Fil-Australian trio signs with Epic, release new a cappella single

Gabby Montalbo, DJ Tigerlily, Bernie Marquez and Tiara Albert —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

In their coordinated looks of cropped leather jackets over midriff-baring tops paired with deconstructed denims, the members of H3RIZON (pronounced horizon) had the girl group vibe down pat.

The three Sydney-based Filipino-Australian singers were in the country last week for the fourth JBL Sound Fest held on Friday night at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds.

They’ve been to the Philippines before, but this time was special because the JBL ambassadors recently signed a record deal with Epic Records USA, and RZ3, the family-owned label of Tricky Stewart.

It’s a landmark moment as H3RIZON is the first Australian all-female group to sign with Epic Records, and the first all-female band from the Asia-Pacific region to sign with an American record label.

Gabby Montalbo, Bernie Marquez and Tiara Albert have been singing since they were kids at get-togethers organized by the Filipino community, but only began singing professionally five years ago. Tiara is Filipino-Hungarian, while Gabby’s and Bernie’s parents are Filipinos.

Own rendition

At the media briefing held last week, they performed an a cappella medley of some of their songs, ending it with a few stanzas from their latest single, “You Don’t Know Nothin’.” The head-bopping tune was originally performed by the American R&B quartet, For Real, from their 1994 record, “It’s A Natural Thang.”

They were in Atlanta in the United States when they first came across the song. “When we heard it, we knew we had to come up with our own take, our own rendition,” Gabby told Inquirer Entertainment.

Gabby Montalbo, Tiara Albert and Bernie Marquez of H3RIZON —CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

All three still can’t go over their good fortune on bagging a record deal with Epic which helped launch the careers of Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, Culture Club, Wham and Meghan Trainor. The 70-year-old record label founded in 1953 is owned by Sony Music Entertainment.

Surreal

Since signing with Epic, the trio has been recording songs, shooting videos and traveling to the United States, Hong Kong and now the Philippines. In Hong Kong last week, they performed at the HKJC Racing Club for over 20,000 people.

“It’s so surreal. We were independent artists for five years and now we have a record coming out early next year,” Bernie said.

The trio was joined last week by fellow JBL ambassador DJ Tigerlily at the launch of the brand’s Partybox Ultimate, a party speaker equipped with immersive and booming surround sound, multidimensional light shows, and a splash-proof design perfect for karaoke parties or private concerts.

For more information, visit jbl.com.ph. INQ