Tag Archives: Typhoon Haiyan

Pope Francis Attracts Record-Breaking Crowd in the Philippines

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There’s no denying Pope Francis’ influence in the Philippines…

The 76-year-old Argentine pontiff attracted an estimated 6 million people, who braved steady rain on Sunday to catch a glimpse of the leader of the Catholic Church at Manila’s Rizal Park, on his final full day in the island nation.

Pope Francis in Manila

The turnout breaks the record set by the last pontiff to say mass in the same venue – Pope John Paul II in 1995, when five people million attended, according to the Vatican.

Pope Francis dedicated his final homily of his tour to the young and urged protection for children so they aren’t tempted by sin or the devil or distracted by “promises of ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes.”

“We need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to a life on the streets,” he said.

The Mass took place on the third and final day of the pope’s visit to the Philippines, whose roughly 80 million Catholics comprise about 7% of the world’s total.

The pontiff arrived Sunday on a popemobile based on the design of a jeepney, the modified U.S. Army World War II jeep that is a common means of public transport in the Philippines, wearing the same plastic yellow rain poncho handed out to the masses during his visit to the central Philippine city of Tacloban a day earlier.

The pontiff was forced to cut his trip short to Tacloban — hard-hit by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013 — ahead of the approaching Tropical Storm Mekkhala. About 150,000 people, including survivors of the typhoon and of the earthquake on the island of Bohol that killed more than 200 people in October 2013, braved the approaching storm to attend Mass with the pope.

The pope’s tour, which also took him to Sri Lanka, was his second trip to Asia in five months, in a nod to the region’s growing importance for the Catholic Church as it faces declining support in Europe and the United States.

It was also the fourth papal visit to the Philippines, and the rapturous reception given to him throughout his stay cemented the nation’s status as the Church’s Asian role model.

Lovato (Neon) Lights Up Billbooard’s Social Media Chart

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Talk about neon hot! Demi Lovato leads the charge of Latinos on social media this week…

Hot on the heels of the video debut for her latest track “Neon Lights,” the 21-year-old part-Mexican singer, actress and The X Factor judge rises 12-8 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart with a 13% rise in overall chart points.

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Lovato re-enters the top 10 thanks in part to the clip’s bow on November 21.

The Social 50 ranks the most popular artists on YouTube, Vevo, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, Wikipedia, Myspace and Instagram. The chart’s methodology blends weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views, song plays and reactions as measured by music analytics company Next Big Sound.

The video, with its neon lights-festooned rave scene, helps drive conversation about Lovato on Facebook up 57% over the previous week, helping her to accumulate 225,000 new followers on the platform (up 3.4%). The video helped Lovato accumulate over 15 million plays across all of her videos hosted on Vevo, a 66% increase over the previous week.

Further down the tally, several artists featured on the new charity album Songs for the Philippines see gains. The set, which raises funds for the Philippine Red Cross to benefit victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Typhoon Yolanda), features acts like Enrique Iglesias, Bruno Mars and Jessica Sanchez.

Iglesias ascends 30-23 with 278,000 overall fans added to his audience.

Meanwhile, Shakira moves 16-7 thanks to her usual family and baby-related postings on Facebook. A photo of her, husband Gerard Piqué and their son Milan received a staggering 2 million likes on Facebook since its posting on November 17. Other activity contributes to a 341% increase in conversation about Shakira on the Facebook platform, which helps grow her audience there by 329,000.

Miley Cyrus remains at No. 1 for the fourth week in a row while Eminem and Katy Perry hold at Nos. 2 and 3 respectively.

Mars Among Artists Contributing “Songs for the Philippines”

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Count on Bruno Mars to help raise funds for typhoon disaster relief in the Philippines…

The 28-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer, whose mother is Filipina, has contributed his single “Count on Me” to a special compilation album called Songs for the Philippines.

Bruno Mars

Released on iTunes on Monday, November 25, the 39-song set is available for $9.99. It is also available for streaming on iTunes Radio.

Mars and the other artists featured, record companies and music publishers have all agreed to donate all proceeds to the Philippine Red Cross.

Songs for the Philippines

Typhoon Haiyan, also known as Typhoon Yolanda, which hit the Philippines earlier this month, has killed, injured and displaced thousands of people in the Southeast Asian country. Officials have struggled to keep up with humanitarian aid demands.

Other Latino artists contributing tracks to the album include Pitbull and Christina Aguilera; Enrique Iglesias, whose mother is Filipina; and Jessica Sanchez, whose mother is Filipina.

The Songs for the Philippines tracklist:

1. The Beatles – “Across the Universe”
2. Bob Dylan – “Shelter From the Storm”
3. Michael Buble – “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You”
4. U2 – “In a Little While”
5. Bruno Mars – “Count on Me”
6. Beyonce Knowles – “I Was Here”
7. Eminem – “Stan” (Live from BBC Radio 1)
8. Cher – “Sirens”
9. Adele – “Make You Feel My Love”
10. Katy Perry – “Unconditionally” (Johnson Somerset Remix)
11. One Direction – “Best Song Ever”
12. Fun. – “Carry On”
13. Lady GaGa – “Born This Way” (The Country Road version)
14. Justin Timberlake – “Mirrors”
15. Justin Bieber – “I Would”
16. Alicia Keys- “New Day”
17. Imagine Dragons – “30 Lives”
18. Madonna – “Like a Prayer”
19. Pink – “Sober”
20. Kylie Minogue – “I Believe in You”
21. Enrique Iglesias – “Hero”
22. Red Hot Chili Peppers- “Factory of Faith”
23. Linkin Park – “Roads Untraveled”
24. Kings Of Leon – “Use Somebody”
25. Muse – “Explorers”
26. Lorde – “The Love Club”
27. Josh Groban – “Brave”
28. Kelly Clarkson – “Stronger”
29. Paolo Nutini – “Simple Things”
30. Ellie Goulding – “I Know You Care”
31. James Blunt – “Carry You Home”
32. Pitbull feat. Christina Aguilera – “Feel This Moment”
33. Earth, Wind & Fire – “Sign On”
34. apl.de.ap feat Damian Leroy – “Going Out”
35. Sara Bareilles – “Brave”
36. Jessica Sanchez – “Lead Me Home”
37. Lily Allen – “Smile”
38. The Fray – “Love Don’t Die”
39. The Beatles – “Let It Be”