Apl.de.ap admits he courted KC

MANILA, Philippines - Allan Pineda or apl.de.ap of The Black Eyed Peas admitted that he once courted actress KC Concepcion.

In an interview during a press conference for "The Voice of the Philippines" on Friday, Pineda said that he was serious with his intentions to court Concepcion.

"I was [serious] at the moment, you know," he said. "But unfortunately, time didn't connect well and I got too busy. But, you know, we are still friends."

Denying that Concepcion turned him down, Pineda said: "No, no, no. Nothing stopped or anything, we still communicate. Once I found [out] she had a boyfriend, I kind of stopped texting a little bit."

Asked to give a message to Concepcion, the international singer said: "What's up, KC. I guess, sorry to hear what happened with your relationship. But enjoy yourself and, you know, it's time to be single and have a good time and hang out with apl."

Pineda added that if Concepcion would have time, he would gladly take her out to lunch or dinner again.

Earlier, it was reported that Pineda gave Concepcion a bracelet and a bouquet of flowers.

 These gifts came when Concepcion was in a relationship with actor Piolo Pascual.

After her controversial breakup with Pascual, Concepcion was linked to French filmmaker Pierre Emmanuel Plassart.

'The Voice PH' coach

In the interview, Pineda shared his excitement to be part  of ABS-CBN's newest singing competition.

He said that he accepted the offer to be part of "The Voice of the Philippines" to find new Filipino talents.

"I'm always open to, like, looking for a fellow Filipino artist. I have started my label at Jeepney Music and I've always been searching for a new Filipino talent. And this is a great way to find them," he said.

Pineda admitted that it was his friend, William Adams or will.i.am, of The Black Eyed Peas who is part of "The Voice UK," who encouraged him to accept the coaching stint.

"Yeah, actually will.i.am is one of the people that encouraged me to do it.  He's like, 'yo apl, you got to do 'The Voice,' you got to represent your kababayan all over the world and you got to search new talent.' So he really inspired me to do it," he said.

In the "The Voice of the Philippines,"  Pineda will be joined by Sarah Geronimo, Bamboo Mañalac and Lea Salonga.

ABS-CBN's search for the first "The Voice of the Philippines" begins this June.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Black Eyed Peas' apl.de.ap named US Embassy adviser

Filipino-American singer-rapper Allan Pineda, a.k.a. apl.de.ap of the American alternative hip hop group "Black Eyed Peas," was named an informal advisor to the US Embassy in Manila.

US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. named Pineda an advisor following the group's concert Tuesday night in Pasay City.

"Ambassador Thomas spoke at the Black Eyed Peas concert last night at the SM Mall of Asia concert grounds. He has named Apl.de.ap (who is Filipino-American) an informal advisor to the Embassy," the embassy said in an entry on its Facebook account Wednesday.

Earlier, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III personally thanked Pineda for his efforts to improve the state of education in the Philippines by helping in the building of more classrooms in the country.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Aquino talked to Pineda on Monday at a dinner hosted by Aquino's cousin Rafael Lopa.

Pineda was born in Angeles City, Pampanga to a Filipino mother and an African American father. At age 14, he was adopted by an American family.

Later as an eight-grader, he met William Adams (will.i.am) and the two of them began rapping and performing together around Los Angeles.

The Black Eyed Peas released their first album in 1998. The group has already received several Grammy Awards and has sold around 60 million albums worldwide. - VVP, GMA News

Source: gmanews.tv