Christmas parties are going to be filling our calendars before we know it! Great food and the company of longtime friends usually take front and center at these gatherings, but consider inviting class act Black Tie Entertainment to add a little — or a lot more — pizzazz to your Yuletide celebrations with Latin music, lounge, classical, jazz, Motown and modern pop performances.
By ISABELLA OLIVARESÂ
Behind the glitz and glamour of the stage is a cut-throat industry in which artistry and work ethic often suffer for the sake of making a profit. For the past five years, Black Tie Entertainment has been working to return well-honed talent and earnest professionalism back to the forefront of the entertainment industry.
Black Tie Entertainment’s managing director, Bien Rivera, originally founded the company in order to bring quality entertainment to weddings and other special events. In just a few years, he has transformed his brainchild from a run-of-the-mill startup into one of the leading talent agencies in Metro Manila. Black Tie musicians can now be found regularly performing in the lounges of five-star hotels and casinos, as well as in resorts as far as Palawan.
But the company aims to do more than just provide stellar live entertainment. “[We] want to professionalize the musicians here because I noticed that a lot of the musicians have a lot of bad habits. We want it to be the mission of the company to professionalize these young musicians, to prepare them for bigger things,†Bien explains. These “bad habits†range from tardiness to failure to learn the required material for a performance. For Bien and his team, it is this lack of professionalism that stops Filipino performers from achieving their full potential. “The only way to make it big is if you have the right attitude, if you’re professional enough.â€
Black Tie Entertainment’s talent pool is composed of around 200 singers and instrumentalists from various genres including Latin music, lounge, classical, jazz, Motown and modern pop. Their performers are selected based on criteria that heavily emphasize talent, passion, professionalism and musical integrity. “We’re really more focused on the quality of the music, on the quality of the entertainers,†Bien admits. “Most of our artists are not just talented; they’re also good-looking. They’re packaged primarily for people with a good eye and a good ear.â€
This is not to say that performers from this company are of the cookie-cutter variety. On the contrary, Black Tie Entertainment is very keen on respecting each musician’s artistic freedom. “When I sit down with the talents, I always ask them what type of music they want to do, and what their long-term goals are. We don’t set it for them,†Bien clarifies. “We support them for as long as we can see that they are moving towards that goal.â€
The company takes particular pride in their wide selection of lounge singers. “Most lounge singers are not [sheet music] readers. Even the pianists — they play by ear. You need to be pitch-perfect to be a jazz performer,†Bien explains. Among their most notable lounge singers are The Filipino Channel Kat Europe 2013 champion and The Voice Philippines contestant Vanessa Monot, Pinoy Idol 2008 contestant Jennifer Rawolle and The Love Bus frontwoman Princess Belleza. The three singers credit Black Tie Entertainment for helping them expand their individual repertoires and develop the skills necessary to deliver top-quality vocal performances.
While Black Tie Entertainment’s activities are located primarily in Metro Manila, the company has plans to begin overseas operations, starting with luxury liners. “We don’t want them [Black Tie performers] to just play in bars all the time,†Bien reiterates. “We want them to do big shows eventually.†With a diverse selection of performers and a company thrust grounded on the tenets of professionalism, there is no doubt that Black Tie Entertainment will bring new prestige to the international reputation of Filipino talent.
(Photoraphy by MARK CHESTER ANG)
This article was originally published in PeopleAsia’s October – November 2016 issue still available in your favorite newsstands and bookstores today. For orders and inquiries, call Bong at (02) 892 185 or at (0922) 877 6556.
