If you're a child of the 80's and 90's, you've probably heard of Debbie Gibson and her hit single "Electric Youth", which is consequently celebrating its 35th year. She's back in Manila to do a 2 hour long concert at the New Frontier Theater in Araneta City this coming April 26, Friday at 8pm.
She's also excited to perform her other hit songs like "We Could Be Together", "No More Rhyme", "Who Loves Ya Baby", "Over the Wall" and my personal favorite "Lost In Your Eyes".
She's still killin it in streaming platforms like Spotify and has amassed millions of streams and has cemented her status as a pop icon and theater performer these past few decades. She also returned to the Billboard charts with "Girls Night Out" peaking at #4 which is unbelievable!
She's not stopping anytime soon so if you are still hungry for her songs, go get tickets via Ticketnet or the New Frontier Box office too. Remember, April 26 is quite near so make sure to get them before they run out!
Got the chance to watch the pilot episode of "LUMUHOD KA SA LUPA" yesterday through the advanced press screening arranged by SariSari Channel, Viva Studios and TV5. It's a series based on the comics and movie made by Carlo J. Caparas, and will now be part of the Caparas Universe.
For those who don't know, the film came out in the 80's with Rudy Fernandez, Jackie Lou Blanco, Eddie Garcia and Mark Gil. It was a huge project, and seeing it be done as a series on free to air TV (right after Eat Bulaga) will certainly be monumental, possibly catapult the career of Kiko Estrada who almost quit the industry a few years back.
Sarah Lahbati also has not been doing any projects in the past 8 years. Her last one was also a Carlo J. Caparas masterpiece and reckoned she's been doing only Caparas projects by fate. Needless to say, she's been doing a lot of projects recently and a few endorsements too. She was absolutely gorgeous that afternoon, and her role is an important one for the story since they will have a pairing in "Lumuhod Ka Sa Lupa" too.
Aside from Kiko and Sarah, the series also include Sid Lucero, Rhen Escaño, Gardo Versoza, Mark Anthony Fernandez, Andrew Muhlach, Phoebe Walker, Andre Yllana, Ashley Diaz, Annika Co, Rose Van Ginkel, Jeffrey Hidalgo and Jeric Raval. You can officially say this is their attempt to put Kiko Estrada into the "action star" game. The series may have some small flaws, but the thing is made like a movie and quite fast paced. You'll have to watch it from day 1 so you get to see how Norman changes over the course of the series and also know why he had to become a force to be reckoned with later on in the story. Ultimately, this is about family and seeking justice... but just like what the two directors said, none of the characters would be useless. They all had a part to play in the life of Norman.
Here's the interview we had with them after the screening
"Lumuhod Ka Sa Lupa" will be shown right after EAT BULAGA on April 8th, and will be shown 8pm the same day at SARISARI Channel in the evening. This is part of TV5's Hapon Champion block and the throng of summer shows they will be releasing. Go like their social channels to know more about the show because they will be posting updates about this more there.
Every year, Readers Digest Philippines has been tapping an independent survey agency where Filipinos get to vote the best of the best trusted products, services and personalities. Contrary to talks, they need not to be a subscriber of Readers Digest to vote for their favorites since they started this and yes, they are the ones who commission every year. Several of these brands, people, actually have been recognized for several years.
The methodology, the way they do the surveys are still the same. In the Philippines, the sample size is around 2000, but have 8000 individuals overall for the Asia Pacific market to do this in different regions. Being in this list just means you're trusted by Filipinos, and it is indeed important to a lot of people especially for those who look for quality, and the best in the different industries. The celebrities who got the awards this year include Former Vice President Noli De Castro, good looking broadcaster Atom Araullo, Volleyball Phenom Alyssa Valdez and the Unkabogable Vice Ganda.
Here's the complete list of awardees this 2024!
