Unique (musician)

Unique Torralba Salonga (born April 26, 2000) is a Filipino musician and singer-songwriter. He began his career as vocalist and original frontman of IV of Spades and later pursued a solo career.

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Torralba and the surname or paternal family name is Salonga.
Unique Salonga
Birth nameUnique Torralba Salonga
Born (2000-04-26) April 26, 2000
Manila, Philippines
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • Songwriter
  • Director
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • Guitar
Years active2014–present
Labels
Associated actsIV of Spades

Career

Band frontman

2014–2018: IV of Spades
Main article: IV of Spades

In June 2014, Allan Silonga decided to form IV of Spades for his son Blaster, who would become the band's lead guitarist. The Silongas were able to recruit drummer Badjao de Castro and bassist Zild Benitez, who are the sons of Allan's friends. Unique Salonga, who was already writing his own music, was later recruited to become the band's lead singer.[1][2]

IV of Spades signed to a record label and released their first single "Ilaw sa Daan" under Warner Music Philippines.

The group's second single, "Hey Barbara" was released on July 9, 2017 and followed up by their third single "Where Have You Been My Disco?", released on December 9, 2017 via YouTube.

In 2018, the band released their fourth single called "Mundo". It became the group's highest viewed single on YouTube. The band's videos have over 100 million views on YouTube.

IV of Spades won the New Artist of the Year and the MYX Bandarito Performance of the Year and Nominated as Group of the Year at the annual Myx Music Awards.[3] The band also won the Dreams Come True with Air Asia, the airline's search for the most promising acts in the region. The band performed with David Foster as part of their prize. They also won the Favorite New Group award at the 30th annual Awit Awards.

On May 4, 2018, Unique Salonga left IV of Spades in order to pursue a solo career.[4]

Solo career

2018–present

In 2018, Salonga released his debut single, Midnight Sky, under the label of O/C Records of VIVA. In the same year, Salonga released his debut album, Grandma,[5] and his first solo concert, slated for September 29, 2018.[6]

He released his sophomore album, PANGALAN: in 2020.[7][8]

Discography
Main article: Unique (musician) discography

Albums

Singles
  • 2018: "Midnight Sky"
  • 2018: "Cha-Ching!"
  • 2019: "Sino"
  • 2019: "Lamang Lupa"
  • 2019: "Bukod-Tangi"

with IV of Spades

  • 2016: "Ilaw sa Daan"
  • 2017: "Hey Barbara"
  • 2017: "Where Have You Been, My Disco?"
  • 2018: "Mundo"

Accolades
Year Award Category Notable Works Result Ref.
2019 32nd Awit Award Best Cover Art "Grandma" Won [9][10]
2020 5th Wish Music Awards Wish Rock/Alternative Song of the Year "Bukod-Tangi" Nominated [11][12]

References
  1. Gloria, Gaby (October 21, 2017). "IV of Spades is ready to boogie". The Philippine Star. Youngstar. Archived from the original on March 8, 2018. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  2. Fernandez, Denise (December 1, 2017). "Here's why IV OF SPADES is about to become your new favorite band". Scout Magazine. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  3. "The boys of IV of Spades get into the Myx | BusinessMirror". businessmirror.com.ph. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  4. "IV of Spades vocalist Unique Salonga leaves band". news.abs-cbn.com. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  5. "Unique surprises fans with solo debut album Grandma". www.bandwagon.asia. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
  6. "Ticketnet Online". www.ticketnet.com.ph. Retrieved September 25, 2018.
  7. "LISTEN: Unique Salonga drops strange new album, 'Pangalan'". www.rappler.com. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  8. "Unique Salonga unveils sophomore album Pangalan – listen". www.bandwagon.asia. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  9. "Awit Awards 2019: Full list of nominees". ABS-CBN News. July 23, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
  10. "FULL LIST: Winners, Awit Awards 2019". Rappler. October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  11. "COMPLETE LIST: 5th Wish 107.5 Music Awards Nominees". Wish 107.5. December 14, 2019. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  12. "5th Wish 107.5 Music Awards: Complete List of Winners". Wish 107.5. January 19, 2020. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.