October 1st, 1998 : Singapore Airlines
flight number PH#74 arrived carrying 98* and crew from Jakarta,
Indonesia. 6:30 p.m., Shangri-La Makati, we (me, Mr.Dy and Mr.
Calderon of Polygram, and a girl named Judy) entered room 1414.
Drew, Tommy and Johnny were there. They all said "hi" and shook
hands with everyone. So how was the flight? Drew replied, "It
was good actually. It was pretty fast. I thought it would take
longer than that." Later, Jeff entered the room. He didn't see
me immediately 'cause I was lurking beside the foot of Drew's bed.
"Oh, I didn't see you there. I'm sorry. I'm Jeff," he apologized..
aww, bless. Small talks here and there, Jeff told us that he already
had gotten phone calls from some fans. Drew did, too, that's why
Johnny decided that they should change the names they checked under
in. Speaking of phone calls, I got a phone call from Mum, so I got
out of the room in time to see Nick barge out from room 1412 asking
a USA Today from a hotel employe. Reading the sports headline,
he shouted, "Now, that's what I'm talking about!" Good news, I guess..
anyway! A guy from a room further down the hallway came out wearing
a Boston Celtics T-shirt. It was Justin. (He's gone blonde!) After
saying hello, he asked everyone how much is the exchange rate.
"I'm going shopping!" he said.
October 2nd, 1998 : 10 am, TEENTRENDS
photo shoot - hotel's poolside. After the first few shots, Justin,
Nick, and Drew went upstairs to get some sunglasses 'cause the
sun was irritating their eyes. What about Jeff? "Justin is going to
let me borrow one of his," he explains. "I used to bring my own pairs
but I end up losing them wherever I go." After some poolside shots
(they looked soo good!), it's off to their rooms and get some
"exclusive" pictures of the band watching TV, lying down, etc.
continued..
1:00 p.m., one-on-one interview with writer Isah V. Red. He asked,
"So what is Ohio famous for?" Drew answered, "It's known for a lot
of things. Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Redskins.." Hmm.. anyway,
I really didn't pay much attention to the interview 'cause it's
impolite to eavesdrop you know! 2:00 p.m., Sketchers people came with
new shoes in tow. They wre all gleaming upon the sight of their
Sketchers especially Drew who loved what he got. Meanwhile, Justin
seems to have a new name. "I have a new name : Juston!" he said,
because apparently, the label on his shoes said so!
When 98* went upstairs to freshen themselves up before going to
ABS-CBN, Jeff was the first one to come down. While waiting for others,
he was singing Earthbound by Conner Reeves and that he only
got his copy of his album here in Manila. He also revealed the reasons
behind their new nicknames. "I'm 'Sugar' because I can't eat sugar.
I'm hyperglycemic. Nick is 'Hollywood' because his nickname before was
LA Lachey. Justin's 'Hydro' becuase you always see him carrying a
bottle of water, and Drew, well, we call Drew 'Sprout' because he's
short! he snorks..
4:00 p.m., ABS-CBN. On to Studio 1 to shoot their Super Laff-in
scene, Drew noticed that the audience had name tags on them 'cause
they were contestants for a game show on Channel 2. Drew said, "Come on
down!" as they do on The Price is Right making the other members
laugh. After the first take, 98* had to do it all over again because
someone went wrong with the camera. The audience were actually screaming
"Take 3, take 3" after the second take was done! Sorry guys, but up
next was the PAT-P interview. "So what can you say that you compete
with younger bands like The Moffatts, Backstreet Boys and Boyzone?"
she asked them. "We can take on The Moffatts anytime, huh!" said
Drew while stretching out his muscles, Hulk Hogan style. He's sooo
funny! Big thanks to traffic, 98* got to SM City 6:40 p.m. (The show
was originally scheduled at 5!) Drew apologized, "We're sorry we're
late. We got caught up in traffic," but the fans immediately replied,
"It's okay! We don't mind." See, no thing to worry about! After the
show, it was autograph session time and, 98* rushed off for the RX 93.1
interview. Because of traffic (so what's new?) we got to the station
at 9 p.m. As 98* were about to go into the elevator, they were met by
two fans that came out from it. "Oh, my God!" they screamed.
"What's the matter?" Jeff teased. (As if he doesn't know why!).
When we got up to the radio booth, a bunch of fans were there waiting
for 98*. After the interview and an acapella of Because of You,
98* took time to sign autographs for the fans that religiously waited
for them to come. AFter a few minutes, it's back to the hotel. Jeff's
hair looked a bit messed up, though. "It does? (laughs) That's 'cause
I've been sleeping in the van," he explained. We arrived at the hotel
around 10:35 p.m. and everyone is knackered. Time to get some sleep
for tomorrow's another busy, busy, busy day for the group.
special thanx going out to chinky.. thank you for sending
this awesome magazine!! get yourselves a TEENTREND mag, now!