Sam Concepcion
Samuel Lawrence Lopez Concepcion (born October 17, 1992) is a Filipino singer, dancer, actor, VJ and host.[1] in April 2006 Concepcion won the Big Division in the first season of Little Big Star.[2] Concepcion signed a contract under Stages and ABS-CBN's Star Magic. Concepcion began with 12 theater roles and participated in plays at a young age, including the role of Edmund Pevensie in the local adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Mr. Noah's Big Boat. He played Peter Pan from 2002 to 2012. Aside from theater roles, he has acted in movies including Way Back Home and Shake, Rattle & Roll 13. His first lead role came in 2012 in the first Filipino musical-film entitled, I Do Bidoo Bidoo: Heto nAPO Sila!. He had his first role in television in ABS-CBN's Mga Anghel na Walang Langit, and his major break was as Boy Bawang in Super Inggo.
This article is about the Filipino singer. He is not to be confused with KC Concepcion.
Sam Concepcion
Samuel Lawrence Lopez Concepcion
October 17, 1992
Manila, Philippines
- Singer
- dancer
- actor
- host
- model stylist
- VJ
Vocals, piano, guitar
1999–present
Stages
(2002–present)
Star Magic
(2005–2017)
TV5 Network
(2008–2009; 2021–present)
Viva Artists Agency
(2017–present)
Universal Records
(2007–2017)
Viva Records
(2017–present)
In 2007, Concepcion launched his self-titled album under Universal Records. It was certified Gold by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry. He launched two other albums, Pop Class (2010), and Forever Young (2011). The latter was his biggest hit, charting at Number 1 for seven straight weeks. In 2008, Concepcion was chosen by DreamWorks to sing the theme song of Kung Fu Panda, entitled, "Kung Fu Fighting", which was included in the Asian soundtrack album. With this project, Concepcion is the first Filipino artist to have collaborated with DreamWorks.
Concepcion was an ambassador for many agencies and organizations. He was appointed by the Department of Education as 'Youth Role Model and Spokesperson' and National Book Development Board's (NBDB) 'Get Caught Reading campaign' ambassador in 2007. In 2008, Concepcion was appointed by the Business Software Alliance as the Official Spokesperson of the Philippines for 'B4USurf', 'Youth Ambassador for Education and the Arts' in the 3rd District of Manila and World Vision's 'Ambassador for Children'.
Concepcion was given a representative role by the Department of Tourism to the Korea World Travel Fair (2006). He was chosen by the Philippine government to sing in front of the President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and world economic leaders during APEC's 'Business Advisory Council Gala' opening. He was awarded by the United Nations Youth Association of the Philippines the United Nations Association of the Philippines "Outstanding Youth Leader Awards".
Early life[edit]
Concepcion was born on October 17, 1992, in Manila, to Raymund and Gene Concepcion, both actors from the Metropolitan Theater.[3] He is the third of four children and siblings to Kuya Red (24), Diko Kevin (23) and as Sangko Sam(19) to their younger sister, Gabby (13). After he was born, their parents eventually stopped acting so they were not able to see them perform, however, it led Concepcion to theater roles as his parents had done.[3] Concepcion was home schooled under the International Studies. At two years old, Concepcion was able to carry a tune and dance to simple songs. At five years old, he had his first public performance at a worship cantata that landed him the role of the young Jose Rizal in a stage play entitled, Sino Ka Ba, Jose Rizal?[4] During the play, he was discovered by David Cosico, a talent manager, who then encouraged him to sign with S.T.A.G.E.S and enroll in Trumpets Playshop music theatre class to hone his talent.[4][5] Concepcion had already appeared in plays, starting at age nine. This included the role of Edmund Pevensie in the local stage adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Peter Pan and the Time Machine and Mr. Noah's Big Boat.[5][6] Concepcion appeared on television in a commercial featuring him and his real-life dad in Maggi Sinigang sa Miso. He appeared on various shows for children on ABS-CBN, such as Sineskwela and Hirayamanawari. Concepcion had a regular hosting stint on ABC-5's (now TV5's) A.S.T.I.G. (All Set To Imitate God), a children's show about God.[7]
Concepcion's musical influences include Gary Valenciano, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Billy Crawford and Christian Bautista. Concepcion was invited to guest at two of Christian Bautista's concerts namely, Dunkin Donuts: Color Everywhere in March 2005 and Heartfelt in November 2005.
Career[edit]
2005–2006[edit]
Concepcion's first major television exposure came through singing competition Little Big Star, which searched for young singing talent.[8] He was initially dubbed the Singing Crush ng Bayan throughout the show and became the crowd favorite.[9] He was awarded the My Favorite Star Award for earning 52% of viewer votes, the highest percentage.[10] During the Grand Finals, Concepcion sang "I Can't Stand Still" from Footloose.[2] He eventually won the competition with "The Brightest Star" for the Big Division over competitors Gian Barbarona and Charice.[11][12] Concepcion took part in ABS-CBN's primetime shows, and first appeared on a drama series, Mga Anghel na Walang Langit, in a minor role. His first major role was in the fantasy series, Super Inggo as Boy Bawang.[13] After winning the competition, Concepcion joined ASAP '06 where he became part of the group, Three-O, with Aldred Gatchalian and Aaron Agassi. The group disbanded when Agassi left. He was given his first starring role when he was featured on Your Song with Empress Schuck as part of the network's Christmas offering. The same Your Song episode was rebroadcast in 2007.
In June 2006, Concepcion, along with other Trumpets Playshop talents, was tasked by the Philippines' Department of Tourism to represent the country for the Korea World Travel Fair. Their team brought home the Best Folk Performance Award.[14] In the same month, Concepcion was chosen by the Philippine government to sing in front of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and world economic leaders during APEC's Business Advisory Council Gala Opening.[15] In July that year, he won Nickelodeon's Pinoy Wannabe Award with 40% of the votes, becoming the youngest and sole male recipient.[16] In September 2006, Concepcion appeared on a magazine cover for the first time for Candy magazine. In that issue, he was announced as the Top Candy Cutie for 2006.[17] He held the title for three consecutive years; no other local celebrity has held since. In October 2006, Sam had his first concert via a back-to-back birthday celebration with Christian Bautista.[18]
2007–2009[edit]
Concepcion's next major television project was Walang Kapalit, a series starring Claudine Barretto and Piolo Pascual.[19] He portrayed the young Noel.[19] Concepcion was a voice actor for the local anime network, Hero TV, voicing Koyuki, the protagonist of the Japanese musical anime, Beck.[20] In June 2007, Concepcion went back to theater. He played Ryan Evans in the stage musical of Disney's High School Musical. He played Blaine Anderson in the stage musical of Fox's Glee and another the film School of Rock and Pitch Perfect, scoring positive reviews.[19][21][22][23][24]
In September 2007, Concepcion launched his first solo, self-titled album for Universal Records.[25] His first single was "Even If", a revived song from the American boy band 2Be3.[26] His second single was a Jackson 5 hit, "Happy".[26] The last single from the album, "I'll Find Your Heart" topped various charts of MYX Philippines.[26] The album was later certified Gold by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry.[26][27][28]
In February 2008, Concepcion became part of ABS-CBN's Star Magic, signing a co-management contract with Stages and was launched at ASAP '08.[29] In May 2008, Concepcion was chosen by DreamWorks to sing the theme song of Kung Fu Panda, entitled, "Kung Fu Fighting", which was included in its Asian soundtrack album.[30] With this project, Concepcion became the first Filipino artist to have collaborated with DreamWorks.[31]