“Wish Gifts of Love”: A Bigger Heart for Music and Charity on Wish 107.5’s 7th Anniversary

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Wish 107.5 showcased a bigger heart for music and charity as it celebrated its seventh anniversary on August 22, Sunday.

Through the event dubbed “Wish Gifts of Love,” the station offered a free digital concert which was streamed live on its YouTube channel. Mounting its biggest charitable project yet, Wish also featured seven heartwarming stories of hope and compassion, interjected in between the musical numbers.

OPM A-listers stage all-out virtual performances

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“Wish Gifts of Love” marked the second time that Wish 107.5 held a digital anniversary concert. OPM acts staged all-out performances to entertain and spark a connection with the audience despite geographical limits brought forth by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Morissette and Moira Dela Torre top-billed the event, performing their latest hits before a virtual crowd of 28,000. The Asia’s Phoenix delivered a mash-up of “Panaginip” and “Trophy” while Dela Torre struck an emotional chord with “Patawad,” “Ang Iwasan,” and “Paubaya.”

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Asked about how the station has helped the OPM industry, Dela Torre shared that it “definitely helped pave the way for musicians, both young and old, esteemed and emerging” as it has become “a place where everyone is celebrated.”

Looking back on how Wish 107.5 gave a boost in her career, Morissette meanwhile recounted: “I will always be grateful to my Wish family for continuing to believe in me and for allowing me to share my music on their platform since the beginning. Because of a lot of my Wishclusives, I was able to get recognition from all over the world and that has opened up so many opportunities not just for me but for so many OPM artists as well.”

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“I will always be proud to have grown with the station and witness its early years to what it is now,” she further added.

Indie-pop duo Leanne and Naara — who also acknowledged the station’s help for artists — graced the show with “Anticipation,” “Someday,” and “Who’s Gonna Love You.”

Sending hearts aflutter, Arthur Nery and Janine Teñoso dished out their debut collaboration “Pelikula” aboard the Wish 107.5 Bus.

“The Wish Bus initiative has taken the internet by storm. It has helped emerging artists like me to have a legitimate platform to perform. It doesn’t discriminate by providing an avenue to just about any type of music, which, I believe, has welcomed Filipino music lovers to a wider range of OPM,” Nery shared in an interview.

On their solo performances, Nery and Teñoso respectively rendered “Higa” and “Paano.”

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Zild, who was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 6th Wish Music Awards, performed “Kyusi” and “Huminga.” Both are from his sophomore solo record.

Completing the roster of performers are Magnus Haven and Soul Republiq. The former’s setlist featured “Rosas,” “Panalangin,” and “Imahe.” The latter, on the other hand, gifted the audience with their version of “Tell Me” and their original, “Simple Lang.”

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Wish gives back through 7 acts of charity

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Charity played a central role in making the digital revelry more meaningful.

The aptly titled event served as a culmination of Wish’s months-long effort to reach out to the underprivileged across the country. The “gifts of love” being referred to are the seven different charitable acts initiated by the station.

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These include a seven-day feeding program that provided 700 meals to 100 children with disabilities in Cavite; the donation of printers for modules and ink and bond paper supplies to five schools in Bicol, Rizal, and Quezon; the construction of a new home for a single parent in Mauban, Quezon; and the installation of free potable water supply for a community in Brgy. Vinapor, Agusan Del Norte.

“This is a huge blessing for us…because our wish to have a supply of potable water near us has been fulfilled,” Milfred Labaria, one of the beneficiaries, enthused. Though they’re situated in a coastal municipality, Labaria and the other residents of Brgy. Vinapor had to pay Php60 to Php100 a day just to buy water for various daily needs.

Over the past three months, Wish 107.5 also granted a food cart business to three deserving breadwinners from the National Capital Region; gave away grocery items to 740 indigents, courtesy of seven Wish stores opened in select provinces; and installed 30 solar lamps for the Dumagat Tribe of Sitio Tala in Tanay, Rizal.

“We are extremely thankful, firstly, to God, because our situation will now be significantly better. Thank you for helping us improve our community,” Rogelio Dela Cruz, a former kagawad in Sitio Tala, remarked. Their area is one of the 17,000 sitios in the country with no access to electricity.

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Citing how the station’s charitable endeavors also leave a positive impact even on artists, Teñoso remarked: “Wish’s projects have been helpful to a lot of communities, and, at the same, to us artists. Through these initiatives, we, too, are able to give back.”

“We feel blessed to be celebrating their anniversary with them and to be chosen to be one of the champions for [their charitable activities]. We appreciate how Wish is very generous in sharing their blessings,” Leanne and Naara commented on being part of Wish’s advocacy for its seventh anniversary.

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On sharing the gifts of love and music

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In his speech, Wish 107.5’s Kuya Daniel Razon emphasized the station’s passion for music and charity; the very drive that fuels them to pursue their projects, especially during the pandemic.

“We have chosen to spend our time to continue to bring our amazing brand of music — ang OPM — to the global scene. At a time of lockdowns, quarantines, and stay-at-home orders, we have remained a platform for artists to share songs that entertain, make us fall in love, ponder about life, and remain inspired and hopeful amid difficult times,” he remarked.

Underscoring how time should be spent wisely, he further shared what the artists and audiences alike can expect as Wish begins another year in the industry.

“We will continue to grab every opportunity to share the amazing talent of our Filipino artists all over the world and to spread love and compassion to everyone…It’s because we believe that good music, hopeful wishes, and most importantly, good works, are worth spending time on.”

Ultimately, he encouraged the crowd to “take part in sharing the gift of love.”

“May we be vessels of faith, hope, and love at a time when the world needs them most,” he reminded.

The “Wish Gifts of Love” anniversary show is presented by Man of Steel — “Tayo Na!” and Spotify — “Listening is Everything”; co-presented by Puregold — “Always Panalo!”, Silka — “Walang Duda, Alagang Silka”, and National No. 1 Tea — “Natural and Organic for Healthy Drinking”; together with our major sponsors San Marino — “Pasarapin ang Love with San Marino”, CDO Crispy Burger — “Gawing Crispy and Meaty ang eating time with CDO Crispy Burger”, Huawei Nova 8i — “Super Camera, Super Charge”, Royal Enfield; minor sponsors Mevti Trading — “We make future brighter thru solar energy” and Cartier Telecom — “Your Latest Gadget On Hand”; and our partners KDR Adventure Camp, KDR Music House Company, Daniels, Morong Star Hotel and Resort, EFS Apparel, BES House of Chicken, Marcid Blue, ERC Travel Services, Smallville Dive Center and Resort, KDR Studios and Productions, Inc., and Salut Manila.