Manila's most 'Wanted'

MANILA, Philippines - UK boy band The Wanted will hold their first Manila concert on Sept. 14 at the NBC Tent in Taguig. The British-Irish fivesome is behind hits like All Time Low, Glad You Came, and Chasing the Sun, and the anticipation for their gig has the band’s many fans in a frenzy.

While we Filipinos wait for The Wanted’s arrival, let’s get to know the boys:

Max George, 23

Born Sept. 6, 1988, Max grew up with his family in Manchester. Before music, he had been a football player with Manchester’s Preston North End. He was a member of Avenue, a five-piece boy band which gained popularity in the third season of TV singing tilt The X-Factor, before signing into The Wanted.

Nathan Sykes, 19

Born April 18, 1993, and known as the “baby” of the group, Nathan grew up in Abbeydale, Gloucester with his younger sister and mother, who was a music teacher. He started singing and performing at the age of six and attended Sylvia Young’s theater school at age 11. He continued to perform in various singing competitions and even attempted to represent the UK in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2004 held in Lillehammer, Norway. In the British qualifying finals, he sang Born to Dance coming 3rd overall.

Siva Kaneswaran, 23

Born Nov. 16, 1988, Siva grew up in Blanchardstown, Dublin with his Sri Lankan Tamil father, Irish mother, twin brother Kumar and six other siblings. He started modeling at 16 and appeared in various ads where he was eventually spotted and recruited into The Wanted.

Jay McGuiness, 22

Born July 24, 1990, Jay grew up in Newark, Nottinghamshire. He attended Holy Trinity Roman Catholic School in Newark. At the age of 13, Jay went to Charlotte Hamilton School of Dance. He has a non-identical twin brother named Tom and three other siblings.

Tom Parker, 24

Born Aug. 4 1988, Tom grew up in Bolton. He learned to play the guitar at the age of 16 after trying out his older brother’s. He went to Manchester Metropolitan University and studied Geography, but eventually pursued a professional career in singing. Tom joined a Take That tribute band and toured Northern England, before joining The Wanted in 2009.

* * *

Catch Max, Siva, Jay, Tom and Nathan as The Wanted performs live on Sept. 14, Friday, 8 p.m. at NBC Tent, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. VIP tickets cost P6,340, and gold tickets, P4,230. Call SM Tickets at 470-2222 or visit www.smtickets.com

* * *

“THE WANTED Live! In Manila” is brought to you by MCA Music (Universal Music Philippines). Co-presented by Fox and StarWorld. Sponsored by: Banco De Oro and TeleTech (Come join the fun – apply now!). Media partners: MYX, Monster Radio RX 93.1, Manila Bulletin, Candy magazine, Business World, HerWord.com, Yahoo! Philippines and Manila Concert Scene. Special thanks to Astroplus

* * *

The Wanted’s albums are out now in CDs exclusively under MCA Music and available at Astroplus and Odyssey Music & Video or online via iTunes and www.MyMusicStore.com.ph.