#NewClassicILIB
Chapter 2
Kaleidoscope
My hands and lips were trembling as I looked at the screen of my laptop. I just entered the raffle codes from the albums I bought to check if I was one of the lucky fans, who'd get a limited pass for New Classic's first fan signing, and meet and greet.
Their first mini album, Kaleidoscope, had just came out last week. They even had an online live showcase for their debut album―where they discussed what the album was about and the songs it contains, and they also performed the title track of the album for the first time.
"Our first mini album is called Kaleidoscope," Ike started the talk about their album. "We decided to name it Kaleidoscope because just like how we perceived a kaleidoscope in our dreams, that's also how we want the listeners of our album to perceive our music. We want them to know that in times of difficulty and self-doubt, it is still possible that they can still see the beauty of oneself, by looking at the different aspects or colors of life."
The other members nodded, after Ike explained to us the meaning of their album. They really thought of a perfect name of their first mini album. Everyone in the chat box was saying how beautiful the title of their album was, and I couldn't agree more.
I remembered how they hit the charts, straight number one, just a week after Smile was released. Like what I expected, they had garnered a lot of fans. They actually acquired the record as the fastest rookie band to reach the number one spot.
Actually, I created a fanbase account to support the band. The account I was handling gained a lot of attention that I reached twenty thousand followers in no time. Every time I was stressed with academics, especially because midterms had just ended, I would just listen to smile and handle the fanbase account. I actually had a goal. If I'd reach fifty thousand followers, I would look for another admin, who could help me handle the account.
"The first track in the album is Smile, which is our debut single," Isaiah said. "As everyone knows, this song hopes to bring a smile to your faces, whenever you all listen to it."
Hearing and seeing him talking about Smile again gave me a sense of pride, knowing that the song was written because of me. I could listen to him talk about it forever.
Your tears are so precious
Just to let it fall on the ground
Smile and hope that someday
Things will come around
I'm singing for you
Who's crying tonight
Smile for me
Smile tonight
Smile under the moonlight
And shine
"Second track is Always," Ike stated, after they played Smile's chorus. "It is the title track of our album. The music video will be released, right after this live showcase."
"So please, guys, right after the live ended, quickly head over to our official Youtube channel, New Classic Official," Sic added.
"Yes, that's right!" Jirro commented. "But for our title track, since we will play it live for you later, we will skip the highlight and introduce our third track in the album entitled We Singing. It's a song we had written and composed, right after we were signed by Top Star. It talks about how we turn our hopes and dreams into reality by not being intimidated by our doubts and fears."
So here's to our hopes and dreams
We finally make it come true
And we singing na nana nana nananana
So here's to our doubts and fears
You'll never bring us down
We singing to you na nana nana nananana
My head automatically bobbed along the song, when they played a bit of We Singing's chorus. They all harmonized so well, while singing the chorus all together. The 'nanana' part was very catchy as well since it was upbeat. It was an alternative pop rock, I believed.
"The fourth track is Take The Shot." It was Isaiah's turn to speak again. "It's about going with the flow and freeing ourselves from being stuck in the past. This song hopes to encourage everyone to just enjoy themselves, no matter if they're experiencing good times or bad times."
I didn't want to be biased, but I just really tend to focus more, whenever he was the one speaking. However, I guessed it couldn't be helped because he's really my bias in the band.
Living in past is a no, no, no
When tomorrow comes
Why don't you take the shot?
Why don't you take the shot?
Let us cheers to the good times
And all of the bad times
Why don't we take the shot?
Oh, let us take the shot tonight!
It was another upbeat song. The last part was abruptly cut. I felt like there would be a catchy drop after that. I suddenly became impatient as I wanted to hear the full song of each track in the album.
"And of course, the last track in the album, Moments," Ike said, his voice soft and low. "You can say that this is a song we created for our fans. Actually, Moments shouldn't be included in this album, and the last track was supposed to be a different song, but since we were so overwhelmed with all of the support we received with Smile, we decided to create a song to thank you all for the love and include it in our first ever album. So yeah, this is Moments..."
These are the moments I won't forget
These are the moments I won't regret
These are the moments that always
Lift my feet off the ground
These are the moments I will treasure
These are the moments I will remember
These are the moments oh, oh
Baby, this is our moment
It was another sentimental song by New Classic. I could feel how much passion they put, while they were singing in chorus. Though I had to say that Isaiah's voice was very distinctive. I could clearly hear it over their well-harmonized voices.
"We really hope that people will feel how much passion we poured out to our music by listening to our first ever album," Sic clasped his hands together as he spoke, while staring straight at the camera.
"Yes, we surprisingly received a lot of love with Smile, and I hope you all will continue to support us with our new songs and our first ever album," Jirro added.
"And now, before we end this live stream, for the first time ever, we are going to perform our title track―Always." Isaiah smiled a bit, and I just sighed in admiration.
"But before that, let us all say good bye to our viewers first because we won't have a chance later on," Ike told them and stood up.
