#FIRSTLOOK: BLACK EYED PEAS’ APL.DE.AP TO APPEAR AT “BEBOT DANCE CHALLENGE”

Nearly two decades after “Bebot” became an anthem of Filipino pride around the world, the song is taking on a new life in Toronto.

Seafood City Canada, in partnership with Apl.de.Ap Foundation International (APLFI), is kicking off the Bebot Dance Challenge series with its first challenge at Seafood City Scarborough, inviting the Filipino Canadian community to turn the aisles of Seafood City into their stage and show what Filipino creativity looks like today.

The Canada leg will culminate on August 25 at 4:00 p.m. at Seafood City Scarborough, where finalists will perform live in front of Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas, who will help select the winning Bebot dancer. Seafood City and APLFI are also collaborating with local Toronto Filipino brand Kalamansi Collective on exclusive Bebot merchandise, bringing a local creative partner into the celebration while creating another way for the community to give back. A majority of proceeds from the exclusive merchandise will benefit Apl.de.Ap Foundation International and its work to create greater opportunities for young people. But the event has been thoughtfully built to be more than a dance competition. From giving emerging dancers a platform to be seen, to bringing together Filipino talent from Toronto and the Philippines, the Bebot Dance Challenge was curated as acelebration of how Filipino culture continues to evolve through music, movement and a new generation of creatives.

The Canada finale will be hosted by Toronto personality MC Preach (Aaron Horner) and will feature DJ Arthur Tan from the Philippines, alongside a surprise female DJ from Toronto, creating a lineup that connects Filipino talent across borders while intentionally giving both established and local artists a platform.

At the centre of it all is “Bebot,” a song that has remained recognizable across generations of Filipinos.

For many who grew up with the Black Eyed Peas, it was a rare moment of hearing Filipino identity celebrated unapologetically on a global stage. Nearly 20 years later, a younger generation continues to discover the song, dance to it and make it their own.
The Bebot Dance Challenge brings those generations together, starting in Scarborough with more to come.

From Grocery Aisles to a Stage for Local Talent

Rather than asking contestants to perform on a traditional stage, Seafood City is inviting them to dance where Filipino families already gather: inside Seafood City Scarborough. To enter, participants create their own dance video to “Bebot” inside the store, post it on Instagram and add @seafoodcitycanada and @weareaplfi as collaborators. Entries will be accepted through Saturday, August 22.

The challenge is designed to give dancers of different backgrounds and experience levels an opportunity to participate and be discovered, transforming an everyday community space into a platform for Filipino Canadian creativity.

One contestant will also earn the People’s Choice Award. The eligible Instagram entry with the highest combined number of likes and shares will receive a $150 Seafood City Gift Card and automatically qualify for the live final round.

Finalists will then face off on Tuesday, August 25, in front of the community and Apl.de.Ap himself.

The Grand Prize Winner will receive a $500 Seafood City Gift Card and exclusive signed Bebot x Seafood City merchandise. The Runner Up will receive a Seafood City Gift Card and surprise gifts.

A Filipino Lineup Built Across Generations and Borders

The Canada culminating event has been curated to showcase Filipino talent beyond the competition itself. Hosting the celebration will be MC Preach (Aaron Horner), bringing his energy and connection to Toronto audiences to the program.

Joining him will be DJ Arthur Tan, coming from the Philippines and bringing another dimension of contemporary Filipino music culture to the Scarborough celebration.

A surprise Toronto based female DJ will also join the lineup, intentionally creating space for local female talent within an event inspired by a song that celebrates Filipina identity.

Together with the local dancers competing in the Bebot Dance Challenge, the lineup brings established artists, emerging creatives and community voices into one space.

It is a deliberate mix of local and international, emerging and established, and Filipino and Filipino Canadian talent, reflecting how Filipino culture itself continues to travel, evolve and find new expressions around the world.

A Partnership Rooted in Empowering the Next Generation

That focus on talent and opportunity is also what makes the partnership with Apl.de.Ap Foundation International a natural one.

Founded by Allan Pineda Lindo, known globally as Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas, APLFI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering youth in need.

Its roots began in the Philippines in 2011, and its work has since expanded internationally. The Foundation has supported young people through education, arts and technology initiatives, including classrooms, computer laboratories and music and recording studios from Los Angeles to Angeles City, Pampanga.

Today, APLFI places particular emphasis on creating opportunities for young people from underrepresented communities in creative arts, music, technology and education.

The Bebot Dance Challenge brings that mission into a community setting by giving young and emerging creatives an opportunity not simply to watch established Filipino talent, but to perform alongside it.

Exclusive Bebot Merchandise That Gives Back

Seafood City and Kalamansi Collective first joined forces in 2025 through Seafood City’s Late Night Madness events, which transformed the traditional grocery shopping experience into energetic late night gatherings centered around Filipino food, music and culture.

After the response to those events, the partners are coming together again for a collaboration with a deeper purpose.

A majority of proceeds from the exclusive Bebot merchandise will benefit the Apl.de.Ap Foundation International, helping support its work to create greater opportunities for young people.

Seafood City as a Place for Filipino Culture to Keep Evolving Since opening its first store in National City, California in 1989, Seafood City has grown from a Filipino supermarket into a gathering place for Filipino communities across North America.

While food remains at its heart, Seafood City has increasingly used its stores as spaces where Filipino culture can be experienced beyond the grocery aisles through music, events, food, entrepreneurship and collaborations with Filipino creatives.

The Bebot Dance Challenge continues that evolution.

It brings together an internationally recognized Filipino artist, a nonprofit investing in the next generation, Filipino creatives from the Philippines and Canada, a Toronto Filipino owned brand and aspiring local dancers, all around a song that has helped generations express pride in where they come from. For Seafood City, the goal is not simply to celebrate Filipino culture as something inherited from the past, but to create spaces where the community can participate in
what it becomes next.

And Scarborough is only the beginning. The first Bebot Dance Challenge marks the start of a series designed to bring the celebration of Filipino talent, music and community to more Seafood City communities. Stay tuned for where the Bebot Dance
Challenge heads next.

Bebot Dance Challenge: Canada Finale
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
4:00 p.m.
Seafood City Scarborough
20 Lebovic Ave #773
Scarborough, ON M1L 4V9

Featuring Apl.de.Ap, MC Preach (Aaron Horner), DJ Arthur Tan, a surprise Toronto female DJ, Bebot Dance Challenge finalists and more.

The community is invited to attend the Canada finale, support local dancers and celebrate an afternoon of Filipino music, movement and creativity.