The Voice Kids Philippines alumni Darren Espanto and Sassa Dagdag are just starting. Even with albums and rewards under their names, these young singers’ careers have nowhere to go but up. Darren, who finished second at the show’s inaugural season, has two albums and a multitude of awards under his belt while Sassa, finalist of the show’s 2nd season, just recently launched her debut album and is enjoying a string of gigs and live performances. Darren and Sassa are also proud members of the Vivo Family, a roster of the top smartphone brand’s influencers. Both were introduced as part of the Vivo Family last September.
Vivo is a global brand known for its selfie-centric smartphones which represents the brand’s mission of empowering self-expression of the next generation. It features the most advanced technologies, not only for the cameras but for all aspects, from photo shooting to display, helping media-savvy and social media-devoted consumers capture and enjoy their most significant moments. Vivo signed the hottest celebrities in the Philippines in an effort to extend the brand to the local consumers, especially the young and the hip.
Darren, a self-confessed K-pop junkie, can sing and even strut a mean dance move to boot. At a very young age, he already released the self-entitled, full-length studio album Darren in 2014, which debuted at number one on the Philippine charts of Apple’s iTunes store and reached platinum. Just last year, Darren came up with a sophomore album, called Be With Me. Darren also performed at his own birthday concert last May.
Currently, with the recent #DyingInsidetoHoldYou Dance Challenge which many local celebrities jumping in the bandwagon to perform their own versions, Darren’s own “Dying Inside to Hold You” rendition is trending with almost 300,000 views on Instagram.
Darren is one busy Vivo influencer. He was present during the Vivo V7+ launch last September and enjoyed his first Vivo mall tour at SM Marikina last November. Darren also honored the Marawi soldier-heroes at the brand’s CSR activity at the V. Luna hospital last December.
Sassa did not fail to win the hearts of The Voice Kids PH judges and viewers when she sang Sia’s “Chandelier” at the blind auditions, with three million views on Youtube. She was also included in the list of finalists for two categories at the Wish FM 107.5 Music Awards: Wish Young Artist of the Year and Best Wishclusive Performance by a Young Artist for her rendition of Beyonce’s “Halo.”
Sassa is a firm supporter of Vivo. As an influencer, she performed for fans at a Vivo mall tour at SM Southmall last October. She was also present at another Vivo mall tour at SM Pampanga the same month and at Fishermall in Quezon City just this December.
As musical artists, Darren and Sassa love their V7+’s hi-fidelity audio chip which supports the latest sound technology and levels up mobile audio technology, enabling them to relish rich and full rhythms. As influencers with a substantial following on social media, both appreciate Vivo V7+’s 24MP front camera, which creates perfect selfies each time. Because Darren loves K-pop and getting dance tips from K-pop videos, he swears by the V7+’s 5.99”all-screen display which enables him to have a solid visual experience. Sassa also appreciates the phone’s special fingerprint lock feature for stonewall security.
Vivo, in the Philippines, places third in the most popular smartphone brand with at least 1.1 million users and 5,200 stores and counting nationwide. Vivo attributes its success to its innovative spirit and topnotch marketing strategy. With all these facts in place, it is no wonder that a lot of today’s most popular local celebrities chose to support Vivo.
This story is in partnership with Vivo. To know more about its products, visit the website or follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.