Most Trusted News Presenter is Former Vice President Noli De Castro
Most Trusted Presenter for News and Current Affairs is Atom Araullo
Most Trusted Sports Personality is Alyzza Valdez
Most Trusted Variety Talkshow Host is Vice Ganda
Platinum Awards
Bank went to BDO
Credit Card also went to BDO
Drugstore/Pharmacy is Mercury Drug
Health and Beauty Retail Store went to Watsons
Life Insurance went to Sun Life
Mattresses - URATEX
Milktea - Macao Imperial Tea
Pen - Pilot
Travel Insurance - AXA
TV Network - GMA Network
Gold Awards
Travel Insurance - Pacific Cross
Air Conditioner - Carrier
Air Conditioner - Panasonic
Washing Machines - Panasonic
Vacuum Cleaners - Panasonic
Optical Shop - Ideal Vision
Airfreight - J&T Express
Refrigerators - Sharp
Washing Machines - Sharp
Washing Machines - Whirlpool
TV Network - ABSCBN
Cooking Oils - Baguio Oil
Drug Store/Pharmacy - Watsons
Investment Funds - BDO
Consumer Loans - BDO
Life Insurance - AIA
Health Insurance - AIA
Life Insurance - AXA
Health Insurance - AXA
Personal Computers (Desktop, Notebook, Tablet) - Acer
Natural Food Supplements - USANA
Plasticware - Orocan
Travel Insurance - BDO Insurance
Here's the acceptance speech done at the awards night, please, enjoy!
Cheers to all the winners, and I hope they do the Filipino public good as they put their trust on your brand's name all these years.
I could have made a book out of the conversations we had with The Comedy Crew and Alex Calleja a few nights ago. Aside from the laughs, we had a glimpse of the serious side of this emerging industry. We got schooled about how they've managed to survive the pandemic and the tough industry per se. Alex is no stranger to comedy, he's been doing this for ages that much of the comedians in his team attested they watched him when they were in primary school (emphasis on he's that old).
Aside from Alex Calleja, The Comedy Crew is composed of Israel Buenaobra, Mak Navarez, Jeps Gallon, Yuki Horikoshi, Winer Aguilar, Doc Ramon Cabochan, Anthony Andres, Dawit Tabonares, Rex Milora, Grease Junio, Schneider Maxino, Marlon Cadag, Franz Opinaldo, Victor Obera, CS Dela Pena, Professor David Blattner, Jimberly Villanueva and Trixie Corpez.
Here's some serious stuff we talked about first during the press conference
Here's where Alex Calleja shared why he should tell new comedians about changing their acts and not commit career ending mistakes early on as part of The Comedy Crew
Here's some of the jokes they cracked that evening!
Alex is behind the countless comedy shows in different networks. You could say he had his baptism of fire in the late 2000's and learned the ropes. He knew where comedians failed (shared his secrets so they don't make career ending decisions) and made sure no one is left behind. This sparked the formation of The Comedy Crew. These dudes are funny AF, and we had them do a few samples of their kind of comedy during the press conference. Yes, it's quite cerebral. I asked if they see the need to educate the Filipino crowd but he says "First of all, it's not the fault of the audience if they didn't laugh at out jokes. The fault is ours. There's no such thing as an uneducated audience, it's our responsibility to adjust. If you know your audience, you choose a joke appropriate for them. That's the wrong mentality. It's like having them watch a movie and if they didn't like your soundtrack... it's not going to be their fault. You need to impress them with whatever genre you produce. You are paid to perform and if they don't laugh at your jokes, it's the comedians fault. It's why we have house rules at the beginning of the show. We use our voice most of the time, and we only ask for the audience's attention by turning off their phones for the duration of the show. We also tell them to tell us if they get offended in one or more acts, we also ask much of the crowd to occupy the front seats because it'll be a mess when they arrive late, we don't want that to happen. We only ask for people to be on time, and that's enough. In fact, I didn't know we were going to talk like this during the press con, I almost want to cry instead of promoting our show in Dubai."
It's so nice to see our brand of comedy will be seen on an international stage and these guys are crazy good.
For those who would want to experience their antics and kind of comedy, Alex and The Comedy Crew (Israel Buenaobra, Jeps Gallon, Mark Navares and Imah Dumagay) is performing at the Comedy Masala in Singapore from March 25 to 26 (sold out shows) and at the Dubai Opera this coming April 13 (Saturday) as part of the celebrations of Dubai Comedy Festival. You can get tickets for the Dubai event from dubaicomedyfest.ae. They also have a show in The Astbury in Poblacion on April 6 at 7PM and Laughtrip Olongapo-Subic (a tour) on March 29, 30, 31 at The Palace in Olongapo, Cork Room at Subic Bay and Source Coffee in Subic too.
You may visit their NEW websites www.alexcalleja.com or www.thecomedycrew.com for more information about their shows. You can also follow Alex Calleja's or The Comedy Crew's official Facebook page for more details about it.
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