By Sera Tikotikovatu-Sefeti
“If you think you will come in expecting to be seated, we guarantee you will be burning the dance floor.
That’s the promise of VT1S band manager, Tikiko Korocowiri, ahead of the band’s Fiji Fringe Festival show on March 4.
VT1S (pronounced Viti Ones), a platform set up by music lable VTBOP music to showcase young artists, has spawned songs like ‘Ika’ which is sweeping local TikTok, ‘Saiva Ciwa’, and ‘Yalayala’, to name just a few.
Their Fringe Festival show will be a cinematic experience, with lots of lights and LED screens, promises Korocowiri.
The team has gotten rid of chairs and tables on the floor, opting for a standing show “because when the music starts pumping we want the people jumping, jiving along, and not sitting down and falling asleep.”
VT1S, which was set up in 2021 as a new way of marketing music in Fiji, put artists together “in a mixed project that acts sort of like a bag of assorted chocolates; people may love one or two artists, but because it’s VT1S and not just artist A or B, they get to listen to new artists that they may have never known about.”
It’s a model that has been proven successful as they currently have 10 artists in the lineup: Ratu, Billy T, Soni, Wedger, Nicky, Liz, Oni, Jay Tauleka, Oz and an artist signed outside VT1S project, itaukei rapper, Ju Ben. Over 40 original songs have been recorded by the music label, which has received over 10 million views on YouTube, generated 5.8 million streams, and sold out local and international shows.
At their upcoming show, Korocowiri says while the pavilion is available for those that want to sit, “we recommend the floor; the party and the fun are always on the floor.”
VT1S will be performing at the FMF Gymnasium on the 4th of March from 6:00pm-9:30pm.
Visit vtbopmusic on Facebook and Instagram for details on tickets, and we can’t wait to see you at the show.
