Crash Adams in Manila: The Canadian Pop Duo Spreads Love With Their Music

Vocalist Rafaele Massarelli and guitarist Vince Sasso, known as the Canadian pop duo Crash Adams, were in Manila for the first time last August 17 for a press conference and mall show at Trinoma in Quezon City. 

Crash Adams is a name inspired by a movie about a doctor who heals people with love and good vibes. And that's what this duo hopes to do with the music they put out there. Their songs are catchy, upbeat, and feel-good; they speak to a wide audience, including kids. And it's pleasantly surprising that kids who grew up in the age of social media, a platform where Crash Adams thrived during the pandemic and continues to thrive in, jam to their music.  

My seven-year-old son, for instance, was so excited when I told him Crash Adams was going to Manila, and he asked if he could watch their show with me. I honestly thought he'd be the only kid in the crowd, but no, there were kids in front who were singing and jumping along as the duo performed their hits like "Give Me a Kiss," "Hotel Party," "Right Foot First," "Destination," "Lucky," and "Good Side." That just goes to show that music is truly universal and has the power to unite and connect people even from miles away. 

I asked my son how he discovered Crash Adams, and he said he came across them and their "Can You Rap in Public" series on YouTube. Rafaele and Vince (who are always dapper in suits and Vince with his signature sunglass accessory), perform on the streets and ask random strangers to jam with them by incorporating a freestyle rap into their song. Once, while performing their song "Caroline" on Santa Monica pier, they met a man with his baby in tow and invited him to hop on the song. To their surprise, this man, Jaree, did such an impressive job with the freestyle rap, and Crash Adams' video with him went viral on TikTok and quickly amassed 50 million views! That was such a huge boost in Crash Adams' popularity, and it didn't stop there. The two continue with their signature content and keep shining the spotlight on the talented people they meet as they travel around. Below, check out some videos from their "Can You Rap in Public" series:

"Sometimes we wait out there for five to six hours. But sometimes, we find somebody that can actually rap, or they say, 'I can sing,'" Rafaele said of their "Can You Rap in Public" series during their "Crashing Into Trinoma" show. In Manila, they tried this signature content and met Filipino rock band Lola Amour, whom they invited to their show to join them in performing their new song, "8 Days," which will be released on August 23. 

Crash Adams also went around Manila to create content while performing "8 Days." On this experience, Vince told Metro.Style during the press con, "We were able to play it in the Philippines on the streets, in the mall… and the energy that we feel while we were playing it is exactly the type of energy that we want to create in our music… and the people are also feeling the energy." 

"I also think it's cool. It's a play on words. Of course, 'I think about you seven days a week' is not enough to think about you, so we made it eight days," Rafaele added. 

Today, here's Crash Adams' social media stats: almost 830,000 followers on Facebook, 2.6 million followers on Instagram, 6.3 million followers on TikTok, and 10.4 million subscribers on YouTube. On Spotify, they have 2 million monthly listeners.

These childhood friends have truly come a long way since they began making music together in 2020. They made a mark with their content where they'd transport the red couch of Rafaele's grandmother to different places while taking photos and performing. From "Crashing Into Your Living Room" (as their debut EP's title goes), the duo is now crashing into different venues around the world to spread love through their songs. From a few thousand likes on social media, they're now hitting millions of views for each content they produce.

"This is our personal life. We're living every day, and this is what Crash Adams is. And we have fun doing everything we do… so it's not a job," Vince said during the press con when asked how they separate their personal lives from work.  

Before performing "Lucky" at their show in Trinoma, Rafaele told the crowd, "This song is the story of our lives. Growing up, everybody told us that we shouldn't pursue music. They said it was too hard. 'You can't make it happen. You should be an accountant. You should choose something that actually helps.' And we love music, so we needed to do this for ourselves. And everybody told us that in order to make it in music, you need to be very lucky. For us, we know we can make our own luck with our minds. If you think about it, if you really think about it and you dream, you can make it happen."

Crash Adams' story is proof of how one can make dreams happen with some help from social media. They may have been lucky, but that luck is mixed with talent and a huge amount of effort. By doing what they are passionate about, now, people一kids included一think about them and their music eight days a week. 

Lead photo from @crashadams

Special thanks to @warnermusicph and @grace_foronda