TNT boys together forever
Unlike in the relationship of Ellen Adarna and John Lloyd Cruz, in the case of the TNT Boys (Francis Concepcion, 13; Kiefer Sanchez 14; and Mackie Empuerto, 14), there is forever. They come from different regions (Francis from Cavite, Kiefer from Davao and Mackie from Zamboanga), and in the more than two years that they’ve been performing here and abroad, the boys have become like siblings.
When they performed two songs during the STAR’s 33rd-anniversary lunch last July 30 (actual date is July 28), the boys happily reported that not one of them was going solo, although Mackie did appear in the indie film
Bakwit Boys before the TNT Boys was born, with Vice Ganda being instrumental in forming the trio when they appeared as guests on his show Gandang Gabi Vice (GGV). The boys competed individually in the Tawag Ng Tanghalan segment of It’s Showtime where Kiefer placed second, Mackie third and Francis fifth.
Said the boys who are home-schooled, “Now we can help our families. We can buy the things that we want, ‘yung mga hindi namin mabili noon, at napaayos namin ang aming mga bahay.” The day after the STAR event, the boys flew to San Francisco where they joined fellow Kapamilya stars in the staging of ASAP Natin ‘To. They have performed abroad several times: in LA as guest in Steve Harvey’s show Little Big Shots and then as contestants in The World’s Best, and also on The Late Late Show with James Corden where they met Ariana Grande (their favorite singer); Australia; Dubai; Singapore; and Edmonton, Canada. All this, and more, can be seen in the docu TNT Boys: Journey to the World Stage which started streaming on iWant last Aug. 7. Watch it. (E-mail reactions at rickylophilstar@gmail. com. For more updates, photos and videos, visit www.philstar.com/funfare or follow me on Instagram @therealrickylo.)