Indonesian music artist Afgan hopes to mount a show in the Philippines sometime soon and collaborate with Filipino artists, whom he admires most, including SB19’s Stell, Christian Bautista, James Reid, to name a few.
In an exclusive virtual interview with The STAR, the pop and R&B crooner, whose real name is Afgansyah Reza, said that he always wants to visit the Philippines due to many reasons.
“I haven’t been there, but my aunt lives there. And she told me so many great stories about the Philippines. And a few of my good friends are Filipinos, so I have so much good stories, and of course, with the singers. I saw on YouTube, you, guys, have, oh my god, the singers, it blew me (away) because I feel like the Filipinos are like the black singers of Asia. Haha!
“I would love to go there and do a show there ‘cause the last time I did a concert here, a few of my Filipino fans, they flew all the way from Manila to Jakarta and it makes me sad that I couldn’t go there yet. So, hopefully, I would. I don’t know, I really wanna make that happen for this album, Sonder. Hopefully, I can do small shows there,” he asserted.
Indonesian R&B singer Afgan lauds Filipino artists such as SB19’s Stell, Christian Bautista, Lea Salonga, James Reid, among others. He hopes to make music with them in the future.
He is also keen on working with Filipino music artists. Afgan is friends with Christian Bautista and has been a fan of Lea Salonga since he was a kid.
“We met a few times,” he said of The Way You Look at Me singer. “We were at the same event, we met backstage and we became friends online. He showed his support. I remember he was tweeting about my songs back then in 2021 and he shows his support so yeah, I love his music. I love his voice.” Afgan staged Christian’s Since I Found You at one of the former’s music events.
Likewise, he discovered James Reid’s music while he was in the United States. Both shared the same management team in the US at that time.
Afgan also had the honor of performing with David Foster at his two-night concerts titled “Hitman Returns: David Foster & Friends” in Jakarta last June.
“(It’s) such an honor to be on the same stage with these incredibly talented people that I’ve looked up to since I was very young. Thank you for sharing the stage with me. Excited for the second show tonight,” he posted on his Instagram.
So when David brought “Hitman: David Foster and Friends Asia Tour 2024” to Smart Araneta Coliseum last June 18, Afgan couldn’t help but be impressed by SB19’s Stell viral performance of Celine Dion’s All By Myself.
“I did a show with David Foster here in Jakarta and then David Foster went to Manila. And then, there’s this guy from SB19 who sang that, singing in the original key of Celine Dion, I was, like, I can’t even imagine. It was so good. So yeah, a lot of great talents there, and hopefully, I would love to make new friends and make music with them.”
Afgan just released his second all-English EP Sonder, which includes a collaboration with K-pop rapper Jessi for the track Escape and Vietnamese American R&B artist thuy for Criminal.
Before Sonder, there was Wallflower album, which carries songs such as M.I.A. featuring Jackson Wang, Touch Me (Remix by Robin Thicke), Say I’m Sorry, and If I Don’t Have Your Love.
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