Black Eyed Peas’ apl.de.ap drums up help for ‘Ondoy’ victims
Fil-Am singer Allan Pineda Lindo aka apl de.ap of the Grammy Award-winning pop group Black Eyed Peas has not only pledged assistance to “Ondoy” victims but he has enjoined international communities to do the same.
"My heart is broken to see so many of my Filipino brothers and sisters hurt by this disaster. We must all bond together and move forward to restore the city we hold dear. I'm asking the global community for their support and donations to assist the thousands of Filipinos affected by this tragedy," said the 34-year-old musician.
Lindo also launched on Sept. 29 in Singapore “Take Me to the Philippines,” a music video he wrote, recorded and produced pro bono which aims to help promote Philippine tourism.
“I really want to help and support (our country),” he said.
The video, Lindo added, is meant to appeal to the youth, particularly Filipino Americans who grew up abroad.
“To (help) them remember where they came from and (encourage them) to come back to their homeland (to let them know) that whenever they do, it helps (the country).”
Lindo was candid enough to admit that “Take me to the Philippines” is not the song he originally pitched to the Department of Tourism (DOT).
“I had this other tune called ‘Island,’ which focuses on poverty, children selling sampaguitas on the streets, the squatters…but I realized it’s not something I would want to (show the world)…so, I wrote ‘Take me to the Philippines’ and highlighted the beautiful places we have back home,” said he.
Lindo’s collaboration with the DOT dovetails perfectly with Black Eyed Peas’ historic dominance of the charts with their latest CD, “The E.N.D.”
The disc has held pole position on the Billboard charts for at least 22 consecutive weeks now—a feat that had allowed Black Eyed Peas to surpass the records set by music greats like the Beatles, Elvis, and Michael Jackson.



