Kapuso Stars

       

Twelve hours before American Idol crowned David Cook as its seventh-season winner, Pinoy Idol formally introduced to the entertainment press its Top 24—12 men and 12 women—last night, May 21, at Teatrino in Promenade, Greenhills. These 24 Idol hopefuls bested more than 20,000 others who auditioned all over the country.

The Top 24 singers were personally handpicked by Pinol Idol judges Ogie Alcasid, Jolina Magdangal, and Wyngard Tracy. And based on what the entertainment press saw and heard last night—all of the 24 Idol hopefuls performed for the first time before a live audience—most agree that the judges did a very good job in choosing who will compete to become the first Pinoy Idol.

This group has very diverse musical talents—from ballad to pop to R&B to rock to jazz to blues to standards—that will make the show exciting. Ten of them are professional singers while the remaining contestants are raw and undiscovered. The age of the contestants range from 16 to 28.

The 12 ladies who made the cut are the following:

Jayann Bautista, 21, Pampanga

Meryl David, 23, Bicol

Bev Ejercito, 18, Davao

Sue Ellen, 17, Iloilo City

Gretchen Espina, 20, Biliran

Mae Flores, 18, Marikina City

Carol Leus, 17, Batangas

Drizzle Muniz, 28, Quezon City

Regene Ong, 20, Quezon City

Penelope, 16, Batangas

Jeni Rawolle, 20, Iloilo

Vren Villaflor, 17, Quezon City


The 12 men who will battle it out are:

Ellito Andal, 24, Batangas

Warren Antig, 25, Baguio City

Kid Camaya, 24, Pampanga

Daryl Celis, 21, Rizal

Ram Chaves, 25, Cagayan de Oro

Rye Estrada, 28, Iloilo

JJ Jr., 17, Bataan

Sherwin Marquez, 26, Dagupan

Robby Navarro, 28, Pampanga

Dio Paulo, 24, Iloilo City

Toffer Rei, 23, Iloilo

Walton Zerrudo, 25, Laguna

The workshop phase of Pinoy Idol will begin Friday night, May 23, with the Top 12 men performing first. The following night, May 24, the Top 12 women will take the center stage. Then, on Sunday (May 25), the first elimination will take place

Pinoy Idol is hosted by Raymond Gutierrez.

Aside from the performance nights and elimination night, Pinoy Idol viewers will also be able to take a glimpse of the drama behind the competition via a special show called Pinoy Idol Extra starting May 25. Hosted by Karylle and Rhian Ramos, the show will offer the viewers behind the scenes footage and highlights of the contenders throughout the competition. Pinoy Idol will be shown every Sunday right after SOP and weekdays after The Legend.

Sa Linggo magsisimula ang tapatang Showbiz Central at The Buzz. Tapatan din ito ng magkapatid na sina Raymond at Ruffa Gutierrez. Ayon kay Raymond, walang problema sa kanila ng ate niya ang pagtatapat ng kanilang shows.

Noong una raw na pinag-usapan nila ang tungkol sa pagtatapat ng
shows nila ay natawa pa sila. "Okey lang, I just hope na huwag kaming intrigahin ni Ate!" sey ni
Raymond.

Excited si Raymond sa pagho-host ng Showbiz Central dahil makabago raw ang approach nila sa pagdi-deliver ng showbiz news and happenings.

Hindi na pinapansin ni Raymond ang pang-iintriga ng iba na hindi siya bagay na mag-host ng isang showbiz talk show.

Top comedian-TV host Vic Sotto appeared on the last episode of S-Files last April 22. Pia Guanio, Vic's girlfriend and one of the hosts of the GMA-7 showbiz talk show, turned her interview with the comedian into a game called "Icon.fess." Vic filled in the blanks after Pia started the sentence with "I confess." Vic, although surprised, gamely agreed.


Pia: I confess that ang secret sa acting success sa showbiz ay...

Vic: Pagmamahal. (With his answer, the audience went wild. "Ang aga naman nun!" Pia laughed.)

Vic: Ang ibig sabihin ng pagmamahal, pagmamahal sa trabaho. Kasi para sa akin at sa lahat ng tao, kung ano man ang trabaho mo—ke showbiz o hindi—importante na mahal mo ang iyong trabaho. Doon ka magiging successful, e, pag enjoy ka sa trabaho mo.

Pia: Ilang taon mo na bang minamahal ang industriyang ito?

Vic: More than half of my life. I started when I was 16 years old, at ngayon na ti-three na ako, so matagal-tagal na rin. (Vic was making a clear but funny point of not revealing his real age, so he makes it sound like ‘ti-three.')

Pia: I confess that the biggest challenge na hinarap ko bilang ama ay...

Vic: Pagiging isang mabuting ama. I always tried being a good father, but I know I'm not an ideal father. Marami akong pagkukulang sa mga anak ko.

Pia: I confess ang greatest weakness ko ay...

Vic: Hirap akong tumanggi sa humihingi ng tulong. Yung mga lumalapit, lalo na sa pinansiyal na aspeto. Minsan kasi para sa akin, hindi lahat ng humihingi ng tulong ay dapat tulungan. Kasi may mga humihingi ng tulong na hindi ka sigurado kung saan mapupunta ‘yong pera, baka sa kung saan-saan kalokohan lang. Pero siyempre, hindi ko basta-basta matanggihan.

Pia: I confess ang aking ultimate fear ay...

Vic: [To Pia] Mawala ka sa buhay ko... No explanation needed. It's self-explanatory. (Once again, the crowd went wild. It took about a minute for the noise to calm down.)

Pia: I confess ang greatest sacrifice na ginawa ko para sa aking lovelife ay...

Vic: Greatest sacrifice ay yung pagtigil sa paninigarilyo. First-year high school pa lang yata ako naninigarilyo na ako. And it wasn't easy kicking the habit, but I'm trying my very best na talagang hindi na babalikan. (It was Pia who asked Vic to stop smoking, as a Valentine's gift to her.)

Pia: I really wanna say I'm proud of you. Ever since he said that he was gonna stop, he's never picked up a cigarette since. Never.

Pia: I confess ang aking most guilty pleasure ay...

Vic: Lumalabas ba ang ‘ab' ko? [Vic pointed his tummy]. Guilty pleasure is, of course, kumain. Nahawa yata ako sa ‘yo, e [referring to Pia].


Vic Sotto's "ti-third" birthday, by the way, is next week, so S-Files wanted to know what Vic would want to receive from Pia for his birthday.

"For my birthday?" Vic says. "Baliktarin naman kaya natin. Ikaw [Pia] naman kaya sumagot nung questions."

Now, the tables have turned. It's Pia's time to play the game. What happened next was a series of one-liners with short intermissions from screaming fans.


Vic: I confess na mahal na mahal ko si...

Pia: Vic Sotto.

Vic: I confess, when you look at me, I feel...

Pia: Awesome.

Vic: I confess I like it when you...

Pia: Tell me you love me.


They ended the fun interview with a kiss. The other hosts—Paolo Bediones, John "Sweet" Lapus, and Joey Marquez—barely heard themselves from the loud screams of the kilig fans.

S-Files will be replaced by Showbiz Central—to be hosted by Pia and Sweet, with Raymond Gutierrez—starting next Sunday, April 29.