July 9, 2016 – The SMART Araneta Coliseum was abuzz with a four-hour concert featuring some of the most prominent YouTube stars of late including Lynk, Max Schneider, Tiffany Alvord, Sam Tsui, Kurt Hugo Schneider and Leroy Sanchez.

Most of them are no strangers to our shores. They’ve repeatedly come here over the years to do shows and YouTube Fan Fests which have connected them to the young Filipino crowd.

Each artist in the line-up boasts a following of more than a million. By themselves, they have established their own names online. How did they start? Simple: A click. An upload. Then, all of it continues to where they are now.
The concert, aptly titled as “Own It!” dares the younger generation to emulate their example – to do more with what is available and to make use of technology as a way to reach out to more people and express oneself in the process.

Starting things off in a rocking note was the Australian pop-rock band Lynk. Formerly known as At Sunset, the Kantarias brothers have now taken the wheel to steer their music in a new direction. They performed the tracks “21 Reasons”, “Every Little Thing” and “Kiss Me” among others.

Hailing from Hell’s Kitchen, New York, Max Schneider, then turned the Coliseum up with some party-inducing track such as “Basement Party”, “Puppeteer” and “Streets of Gold”. Having visited Manila for the first time that evening, Max boldly took the stage, wowing the crowd and having them sing along to his songs.

Tiffany Alvord then sweetened the air when she came on stage. Wielding an acoustic guitar, she performed an inventive mashup of Paramore’s “Still Into You”, MAGIC’s “Rude”, Adele’s “Hello” and Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood”. The doe-eyed singer also showed her prowess as a composer as she graced the crowd with her ballads “Pour A Little Heaven on Me” and “Baby I Love You”, a song she dedicated to her first love.

Sam Tsui and Kurt Hugo Schneider then took the stage forcefully. The two are known to be childhood friends and strong musical allies, and they showed that bond as they jammed through each song. They started the set with “Wildfire” which greatly describes Tsui as a performer – he was lively and bouncing with energy. The duo also amazed the crowd with their rendition of “CUPS” from the movie “Pitch Perfect”. Another special moment during their set was Sam’s moving performance of “Just a Dream” which he dedicated to the late Christina Grimmie.

It was getting late, but Leroy Sanchez, who was the last act for the evening, deserved every bit of the spotlight. The Spanish singer turned out to be a riveting act in the line-up as he mesmerized the crowd with his smooth, soulful tunes. His original songs such as “Man of the Year”, “Little Dancer” and “Half Way” dazzled the crowd immediately. Towards the end, he played his own mashup of some sweet tracks including Tori Kelly’s “Dear No One”, Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud”, Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” and Beyonce’s “Love on Top”.
The line-up was pretty packed, right? It was a long evening, indeed, but each of the artist made it worth the time. We got a good look and listen as to why millions are wowed by their presence online and offline.

by Sandra Mae Laureano

Special thanks to Ovation Productions