SINGER-songwriter and actress Julie Anne San Jose has traveled around the Philippines in order to share music with various communities in a virtual reality concert, Limitless, A Musical Trilogy via GMA Synergy.
The three-part musical journey is set to unveil different facets of Ms. San Jose as a singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and instrumentalist. The show is set in various locations in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The first leg, which premieres on Sept. 17, was shot in Mindanao.
“Each of us is still trying to deal with the trying times and to be able to produce a musical trilogy like Limitless and to have it seen by people not only here in the Philippines but in every part of the world, is something I hope will inspire everyone to keep on seeing the good things around us,” Ms. San Jose said in a statement.
“It is just timely and fitting that Julie will now be called the ‘limitless star’,” said Oliver Victor B. Amoroso, First Vice-President and Head of Regional TV & Synergy at GMA Network, Inc., at an online press conference on Aug. 12 held via Zoom. “Itong Limitless: A Musical Trilogy, ginawa ito para kay Julie (The Limitless: A Musical Trilogy was made for Julie). It was presented to her, and we are very happy that she went on board.”
Ms. San Jose was recently featured on a digital billboard at the iconic Times Square in New York City for Spotify’s EQUAL campaign, which encourages users to listen to amazing women from all around the world.
At her young age (she is 27) Ms. San Jose is a true showbiz veteran — she started her career at the age of three in the children’s educational show Batibot, and went on to becoming a member of the children’s music group Sugarpop which released albums, had a TV show, and regularly performed on TV variety shows. In 2010 she went solo, honing her talent on GMA-7’s show Party Pilipinas, where she sang and made music videos and short films. In the years that followed, she released albums, held concerts, and acted in shows like primetime drama series Kahit Nasaan Ka Man and the daytime musical series My Guitar Princess. Her debut album, Julie Anne San Jose, earned her a Diamond record, making her the youngest recipient of the award as she was only 18 at the time. Her second album, Deeper, earned a Triple Platinum Award.
Her last live concert before the pandemic struck was, Julie Sings the Divas in 2019. And now she is taking her concert prowess online.
Directed by Paolo Valenciano, Limitless, A Musical Trilogy is produced by GMA Synergy. This is the team behind the Philippines’ first-ever virtual reality concert, Alden’s Reality: The Virtual Reality Concert, which was held in Dec. 2020 and which is now a finalist at the New York Festivals Awards.
Mr. Valenciano said that their team thought of the virtual reality concept in order to share music with small communities outside of the usual recording and performing in front of a camera during an online concert.
“We just wanted to create something that would speak to everyone, whether you’re a Julie fan or not, we want that real connection with actual people,” Mr. Valenciano said, adding that it was the first time in over a year that they heard fans scream when they saw the artists.
“A part of the magic of a concert is hearing everyone aligned, everyone just having that same energy. We wanted to sort of capture that even though our audience was only 10 people. We wanted to capture that, then we felt that, that was something that could inspire our audience [online],” he added.
Myke Salomon is the show’s musical director, with JC Gellidon as the director of photography.
For the first show in the trilogy, Ms. San Jose will be joined by Christian Bautista and The Clash alumnus Jong Madaliday. The song lineup includes new original songs, personal favorites, and covers. The concert will include footage of Ms. San Jose recalling her journey as an artist, from how she started in the industry, and why she began songwriting.
“[For me], this is more than just another online show,” Ms. San Jose said. “It’s something really personal to me because I’m sharing a piece of my heart. I don’t think I’ve ever been this vulnerable and open to, you know, to people through our show.”
Limitless, a Musical Trilogy premieres on Sept. 17. Tickets are available at www.gmanetwork.com/synergy and are priced at P599 (general admission); P1,499 (Synergy Pass GA); P1,199 (VIP); and P3,299 (Synergy Pass VIP). Special merchandise awaits ticket buyers who purchase the VIP and Synergy Pass VIP. — Michelle Anne P. Soliman