True to Felip’s style, his recent trip to Japan proved to be chock full of surprises. What many fans thought would primarily be an overseas concert with a smattering of social media uploads, turned out to be a packed week of fun promo activities for 7sins.
Felip in Japan Recap
Early on, Warner Music Philippines gave us a trail of clues to indicate that a lot more was afoot.
- Day 1 – Aug 31 – Met JO1 and Ayumu Imazu. Visited Warner Music Japan office and Tower Records.
- Day 2 – Sep 1 – Met BMSG CEO Sky Hidaka, Novel Core and Reiko. Radio interview.
- Day 3 – Sep 2 – Day off shopping.
- Day 4 – Sep 3 – 7sins Album Concert
- Day 5 – Sep 4 – Attended Tokyo Fashion Week. Visited Spotify Japan office.
Let’s take a closer look at everything Felip did in Japan.
Main Events: CD Signing and 7sins Concert
Team Felip wasted no time kicking off with a CD signing event on August 31 at Tower Records in Shibuya, where fans got pretty up close to the Rocksta himself. This was followed three days later by the 7sins Japan Album Concert, the first of its kind by a homegrown Filipino artist, at the duo Music Exchange
Radio Interviews: From 7sins to Anime
Felip took to the airwaves to express his love for anime, and to talk about work with SB19, solo music inspiration and his life values. Here’s a rundown.
Zero-8 | FM Yokohama 84.7
Hosts Reiji and Rintaro chatted with Felip about his favorite anime, the difference between his work with SB19 and his solo music, his love for metal and hip-hop, and what makes his songs unique. Aired September 6.
Cho! A&G | Nippon Cultural Broadcasting
Felip took an even deeper dive into his stress relievers, anime and manga, and gave MC Misako a breakdown of each song in the 7sins album. Aired September 7.
Read the interview highlights here.
EK Radio | FM Yokohama
In this chat with Kanna, Felip explained the inspiration behind his music video for “envy,” and why authenticity is important for him. Aired September 9
Reiko So far, so good. | Interfm
In Reiko’s interview, Felip retraced the hardships he faced auditioning, and shared what he values the most. In an after-interview segment (turn on auto translate), Reiko summed up his encounter with Felip with the Tagalog word, “kuya.” Meeting Felip finally made him feel like a kuya or big brother. Aired September 19.
Article Features: Music, Dreams and More Anime
In these in depth feature pieces, Felip touched on his career path, dreams and his advice for other musicians. Use Google Translate Websites to read in English.
Real Sound Special Interview
Felip sat down with Japanese dance and vocal group ONE N’ ONLY, and swapped perspectives about music and their aspirations. Find out what Felip had to say on pursuing a solo career. Published September 17.
Animate Times Challenge
According to Warner Music Japan staff, Animate, the world’s largest anime store, was reserved exclusively for Felip’s visit. There, he took on the Store Exclusive! Pocket Money Animate challenge where he had to budget 5,000 yen, the average pocket money of a Japanese high school student, for purchases across the store. Find out if he succeeded.
The article ranked number 4 and 6 in popularity on the site. Published September 25.
Fashion Snap Feature
Our Filipino king of swag and hall of fame fashion influencer wound up on the virtual pages of Fashionsnap, one of Japan’s leading fashion information portals. Published September 26.
Bonus: Street Snap Feature
By chance, while strolling through the streets of Japan, Felip caught the eye of fashion content channel Yo Many Nation, and was quizzed about his street style.
Rocksta Sightings with Some Ping-pong on the Side
Felip of course, called in on music offices in Japan, rubbing elbows with esteemed artists including BMSG CEO, SKY-Hi. He also attended the Tokyo Fashion Week.
BMSG
Warner Music Japan
Spotify Japan
and he visited @SpotifyJP’s office too and other spots as well 👀 pic.twitter.com/QRIiHmddTJ
— Warner Music Philippines (@WarnerMusicPH) September 4, 2024
Tokyo Fashion Week
Dance Covers in Abundance
Fans rejoiced as the main dancer of SB19’s visit to Japan seemed to have generated a generous helping of dance covers and one song cover, 11 to be exact.
‘Superstar’ and ‘Mamushi’ with Ayumu Imazu
‘Where Do We Go’ and ‘Fake Faces’ with JO1
‘Gento’ with Keigo of JO1
‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ and ‘Omen’s Daily Life’ with O-menz
‘Giri-Giri’ with R-NE
‘Gento’ with One N’ Only
‘Mamushi’ and ‘When I was Your Man’ with Peru Pines
All His Favorite Things
Of course, what would an overseas trip be without two of Felip’s favorite activities, shopping and getting his locks done. He was spotted around town in a spending mood, once with Novel Core and Reiko.
Homeward Bound
Just like that, Felip’s whirlwind Japan promo trip for 7sins came to an end. With all that work crammed into just five days, it is to be expected he’d take a breather, but most solid fans know this isn’t likely. After all, 2025 is just around the corner, and he might already be cooking up his next project. When he’s done, we’ll take the trip with him all over again.