Creative Director Miguel Alomajan Wants P-pop to Think Bigger

The headquarters of the non-profit organization Communication Foundation of Asia in Sta. Mesa, Manila, was the last place I expected to meet Miguel Alomajan. On a humid weekday afternoon, students and creative professionals mingle in a red-brick building that houses several photo studios, all of which Alomajan describes as part of a living, breathing ecosystem. While looking for several appropriate locations and lighting setups for the shoot, Alomajan, who knows the complex’s every nook and cranny, scurries through different portal-like hallways, eventually finding a corner to shoot in. Scouting locations like this isn’t far from what he does for VXON, a five-member boy group under Corner Stone Entertainment. Alomajan became VXON’s creative director in 2024. 

“‘Yung una kong naramdaman sa kanila is ‘yung heart nila, ‘yung passion when it comes to their craft. Hindi madaling magstay sa industry kung walang magtitiwala sa amin,” Alomajan tells Rolling Stone Philippines. “For us, kami ‘yung support system nila. Kasi mahihinaan sila ng loob kung ‘di kami malakas.”

VXON’s Visual Language: Risk, Reference, and Ambition

The boy group, which debuted in 2022, became known for songs like “KNT (Kanta ng Tanga)” and “SSP (Saksak sa Puso).” Flamboyance, both in their music videos and performance — most notably in the music video for “TABI TABI” — defines VXON’s approach to P-pop. Alomajan, a photographer by trade, became part of the team after the success of these hits, but has quickly influenced the group’s visual language in music videos like the aforementioned “TABI TABI,” which he admits is still quite rough given the limited production schedule at the time. Despite this, he’s still determined to throw VXON creative curveballs wherever possible, whether through subtle references to classical paintings in the group’s styling, or by integrating obscure pop culture elements he’s picked up on Pinterest in productions. But in everything he does, he’s guided by his insights from studying the creative industries of East Asian industry titans like China and South Korea. He draws inspiration from the scale and ambition of these nations’ “studio cities” like Guangzhou.

“We always move in excellence. When you have full trust with your team and the boys, parang everything follows,” he says. “Kailangan mong galingan e. Kahit limited ang budget, ‘Let’s do this excellently. Ito tayo e. Ito ‘yung puso natin. Ito ‘yung passion natin. So dito mo mararamdaman ‘yung fire na gusto namin ‘yung ginagawa namin.”

Alomajan recalls a time when P-pop wasn’t as big an industry as it is now, when exploratory travels like the ones he did in South Korea were once seen as attempts at plagiarism. “[Agencies] didn’t want to take risks in P-pop [at the time]. Parang sinasabi nila na ‘Ah, it’s an imitation of K-pop’ o ‘Bakit natin gagayahin?’” 

Fortunately for VXON and Alomajan, P-pop has become more established, with homegrown talents moving beyond the template set by its pioneering neighbors in the region. Alomajan and I walk around the building, taking in its scale and potential as a future creative hub, which may just be a fraction of China or South Korea’s more realized industries, but is nonetheless a promising start. Even with milestones like VXON’s sold-out KALAWAKAN concert last February, he sees it as just the beginning.

“Every P-pop group has its own creative ways in promoting and branding, and it’s very progressive,” he says. “Nakikita mo na kumikilos talaga lahat sila. When you say P-pop, K-pop — lahat ng pop — kailangan creative ka lagi. Dapat malaro ka. Hindi ka matatakot na baka hindi ito ‘yung branding. You can do everything. Parang sky’s the limit for the concept.”