The other members followed him, and they all formed a straight line at the center.
"Got Music?" Ike started.
"New Classic!" The boys followed as they were doing some hand movements simultaneously.
"Thank you for watching!" And they all said in unison, before the screen faded in black.
The live stream didn't end there. Within only three minutes, they showed a well set-up stage with their instruments. All of them were wearing a different outfit from what they wore earlier. It amazed me on how fast they changed their outfits, in just a short period of time.
But then, my thoughts were interrupted as they began playing their instruments.
It was a mellow song. However, I couldn't stop myself from smiling as the camera zoomed to Isaiah when he began to hum, after filming a close up look to Ike, Jirro, and Sic.
Ooh... Oh oh
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Hmm...
Isaiah closed his eyes and held the microphone with both of his hands, while he vocalized in the beginning of the song, during the intro.
Did you ever feel like
You're hanging on a cliff?
Did you ever feel like
This is gonna be it?
Did you ever feel like
You're breaking down?
Cause if you do,
I'll say...
That was the only time Isaiah opened his eyes and stared straight at the camera. His eyes were piercing at it, burning with passion and his love for music.
Just take my hand
You won't fall
I'll be with you
Through it all
Just trust in me
And you'll see
Baby, I'll make you believe
Cause when everything else fades
I promise I'll stay
With you, with you
Always...
Hindi ko alam na puwede ka rin palang makaramdam ng sakit sa sobrang kasiyahan. I guessed that was why it was discovered that too much happiness could sometimes lead to heart attack. Sa sobrang kasiyahan ay naninikip ang aking dibdib. I reckoned that if somebody would see me right now, they would think I was overacting. I couldn't help but get carried away and emotional just by listening to their new song.
I finally understood why they came up with Kaleidoscope as the title of the album. All songs they input were very fitting to the concept they were going for.
Nang pinanood ko ang music video matapos ang kanilang live stream at pinakinggan ang buong kanta sa kanilang album, mas lalo lamang akong naging emosyonal. All their songs would talk about your imperfections or your hardships and will comfort you in different ways. It was either their songs would be sympathizing with you, or it would inspire you to move forward and become better.
But even though I heard new songs from them, Smile was still my most favorite. It wasn't just about the melody or the lyrics of the song. It was the story behind the creation of the song. It was about that moment I shared with Isaiah, which made it more sentimental for me.
I realized then, that I didn't have an opportunity to thank Isaiah for making me smile that night. I was too caught up with my emotions that I couldn't think and speak straight. And so, I hoped that we'd be given a chance to meet again.
Finally. The time I had been waiting for would come.
I bought ten copies of their mini album just to increase the chances of getting picked as one of the fifty fans who'd be able to attend the fan signing and meet and greet. I thought I wouldn't succeed, but after entering the raffle code I got from the eighth album, it was a success. I also tried the ninth and last album, but only the eighth album I tried, which successfully loaded a pass for the event.
Staring at the album, which brought me luck, I couldn't help but to admire it. The cover was simple, but it was aesthetically pleasing.
The fan signing, and meet and greet event would be next Sunday. The albums sold only for the first week would be eligible to join the raffle. And just a couple of minutes ago, the New Classic official account tweeted a link where we could check if we managed to get a pass or not.
"I did it..." I whispered to myself.
Once again, I pulled out the guitar pick he gave me. I smiled even wider, when I got a good look on the smiley face he drew on it.
"I'm going to meet you very, very soon, Isaiah," I said, like I was really talking to Isaiah as I talked to his pick. "I can't wait to finally see you again in person."
"Zendaya, it's time for―"
My brother's words hung midair when he saw me tearing up a bit. He just barged in straight to my room, without even knocking on the door.
"Why are you crying?!" His voice became panicky. He approached me quickly and wiped the tear off my face. "Who made you cry? Tell me."
Chuckling, I tried to avoid his hand. He only frowned because I laughed, while he was very anxious to see me cry.
"Kuya, I'm fine..." I told him and smiled.
Kumunot lalo ang kanyang noo. "Don't tell me it's because of that same song from the same band again?"
Natawa ako. Talagang alam na alam niya na. Every time he would pick me up from school, I would play Smile on repeat. He found it beautiful at first, but eventually, he got sick of it beause he'd been hearing it all the time.
"Well, it's not because of their songs..." sabi ko bago ihinarap sa kanya ang aking laptop. "Isa ako sa mga nanalo sa raffle. I'd be attending their fan signing event next Sunday. Mayroon din silang meet and greet no'n! I'm just super excited!"
He sighed. "You know―I'm happy that you find something that can make you inspired and happy, but I'm also worried that you might be obsessing with this band already."
"Hindi naman, Kuya..." I slightly pouted. "I know my limits. I'm... I'm just a fan."
Though we shared some kind of intimate night―as he saw and met me when I was in one of my lowest points in life, I was also aware that there was already a boundary, acting as an invisible line in between us, that I had to keep in check.
He's an artist now, and I'm just his fan.