Hanson at Big Dome and Waterfront Hotel

MANILA, Philippines - Get ready to love American pop-rock band Hanson all over again as it makes its much-awaited return to the Philippines as part of its

Shout It Out World Tour.

Made up of brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac, Hanson has been making music for nearly two decades now. In 1997, the release of its first major label album Middle of Nowhere introduced its soul-inspired brand of American pop-rock to the world. The album sold over 10 million copies worldwide and earned the band three Grammy nominations.

The band is best known for its phenomenal hit single MMMBop, which reached No. 1 in 27 countries. Other hits from the same album include Where’s The Love, I Will Come To You and Weird. Hanson released the Christmas album Snowed In in 1997 and another studio album in 2000, This Time Around, with hit singles This Time Around and If Only before it launched its own independent record company in 2003. Under 3CG Records, Hanson released Underneath in 2004 with hit singles Penny & Me and Lost Without Each Other. Its independent moves paid off, building a brand that has grown with successful albums, singles and tours, during a decade when music sales plummeted. Along with the launch of the 2007 album The Walk, it championed calls for action on humanitarian efforts particularly on HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.

On its fifth album, Shout It Out, Hanson delivers powerful and soulful tunes that will leave you with a contagious sense of optimism for the future. It’s a collection of finely-crafted, R&B-flavored pop-rock, a homate to the music that inspired Hanson when it started out. Shout It Out also looks back in time musically, as the album is augmented with special guests who have played on some of Motown’s greatest hits and who have worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Earth, Wind & Fire, and many more. 

“The anatomy of our band is similar to a ’70s rock band — white guys from the Midwest who grew up listening to ’50s and ’60s soul, who are mixing guitars, with vintage keys and melodic songs,” Taylor says.

Adds Isaac, “We’ll always be a bit rootsy, ‘cause it’s in Oklahoma soil, but what we’ve never stopped aspiring to is the great songwriters and performers who struck a chord with us first, that early rock ‘n roll music from Chuck Berry to Otis Redding. We’ve rediscovered that aspiration on this record. There’s a little more swing and a little more air.”

Says Zac, “We love playing classic songs. But we never sat down and wrote our version of what the sounds like until now.”

More than just bearing the music of Hanson, it also showcases the many aspects that have allowed the band to survive and stay relevant. “The album is about being alive, and the contrasts we are faced with,” Taylor explains. “We’ve come from a generation leaving the analog world and moving into an interconnected culture at risk of forgetting where it came from. This album tries to put together those pieces, but with a bit of melody to back it up.”

Indeed, Hanson is looking to an exciting new era for its music, emoting with fresh energy and bursting with plans to innovate and make more fan connection through technology.

Catch Hanson live on March 30 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and on March 31 in Cebu at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel.

Tickets for the Manila show are priced at P4,500 for Patron VIP, P3,500 for Patron, P3,000 for Lower Box, P2,500 for Upper Box A, P1,500 for Upper Box B and P500 for General Admission. For details, log on to http://www.ticketnet.com.ph or call Ticketnet at 911-5555.

Hanson Live in Manila and Cebu is presented by Dayly Entertainment in association with Rockstar Touring and LAMC Productions.