# TNT Boys

The TNT Boys (also known as The Big Shot Trio or Tawag ng Tanghalan Boys) is a Filipino boy band made up of three of the pre-to-early teen finalists of the 2017 television competition Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids. The members are Keifer Sanchez, Mackie Empuerto, and Francis Concepcion. In 2018, TNT Boys won as the grand winner in the second season of Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids. TNT Boys are the first Filipino act to perform in the four franchises of the talent show Little Big Shots in the Philippines, United States, United Kingdom and Australia.

## History
### 2017: Formation from Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids

On June 10, 2017, the Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids (TNT Kids) grand finals was held at ABS-CBN Studio 3. John Clyd Talili emerged as the grand champion, while Keifer Sanchez was on the 2nd place, Mackie Empuerto on the 3rd place, Sheena Belarmino on the fourth spot and Francis Concepcion in fifth. Vice Ganda was instrumental in forming the trio when the boys guested on his show Gandang Gabi Vice just after the grand finals. Vice asked them to have a singing battle with Beyoncé's "Listen". The boys' performance in Gandang Gabi Vice was critically applauded and went viral on social media, with reaction videos from netizens praising their singing ability. There and then, Vice launched the kids as the TNT Boys.

### 2018: Talent show visits

In April 2018, the TNT Boys appeared on the Little Big Shots US to sing Beyonce's "Listen". The episode prompted Ellen DeGeneres to tweet Beyonce: "Beyoncé, I hope you watch Sunday’s episode of #LittleBigShots." And just a day after, Little Big Shots released a clip of the performance online. Brian May, one of the members of the British rock band Queen, shared the video on his verified Facebook page, saying "Check out these lovely young lads from the Philippines. Brilliant. Great to see youngsters relating to Queen so well — and enjoying"
The group also appeared on the other franchises of Little Big Shots, including Little Big Shots UK and Australia.
In May 2018, TNT Boys participated in the second season of Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids. During the first week of the show, the TNT Boys impersonated the Bee Gees, again receiving critical applause and attracted the attention of the group who tweeted:"Imitation truly is the sincerest from of flattery! Thank you #TNTBoys @YourFacePH for your rendition of "Too Much Heaven". #MyBeeGees," Other notable renditions and impersonations include songs from APO Hiking Society, Salbakuta, Destiny's Child, Aegis, The Supremes, Hagibis, Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, Spice Girls, VST & Company, The Three Tenors, DoReMi (Donna Cruz, Regine Velasquez, and Mikee Cojuangco), Wonder Girls, ABBA (with Sam Shoaf). After 16 weeks of performances and their grand finals impersonation of Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj's "Bang Bang", they emerged as the grand winner of the second season, garnering 100% of the judges' and public votes held at UP Theater on August 19, 2018.
On October 14, 2018, the TNT Boys performed at Singaporean President Halimah Yacob's Star Charity (PSC) event in Singapore over the weekend. The three dapper young boys emerged on stage wearing matching maroon suits and treated the attendees of the charity ball to their rendition of Whitney Houston’s "The Greatest Love of All" and Beyoncé's "Listen". After their performance, President Yacob herself went backstage to personally meet and take photos with the boys.
On November 14, 2018, the boys received the Royal Cub Award at the Rawr Awards 2018 from the entertainment blog, LionhearTV. The Royal Cub Award is given to young individuals who possess incredible talent recognized globally by consistently making headlines and trending performances. On November 18, they became a regular performer on ASAP after the show reformatted into ASAP Natin 'To. They received a Rising Pop Child Performer of the Year Award at the PPOP Awards for Young Artists 2018.
On November 30, 2018, TNT Boys broke the record as the country's youngest sold outperformers on their first major concert entitled 'Listen: The Big Shot Concert' at the Araneta Coliseum. Their guests included Jed Madela, Vice Ganda, K Brosas, Janine Berdin, Noven Belleza, John Clyde Talili, and the Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids from season 1 and 2.

