 Manila promo tour was sponsored by Skechers USA, Ratsky Tomas Morato, Star FM, RRJ Rough Rider Jeans and Discovery Suites.

Regine’s US tour

Regine Velasquez continues to soar. The songbird is slated to perform in various cities in the US with Martin Nievera.

In their itinerary are concerts in Cow Palace in San Francisco on March 29 and at the UCLA Pauvley Pavillion in Los Angeles on April 5.

Regine is riding high on the success of earlier concerts in Hawaii, Chicago and San Diego. Regine and Martin performed in a jam-packed crowd at the Hawaii Convention Center and Cox Arena in California. Both sang their original hits much to the delight of the Filipinos in America.

"It’s very exciting to perform abroad," shares Regine. "The energy of our kababayans is contagious. I really love connecting with them and the thought of Martin and I bringing a bit of the Philippines to them in the US makes us feel happy about it."

Upon returning to her country, Regine is slated to continue her hosting chores in top-rating Sunday variety show SOP aired on GMA-7 and Star For A Night on IBC-13 under Viva TV where a whopping million pesos and a recording contract was given to Sarah Geronimo.

Regine is also scheduled to finish her movie with Christopher de Leon under Viva Films and is now the endorser of Nestle Ice Cream.

"I’m so blessed this year that I couldn’t ask for anything more from the Lord," declares Regine.