Party Pilipinas: Fans versus Zombies

Party Pilipinas... Oh where do I start...

It was one of those things that you wake up for. I went to GMA Channel 7 yesterday to watch Party Pilipinas. Mind you this was just a breeze to walk from my place (I live a few blocks away from the station). This particular show was for Halloween and as you know in the Philippines it's a pretty big deal to celebrate this American tradition. Riding on the popularity of the game Plants versus Zombies, Party Pilipinas wanted to put a twist on it. This episode is FANS versus Zombies!

Kris Lawrence, Mark Bautista and Aljur Abrenica

I was eager to see some of the best singers in the country. On that part I wasn't disappointed. Since we went there early we saw the rehearsals and to tell you honestly I couldn't believe I was in front of Regine Velazquez, Ogie Alcasid, Jaya, Jay-R and Kyla. They had that presence. I've heard these guys sing through radio and their CD's but not live. It was a treat and not a trick if I may say so. Their belting prowess was but awe inspiring. The crooners were all good too. If only Oprah saw these guys too she wouldn't agree more that we are a nation of singers.

I won't tell you things that I don't know of and please forgive me if I don't say so much stuff about the other singers. I don't watch Party Pilipinas regularly or know much of the singers in GMA so this visit to the show definitely was an eye opener. I had a very positive outlook that day and I believe in second chances. This logic was tested and torn apart when I heard them sing one by one.

The opening performance was great. One number to take note of was the "Bring me to Life" performance from Elmo Magalona and a certain Julie Anne... it was really good. If I wasn't too tired that day I would have stood up for a standing ovation just for that. This girl can really sing and I hope she gets more exposure. She never held back on showing how good she was... IT WAS VERY POWERFUL! I didn't know her before the show and after that jaw dropping performance I'm a converted fan. Elmo was good too, he picked up bigtime from his father's footsteps. Mom Pia should be darn proud! After a few more years I wouldn't be surprised if he gets record deals and be a star on his own.


Kyla , Rachelle Ann Go , Frencheska Farr, Jolina Magdangal and La Diva did a medley of Sweet Dreams which to me is pardon the word "mediocre". I had some doubts that it would work with that musical score since they ended up eating each others lines. They are a class on their own. Maybe if it were a separate portion for these guys and La Diva it would have been better; but that is my opinion you may have felt otherwise. La Diva can definitely stand on their own.

(*this photo is for Zai because he likes naked guys LOL*)

I love the number with my new crush Rhian Ramos (and I wish that we'd get married! *yeah right you wish!* LOL). They were definitely hot in their dance number with Aljur Abrenica. I didn't even know Heart Evangelista had assets like that, she should definitely try a more sexier image because she can definitely carry it. If she didn't run across me to go to the backstage I wouldn't have known that.


As for April Boy Regino, these guys above and his son JC, it was his son who was a BIG hit among the girls... but everyone kept asking who he was (literally! as in "SINO KA KUYA!?" via the people at my back) and April Boy gladly introduced him. Surely he's going to be a feather on the hat of his Dad. Yeap, I think he got a lot of screams than his father but if you close your eyes and listen to them they almost sound alike. Kinda slightly creepy but its Halloween so we'd have to leave it at that! They have an album out and the carrier single is a duet so you better get a copy to get to know them! Bino of Damuhan.com even got the famous cap April Boy throws away hehe!

Jaya, hands down you are really awesome... I didn't know you can get that high on live television! Regine you are the only one that can do that... everyone dreams to sing like you! I also have more appreciation now with Mr. Ogie Alcasid, his presence seemed very regal at that time (maybe because he had a suit on) but he sang with passion and you can feel every word. It takes a songwriter to do justice with songs like that. I really felt that aura of being in the midst of superstars when they went out. The jokes on the side though about Regine and Ogie was another treat! They were really sweet and I understand why they fell in love with each other! You should see them off cam! Hehe!


Jolina Magdangal, I have no doubt you can sing but please ask your people to do something about your audio. I couldn't quite hear you from where I am and most probably that's what people watching also felt. Your soft voice is good but please ask them to pump up the volume so at least we could feel your presence.


Kyla I love you and your voice and I hope you feel the same way hehe. JayR you know what you are doing. Man you are crazy in Twitter but you are one helluva singer!

Randy Bieber aka KC Montero we didn't get to talk but I was there. I was the one who taught you how to do battery pulls on your blackberry remember?! Heheh...


One of the surprises they had on the program was this Pinoy KPOP group POINTEN. They had their share of limelight there. It was refreshing to see these korean-filipinos perform korean songs and mind you I was impressed. They were definitely cute. I specifically like the part when they said tagalog phrases to the amusement of the crowd. I laughed because they said it like kittens with conviction. Hihih!

All in all, you should give Party Pilipinas a second look. I wasn't fond of afternoon shows until I saw the hard work they put into these programs. I hope when your mind is closed on just watching the other station just give this one a try and see the talent they have to offer. At this time I felt the Philippines had so much talent. Party Pilipinas rocks! You should definitely go give them a visit if you can. It's totally different if you watch them live but you can always choose GMA and watch them on TV if you prefer not to go through the brouhaha. I'd recommend you do that this coming Sunday when they'll be showing their SENTI side. For details, please like their Facebook Fan Page here CLICK THIS.

Thanks to the people who made this possible! Thanks also to the people at Party Pilipinas! Watch them at 12:10 PM every Sundays on GMA!



P.S. Now for some serious stuff. I was excited because this was an invitation from another blogger and the folks from Party Pilipinas. I'm a professional and I expect be treated like one. If they went out of their way to invite us and write about the program the last thing we should worry about is logistics. I couldn't tell you more details about the horror we went through just to get my DSLR camera in (and I didn't hence you see Anton of Pusangkalye.net's photos on my site). Anyway back to regular programming.

P.S #2 from an unpublished comment on this article (couldn't publish because of email address) Party Pilipinas apparently didn't have knowledge about us going there. Still, I wish there was some process to get our cameras in and not brush us off like we weren't important. Thanks though for helping Anton get his camera in! No issues, but I'd really have to beg off next time. Thanks peeps!