### 2019: World tour, more talent shows, and "Starla" theme song

In the series' premiere episode on February 3, 2019, the TNT Boys appeared as contestants on the U.S. reality talent competition The World's Best. During the audition rounds, they garnered a total of 99/100 points from the American and international judges. In the battle rounds, they got a total score of 97. They lost to Naturally 7 in the championship rounds for the group variety category.
The TNT Boys will begin their world tour featuring Angelica Hale for the North American dates in April 2019.
In October 2019, the group performed the official theme song for the fantasy drama series Starla, entitled "Ako ang Iyong Bituin".

## Members

* Keifer Sanchez, born (2004-11-25) November 25, 2004 (age 20) in Davao City, Philippines
* Mackie Empuerto, born (2005-09-08) September 8, 2005 (age 19) in Manila, Philippines
* Francis Concepcion, born (2006-06-22) June 22, 2006 (age 18) in Zamboanga, Philippines

## Concerts

| Date | Title | Venue | Country | Description |
| July 13, 2018 | AEGIS 20BLE Dekada | Smart Araneta Coliseum | Philippines | Guest performers |
| July 28, 2018 | TNT All Star Showdown | Smart Araneta Coliseum | Philippines | with fellow TNT artists |
| September 21, 2018 | TNT All Star Showdown Cebu | Hoops Dome, Lapu-lapu City | Philippines | with fellow TNT artists |
| September 28, 2018 | Pinoy Hype 2018 | Al Nasr Leisureland | United Arab Emirates | with Janine Berdin, BoybandPH |
| November 16, 2018 | Jed Madela XV HIGHER THAN HIGH: The 15th Anniversary Concert | Smart Araneta Coliseum | Philippines | Guest performers |
| November 30, 2018 | Listen : The Big Shot Concert | Smart Araneta Coliseum | Philippines | Solo concert |
| February 16, 2019 | TNT Boys: A Post-Valentine Special | Thunderbird Resorts and Casinos Rizal | Philippines | Solo concert |
| February 23, 2019 | TNT Boys: A Post-Valentine Special | Thunderbird Resorts and Casinos La Union | Philippines | Solo concert |
| April 25, 2019 | TNT Boys Listen: The World Tour | Theater at Ace Hotel, Los Angeles | United States | Solo concert |
| April 27, 2019 | TNT Boys Listen: The World Tour | Edmonton Expo Center, Alberta | Canada | Solo concert |
| May 2, 2019 | TNT Boys Listen: The World Tour | Chabot College Hayward, California | United States | Solo concert |
| August 3, 2019 | ASAP Natin 'To Bay Area | S.A.P Center, San Jose, California | United States | with other Filipino Artists |
| November 16, 2019 | ASAP Natin 'To Rome | Palazzo Dello Sport, Rome | Italy | with other Filipino Artists |
| December 13, 2019 | Filipino Night OA sa Riyadh | Riyadh Boulevard, Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | Guest performers |
| December 31, 2019 | The Grand Countdown to 2020 | Resorts World, Manila | Philippines | Collaboration with Gary Valenciano |

## Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Result |
| 2018 | Rawr Awards | Royal Cub Awardee | Won |
| 2018 | PPOP Young Artists Awards | Rising Pop Child Performer of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Wish Music Awards: Breaking Boundaries | Breaking Boundaries Award | Won |
| 2019 | Push Awards | Push Newcomer of the Year | Nominated |
| 2019 | Push Awards | Push Music Performance of the Year "TNT Boys as Bee Gees - Too Much Heaven" | Won |
| 2019 | 50th Guillermo Mendoza Box Office Entertainment Awards | Promising Male Concert Performers of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | National Customers' Choice Annual Awards | Concert Performer of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | National Customers' Choice Annual Awards | Concert of the Year -Listen: The Bigshot Concert | Won |
| 2019 | Golden Laurel Media Awards | Breakthrough Music Artist of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Aral Parangal | Music Artist of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Best Choice Achievement Awards | Concert Performer of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Awit Awards | Favorite Group Artists | Won |
| 2019 | Awit Awards | Favorite New Group Artists | Won |
| 2019 | Alta Media Icon Awards | Best Child Performers for TV | Won |
| 2020 | 11th PMPC Star Awards for Music | Group Artist of the Year | Won |