Play it again, Sam (Billy & James)

The “Crew-ing” guys are on their way.

James Reid, Sam Concepcion and Billy Crawford will “wreck”…oops!...rock Smart Araneta Coliseum on April 5 (a Friday) in a concert titled The CR3W, presented by SCRATCHIT and produced by Viva Live, Inc. Special guests are James’ girlfriend Nadine Lustre, Billy’s wife Coleen Garcia and Yassi Pressman.

In case you have forgotten…Here are refreshers furnished Conversations by Viva Live:

• Born on May 11, 1993, Robert James Reid is a Filipino-Australian actor/singer/songwriter/dancer/record producer who began acting professionally in the early 2010s after being named the winner of Pinoy Big Brother (PBB): Teen Clash 2010. He rose to prominence for his leading role in Diary ng Panget (2014) with live-in girlfriend Nadine Lustre as leading lady. He has since starred in Talk Back and You’re Dead (2014), Para sa Hopeless Romantic (2015), This Time (2016) and Never Not Love You (2018); and in the TV series Good Vibes (2011), On The Wings Of Love (OTWOL, 2015-16) and Till I Met You (2016-17). James has released three studio albums including self-titled debut album James Reid (2013), Reid Alert (2015) and Palm Dreams (2017, produced under his own label).

• Sam: An original made only for her.

• Born in Manila on May 16, 1982, to a Filipino mother (Mayette Ledesma) from Jaro, Iloilo, and an American father (Jack Crawford), Billy Joe Ledesma Crawford is a Filipino-American singer/dancer/songwriter/actor/comedian/TV host who has released five studio albums, and EP and has had a number of singles notably Trackin’, When You Think About Me and You Didn’t Expect That.

Billy was discovered at age of three while singing at a bowling alley that his mother often visited. He was a regular on GMA’s That’s Entertainment hosted by German “Kuya Germs” Moreno who became his mentor. He attended the International Christian Academy in the Philippines until, at age 12 and after appearing in a few films, he left for the US where he started a music career, performing mostly in the United Kingdom and France, as well as in Asia.

From Dallas, Texas, where he lived and performed, he moved to New York City and legally changed his stage name to Billy Crawford. He first studied at the Roosevelt Island Public School and then at the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City with other famous professional children such as Lee Thompson Young and Mandy Moore (with whom he was romantically linked). In 1995, at age 13, he danced with Michael Jackson onstage as one of the back-up dancers at the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards.

• Born in Manila on Oct. 17, 1992, Samuel Lawrence Lopez Concepcion is a Filipino singer/dancer/actor/VJ/host who won in the Big Division of Little Big Star`s Season 1 (2006, with Charice Pempengco/Jake Zyrus as runner-up). He has acted in the movies Way Back Home and Shake, Rattle & Roll 13 and I Do Bidoo Bidoo: Heto nAPO Sila!; and in the Kapamilya TV series Mga Anghel na Walang Langit, and his major break as Boy Bawang in the fantasy series Super Inggo.

• Billy: I already won her when God gave me my wife (Coleen Garcia).

In 2007, Sam launched his self-titled album under Universal Records, which was certified Gold by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry. He also launched two other albums Pop Class (2010) and Forever Young (2011). In 2008, Sam was chosen by Dreamworks to sing Kung Fu Fighting, the theme song of the animated movie Kung Fu Panda.

He was appointed by the Department of Education (DepEd) as Youth Role Model and Spokesperson and National Book Development Board’s (NBDB) Get Caught Reading campaign ambassador in 2007; and, in 2008, by the Business Software Alliance as the Official Spokesperson of the Philippines for B4USurf, Youth Ambassador for Education and the Arts’ in the 3rd District of Manila and World Vision’s Ambassador for Children. He was also given a representative role by the Department of Tourism to the Korea World Travel Fair (2006).

Do you have the same taste/preference in music?

James: Yes, we all have the same preference — R&B, soul and hip-hop.

Sam: I think we all love R&B and hip-hop. Something we three have in common.

Billy: I’m more of a hip-hop type of guy, but I still love the old-school R&B.

When did you fall in love with singing and what’s the first song that you learned to sing?

• James: Let Me Love You by Mario, my first favorite R&B artist.

James: During my first mall show after I got out of PBB (Pinoy Big Brother) house. The first song I learned to perform was Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson.

Sam: I got into singing when I was really young and I think my first ever favorite song was I’ll Be There by Michael Jackson. I even have a recording of this song as a demo before I got signed to a label.

Billy: I fell in love with music at a very young age. I was surrounded by musicians my entire life. The first song I learned to sing was I’ll Be There by Michael Jackson.

Why is your concert titled The CR3W; any “hidden” meaning in the word?

James: It is The CR3W because we’re all friends and we have the same passion in music. And if you can see that the “E” in The CR3W is written with number ”3,” that symbolizes the three artists.

Sam: The CR3W is what we decided to call ourselves as a group. No hidden meaning behind it.

Billy: When you share the same passion and heart, and have fun at the same time, you work as a team. We understand and roll together as a CR3W.

I suppose you have known each other more than musically. Describe the other two.

James: Sam is a good guy, very talented and a very good friend to me.

Sam: Billy is extroverted, James is introverted, and I am somewhere in between. Billy is also very talented and a leader. I look up to him.

James: It is The CR3W because we’re all friends and we have the same passion in music. And if you can see that the ‘E’ in The CR3W is written with number ‘3,’ that symbolizes the three artists.

Billy: James is a “careless” musical genius, chill and cool to be with in and out of work, really imaginative, creative and driven at the same time. Good-hearted kid! Sam is an old soul trapped in a young man’s body. Funny as hell. But one of the dopest performers I’ve ever seen. He’s so blessed and just loves music so much that every chance he gets he dances, no matter where he is! True and loyal.

Have you ever tried singing a song with a girl in the shower?

James: No, I haven’t. (Not even if he and girlfriend Nadine Lustre have, as James confessed in Gandang Gabi Vice two Sundays ago, been living together for two years now? — RFL)

Sam: Yes. It could be any song. Bathroom acoustics make it sound good.

Billy: Nope. Never have.

If you were to win the heart of a girl with a song, what would it be and why?

James: Let Me Love You by Mario, my first favorite R&B artist.

Sam: An original song made only for her.

Billy: I already won her when God gave me my wife (Coleen Garcia).

(For tickets to The CR3W, call TicketNet at 911-5555. Prices: VVIP with Meet & Greet, P10,000; VIP Seated P5,000; Patron P4,000; Lower Box P2,500; Upper Box P1,500; and General Admission, P500. Official TV partner for CR3W is ABS-CBN with Philippine STAR as one of the media partners.)

(E-mail reactions at [email protected]. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)