When Keifer Sanchez, Mackie Empuerto, and Francis Concepcion performed on the Filipino talent show Tawag Ng Tanghalan Kids in 2017, they were all between the ages of 10 and 12. Despite their young age, the three vocalists wowed judges and the general public with their talent. So, the singers joined forces to form a trio named the TNT Boys. From there, they took the world by storm, appearing on a variety of television shows worldwide.
One of the shows the group appeared on was The Late Late Show With James Corden. The TNT Boys brought their talent to the USA and sang ‘And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going’ from Dreamgirls. Appearing in matching white jackets, the boys started giving a professional and impressive performance. Suddenly, the polished singing trio transformed into excited youngsters when one of their idols, Ariana Grande, came out to join them on stage.
The TNT Boys shared excited and shocked looks between themselves. After hugging each of them, Ariana joined in with them to sing. Somehow, the young singers still managed to continue the song pitch-perfectly despite receiving such a big shock. Viewers of the video were impressed by the young boys’ commitment to continuing their performance, one viewer commenting, “I’m actually surprised that Keifer still hit the high notes after getting surprised by Ariana.”
This wasn’t the first time the TNT Boys had performed one of the most vocally challenging songs of all time and made it look easy. The first song they ever went viral for was a cover of ‘Listen’ by Beyonce. First performed on the Filipino television show, Gandang Gabi Vice, it shot them to online stardom after it went viral. They then performed the song on all four franchises of Little Big Shots, repeating their performance of ‘Listen’, with the online video receiving over 8.8M views.
While the singers were all pre-teens when the TNT Boys started, they are now nearing the end of their teen years, with Keifer due to turn 20 later this year. News of the group’s activities has been quiet since 2019. While there was talk of them returning to sing together in 2021, it has not yet come to fruition. Mackie Empuerto released his first solo single in 2022 and continues to perform onstage and make television appearances in the Philippines. Perhaps the TNT Boys will join forces again one day as adults to treat viewers once again to their impressive vocal talents.
You can find more from the internationally recognized trio, the TNT Boys, on their YouTube Channel. You can also follow their musical journey and stay updated with their latest performances on their Facebook and Instagram pages.