Surrey singer, Argel MDR, was named the Member of the Week on Music BC.

The Filipino-Canadian was also in the Top 10 of CBC’s Toyota Searchlight 2021.

He moved to Canada from the Philippines as a 15 year old with his family to seek a better life, as well as better opportunities.

He also has a background in acting and songwriting.

He states that he wants his music and acting performances to inspire Filipino youths and other immigrants, as he is an immigrant himself.

He lists One Republic, Sam Smith, and Original Pinoy Music (OPM) as some of his musical influences.

He is an advocate of representation, anti-racism work, and inclusion, which I personally find to be amazing. As someone who comes from a minority background as well, I strive for anti-racism work as well.

To add onto his impressive resume, he also received a “Pop Artist of the Year” nomination, as well as a nomination for an “Excellence Award” by a BIMPOC artist. This is from the Fraser Valley Music Awards 2021, which is run by the CIVL 101.7 FM radio station.

His most recent song release was his debut EP called “Reign”, which was released just last week, on April 25th.

He posted on his Instagram account that this song was “two years in the making” and that he “poured his heart out with all the tracks released”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc55H-GJ-U4/

Additionally, he was featured on Omni News Filipino for his new song release.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc8iI70Ph0E/

After seeing how much he has accomplished in a weeks-time, he is fully deserving of the Member of the Week recognition. After listening to his new EP, I can just feel the energy and emotion in the lyrics and in his voice. As someone who is also a person of colour, it’s always nice to see someone in the same group gain recognition and praise for their hard work.