Pinoys give Craig David a good kind of insomnia

Title: Pinoys give Craig David a good kind of insomnia  WRITTEN BY JAMIE ORTEGAPHOTO BY Kevin Pableo for Manila Concert Scene

Ask a bunch of people what makes them happy and you’re sure to get different answers. People have various versions of happiness. Money, friends, or family are just some of them, but for the people at Coca-Cola seeing the ecstatic looks on faces of their fans as they sip the sweet, fizzy, refreshing drink is what gives them pure joy.

In celebration if its’ 100th anniversary in the Philippines and as a way to thank their consumers for making them happy for all these years, Coca-Cola staged a huge concert at the SM Mall Of Asia Concert Grounds last March 23, 2012. Pinoys were treated to a grand musical spectacle which started at 3pm and ended at 4 am the next day as some of the country’s biggest local bands and artists including Gary Valencaino, Sarah Geronimo, Rico Blanco, Gloc-9 and Callalily plus international superstar Craig David performed their hearts out!

Everyone at Manila Concert Scene thought that it would be Taio Cruz performing but when we heard he was replaced by Craig David we were beyond ourselves with excitement! We love all his songs from Whats Your Flavor, Unbelievable, to the epic Insomnia. Right before the concert we were lucky enough to see the Brit superstar up close and personal at the press conference held hours before the concert at the Manila Diamond Hotel hosted by MYX VJ Chino Lui Pio. Read all about it here: 

(included in the photo beside Craig is Ms. Anubha Sahasrabuddhe Marketing Director of Coke Philippines)

MYX VJ CHINO : What do you remember from your stay here?

Craig David: What I remember the show was great, and seeing the fans which was overwhelming because they showed so much support. Just going for a run in the streets was pretty cool, people would look and say, is that Craig David? And they weren’t sure, you get to see parts of Manila that way because usually in the car you see buildings here and there.

 MYX VJ CHINO: Nobody chased you around?

Craig David: Trust me nobody would be catching me.

Question: How do you find the Filipino audience and what brings Craig David happiness?

Craig David: When you come so far and you see such embrace of the songs, as an artist it is amazing how I can carry the song but how people from different countries react to the same song is also amazing. What makes me happy is people chowing on pasta (press people were eating pasta at that  time), what makes me happy is how I can create something from nothing and see how people react. It is the most beautiful thing and it makes me travel to so many beautiful things around the world and this place I wouldn’t have seen if it wasn’t for the beauty of this music, and so I would say that is one of the things that definitely makes me happy.

Question: What can people expect from your performance tonight?

Craig David: A few cool singles here and there, I guess it would be wrong if I didn’t do Insomnia (laughs) from out here and the two places I have been to here and Russia, two places and that song connects beyond belief further than I can imagine. One of the stewardesses asked for a photo but one of the things she pulled out from her iPhone was Insomnia just in case I forgot the lyrics, I love it, will have fun tonight that’s all.

Question: Who is your musical inspiration?

Craig David: Michael Jackson is just a name I am locked into. There is just a lot of people that inspire me but Michael Jackson is one of the key people in music because he musically crossed all genres of people, he isn’t just a great entertainer he also has a unique voice. And the songs he wrote I just think are classic, they sound the same now as when he released his albums. And not many of those artists that we have, and there are great artists in the world but not many are you can say is a true superstar.

Question: You’ve been tweeting about working out, what triggered that? And what would cause you to have insomnia?

 Craig David: As a kid growing up I was quite overweight and I always said I would take it to the other extreme. Ive always kind of like yo-yo-ed but the move to Miami was big for me because it was very much about look there. Your tops are off half of the time and I was tired listening to myself saying let’s train for a minute because you still want to drink you still want to eat while expecting great results. So I was like let me lock in for a period of time see if I can get results. That’s why there are a lot of tweets saying the abs are out today, I think if you work really hard and you see results you should be proud of it

When you go to the gym go with an attitude like, have the attitude of when you are with your girl and you close the doors in your bedroom, the stuff you get down to, when you go to the gym you should have the same attitude and you will see results.

Craig David: Probably a song that is not finished will be what keeps me up.

Question: If there is one song you would dedicate to the Filipino people after Coke’s 100 years what would that be?

Craig David: The song would be Insomnia, it is a song the Filipino people owned. It is amazing a brand known all around the world which everybody obviously knows about, I love the fact that if you really know your Coke you will rock it in a glass bottle. And not because I am here, but the Coke I have on my fridge at home is the glass bottle of Coca-Cola.

Question: Can you enumerate 3 Unbelievable songs that happened in your life?

Craig David: The first time hearing one of my songs on the radio was pretty amazing, knowing hundreds upon hundreds of people are listening to your songs at the same moment, first time I announced an arena tour at Wembley Arena and just to see my name up there, travelling, I have gone to incredible places, met some amazing places, met some amazing people, some not so amazing people, and the music has allowed me to open my eyes to the world and I try and tell people to just travel. If you can take a year off of your life and travel it is one of the most important things otherwise you become close-minded, so many diversity in cultures, and food, I think those things are what you do to me.

Question: If you weren’t Craig David what would you be doing?

Craig David: I would be kicking back with a bottle of Coke and DJ-ing which is something I love. And it was kind of between DJ-ing and picking up the microphone and writing songs, if that happened {and I pursued a career as  a DJ } I wouldn’t be giving the kind of performance I would be doing right now but I would still be a DJ. I still think there is a big void in the world of DJs who can pick up the mike and either sing, harmonize and rap, and still DJ. That for me is something I still see I mean, hey, you can still bring music and rock tracks{as a DJ} but picking up the microphone and performing {as a DJ} that is bringing the music to a whole new and different level.

Question: Are you single?

Craig David: I am single, when you reach your 30’s you want it to be relationship status you want it to be like you are in one. You want to be tweeting, I am with my fiancé now, but right now STILL SINGLE! What I will check out is the show to ride the plane and go back to Miami, I have never done that that quickly. People think it is all glamorous but you go there, do 22 hours on the plane, spend a few hours in the country, do 22 hours back on the plane it isn’t glam, but the actual performance makes it worth it. I will be coming back to promote my new album and I hope by the end of this year I have a finished album myself

Question: What is your message to your Filipino fans who supported you throughout the years?

Craig David: Obviously a big thank you and just continue to support it doesn’t matter if it is out, it’s coming out every year or if there is a period of time in between my albums there seems to be the same kind of love whenever I come back here so a massive thank you. I am hyped for the show tonight beyond belief! It would be cool to be a part of some local acts who will be performing tonight.

 See more photos from the press conference here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.397149266980458.104535.377943715567680&type=1