Warner Music Group | MANILA CONCERT SCENE

GRAMMY® Award-winning, Diamond selling superstar Cardi B is back to close out the summer with her latest single, “Bongos” featuring Megan Thee Stallion. “Bongos” was released via Atlantic Records and is accompanied by a lively, colorful visual directed by Tanu Muino. The visual takes place in Cardi B’s own sun-drenched oasis featuring an assortment of dazzling dancers surrounding the iconic duo throughout. “Bongos” arrives alongside a limited-edition CD for the single available for purchase HERE.

“Bongos” made its global broadcast premiere on MTV, MTV Live, MTVU, MTV Biggest Pop, YO! MTV, BET Jams, and BET Hip Hop, as well as on the Paramount Times Square billboards. It also arrives alongside the announcement of Cardi’s historic 12 nominations at this year’s upcoming BET Hip-Hop Awards. Tied with 21 Savage for most awarded artist, her nominations include: two nominations each for Best Hip Hop Video and Best Collaboration two nominations each for Song of the Year and Sweet 16: Best Featured Verse, Best Live Performer, Lyricist of the Year, Hip Hop Artist of the Year, and Hustler of the Year. “Bongo” comes on the heels of Cardi B’s breathtaking Vogue México and Latin America cover shoot for the famous September issue. The breathtaking cover shoot was accompanied by an in-depth, intimate interview that is available to read HERE. Both the single and cover shoot serve as the follow to a massive string of collaborations with her fellow rap peers. Some of these include Glorilla’s Platinum-certified “Tomorrow 2,” Latto’s Gold-certified “Put It On The Floor,” Offset’s “Jealousy,” and FendiDa Rappa’s “Point Me 2.”

Prior to “Bongos,” the pair released the historic and viral sensation, “WAP.” “WAP (Feat. Megan Thee Stallion)” affirmed Cardi B as one of Apple Music’s most popular artists of all time, earning the platform’s highest-ever debut by a female artist as well as the fastest song in Apple Music history by a female artist to peak at #1. It also went on to go #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #1 on rhythmic radio and peaked at #2 on urban radio. “WAP” also won Favorite Song – Rap / Hip-Hop at the American Music Awards and won Best Collaboration and Video of the Year at the BET Awards. It was also nominated for Collaboration of the Year at the American Music Awards, nominated for five categories at the MTV Video Music Awards, and nominated for Best Music Video at the iHeart Music Awards. The visual has now reached over 510M views and the audio now has over 3B streams.

Cardi B is among the most significant musical artists of all time, regardless of genre, gender, or generation- all accomplished in less than a decade. Some of her accolades include the most #1 singles (5) on the Billboard Hot 100, the first lead artist to top the Billboard Global 200 with an album that has sold 100M certified units, the most diamond-certified songs (3) by the RIAA, and the most songs with a billion streams on Spotify including the most-streamed female rap album. In 2023, Cardi is staying quite active with her feature in a Beats By Dre ad this past May and her collaboration with Whipshots sees a new flavor release for this fall: Pumpkin Spice. Cardi and Offset also appeared in McDonald’s 2023 Super Bowl Commercial, announcing the first-ever celebrity duo meal.

The deal will see ADA Asia support the Lilystars label – collaborating on new releases, catalogues, brand partnerships, as well as live and synchronization deals – marketing and distributing its artists’ music across South East Asia and beyond.

Lilystars Records is one of Manila’s finest and most successful artist-owned independent record labels. It was founded by Clem Castro, the frontman of alternative rock and indie pop band Orange & Lemons, which led the revival of Original Pilipino Music in the early 2000s.

Currently, the label’s roster of artists includes ADR, Bryan Estepa, Day & Dream, Dey Rose, Dragonfly Collector, Dustybuns, Galaxy Lodge, Hey, Jane!, Kubra Commander, Lily On The River, Orange & Lemons, Paper Satellites, Parasouls, Project Orange, The Bernadettes, The Camerawalls, The Geeks, The Gentle Isolation, The Midnight Greetings, The Sun Days, Them Bloody Royals, Sunflower Station, and Svvell.

Headquartered in Singapore, ADA Asia was established in September 2020 as part of ADA Worldwide’s global expansion strategy. Since its launch, it has actively inked deals with leading music companies in countries including Malaysia and Indonesia. It has also aggressively built out a global leadership team focused on serving the Asian space with tailor-made and unmatched offerings. Lilystars Records is the first partner in the Philippines that ADA Asia has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with.

Commenting on the alliance, Clem said: “Since our inception, we have always intended to offer a home for kindred spirits in indie pop to grow, learn and be heard. Over the years, we knocked on obscurity with an against-the-flow-mentality, as we pledged to become the support system, curator, and community builder for local musicians with a global bent. Our collaboration with ADA Asia will enable us to accelerate our efforts in putting the Philippines on the map with the type of music we create.”

Chee Meng Tan, Managing Director, ADA Asia added: “I am really excited to be partnering with the team at Lilystars Records. Just like Clem, we are deeply committed to connecting artists with their fans globally. We understand that each artist, creator and label are in a different phase of their careers and have different needs. Our cutting-edge technology and deep understanding of the markets will enable us to distinguish the needs of our partners and offer them bespoke solutions. We look forward to working with Lilystars Records and spreading their music around the world.”