The release of the digital debut single "Merry Christmas Na" of independent pop group 1:43 (pronounced as "one forty-three") has been the talk of the wired world in the past two weeks. While thousands of teenage girls and pop music lovers started going gaga over the four Oriental-looking boys namely Anjo, Gold, Kim, and Yuki, some shared their strongest opinion against the group.
The song "Merry Christmas Na" was written by composer and respected advertising agency creative director Eric Cabahug and was arranged by Jonathan Ong, the music genius behind multi-awarded international and local albums including Gloc-9's critically acclaimed past two albums, Kamikaze's "Darna," and Orange & Lemon's "Pinoy Ako."
Meanwhile, the music video was produced by SineGang Entertainment, a group of talent young filmmakers from prestigious Big Foot Film School in Cebu City.
The polarized public opinion on 1:43, fueled by bloggers, fans, and even haters, has resulted to an overnight success and instant public awareness. The music video has received over 41,000 hits in YouTube in just two weeks and was shared in Facebook for about 11,000 times to date. The boy band's shows are always jam-packed with screaming fans.
The exponential growth of 1:43's fan base particularly among its youth market causes fear from their detractors who think that the group might be the future of OPM. Blog site www.mgaepal.com said it best: "May nakakatakot akong kutob na sisikat ang mga p**tang in**g ito!"
And yes, by all indications their fears are coming true.
To watch their controversial video, please click the link below:
MERRY CHRISTMAS NA by 1:43 (Official HD Music Video)
