Hale

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Hale, the band that promises to highlight their musical versatility and excellent vocalism in alternative rock genre and yet emanates a very sad undertone that they describe as “melodrama.” (melodious drama)

All from the southern part of the metro (Las Piñas, Alabang and Parañaque), Hale is composed of Champ Lui-Pio’s (lead vocals and guitars) heart-on-sleeve vocals and the group’s songwriting exude feelings and melody, much to the delight of the melancholic youth in search of a like-minded voice. Roll Martinez (guitars and vocals) with his lyrical powers, believes that there’s so much to spell in words through songs where exudes a very ironic yet compelling poetic piece, “Broken Sonnet”—the band’s first single with EMI Music. In synch with Sheldon Gellada’s expertise on bass, he also contributed heartfelt and experience-based songs infectious to his personal musical influences that excel in his instrumental virtuosity to grandiose rock. And with then-sessionist Omnie Saroca on drums, an artist whose music used to steep in cool mainstream reggae now switched to melodic rock.

On July 2004, Hale was formed.also, Instead of going indie and performing in underground gigs, Hale focused on playing their originals. With only less than half a year playing as a band, Hale was signed on November by EMI Philippines. On the first quarter of 2005, Hale released their first single Broken Sonnet along with their self-titled debut album. It was not until their second single The Day You Said Goodnight that Hale stared to gain attention from music aficionados around the Philippines.

Soon, their debut album went from gold (20,000 copies sold), to platinum (40,000), to double platinum (80,000), which was surprising for a rookie band with Coldplay as their sole inspiration. With two hit singles under their belt, they released two more singles, Kahit Pa and Kung Wala Ka, which made it to the #1 spot in the charts of radio stations nationwide. By the end of 2005, Hale became known as one of the most popular bands in the Philippines.

They continue to perform. By the first quarter of 2006, Hale released their repackaged album, along with another single, Toll Gate. And due to their success, they were proclaimed "Favorite New Artist in a Video" at the 2005 MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards and were nominated for the title of "Favorite Artist Philippines" at the 2006 MTV Asia Awards. The video for their single Kung Wala Ka also bagged the 2006 MTV Pilipinas Video Music Awards' title for "Favorite Pop Video." They were also nominated in various local music awards such as the MYX Music Awards and the Awit Awards.

The band has released their sophomore album entitled Twilight on September 30 of 2006, with a formal launching on October 7, which contains their first sophomore single, Waltz. This album went gold in less than a week. After Hale's second sophomore single Hide and Seek, they released their latest and third sophomore single, Shooting Star.

Official Website
Myspace Website
EMI Music Website