The singer who plays her cards well

Curtain-raisers:

• As I was typing this, I got a text message from Rio Diaz-Cojuangco straight from the Berkley Cultural Center (owned by Berkley School) in San Francisco while watching Gary Valenciano’s concert, with Geneva Cruz and Candy Pangilinan as front act. "I’m so thrilled," said Rio. "Gary is so-so good; he’s so blessed! The show is fantastic!"

• Speaking of fantastic music, Vivian Sarabia’s newly-relaunched Amoeba (Eastwood City, Libis, Quezon City) is holding a week-long celebration of love and feeling young again the whole month of November, with the following performers – The Flintstones on Mondays, Route 70 on Tuesdays, Bedroom Boys on Wednesdays, Acoustic Jive with Bayot on Thursdays, Dusk Till Dawn on Fridays and again the Flintstones on Saturdays. You’re invited to the Amoeba "love-ful" celebration.

• Girlie Rodis is reminding everybody that Ogie Alcasid is having a two-night gig at Tavern on the Square, on Nov. 5 (Tuesday) and 6 (Wednesday), 9 p.m. For reservations, call 757-4484.

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This pretty singer is leading a life as colorful as the future that beckons for her – that is, if she pursues her present right direction (with the guidance of her influential manager) and she plays her cards well.

There are several people (should we categorize them as her, ehem, "Papas"?) wishing her well, besides her family and her friends back at Club "L" (it’s up to you to figure out what "L" stands for) where she was discovered.

The girl, as petite as a doll, is truly talented, a good singer who can put to shame many of our present so-called "singers." She’s also intelligent and articulate, and she knows how to endear herself to all kinds of people, no wonder her "Papas" love her.

One of them, an influential person in the industry, shelled out quite a sum for the girl’s nose job. There’s a funny story that when she presented the bill to her Papa, he was surprised by the cost. It turned out that the girl’s mom also had her own nose job at the same time and charged it to, yes, Papa. He understood.

Her current Papa is also a singer, very popular still, who is seeing to her every need, financial and otherwise. The romance is a well-kept secret – until now. The girl travels with the singer-Papa on his concerts here and abroad and, sometimes, she even performs with him. I told you, she’s a good singer. I don’t know if the singer-Papa broke up with his equally pretty wife ("Even prettier!" said somebody close to the un-couple) but a reliable source told Funfare that the pretty singer already has a love child by him.

Funfare is wishing the singer well. She should make it if, as I’ve said, she plays her cards well – with her Papa acting as the wind beneath her wings.

Sharon takes Singapore by storm

Earlier this year, Sharon Cuneta wowed Hong Kong with an SRO concert, with her fans (mostly OFWs) asking for more!

Two weeks ago, from Oct. 11 to 15, Sharon duplicated her feat in Singapore when she did a promo tour for her first international album, All I Ever Want, presented by BMG Records Pilipinas and BMG Records Singapore, with Forex Cargo as sponsor.

Sharon launched the album last Oct. 13 before screaming fans that packed every space of the Ngee Ann City on Orchard Road. The show was open to the public. It was one of the very rare times the Lion City witnessed an audience of such magnitude.

The show started at 3 p.m. but the fans started arriving as early as 12 noon, many of them queueing up to buy copies of the album which they later had Sharon autographed. The crowd didn’t mind the heat and discomfort. As usual, Sharon was accommodating, not only signing autographs but also posing for souvenir pictures.

Accompanying Sharon on the trip were BMG Records Pilipinas executives Narciso Chan and Vic Valenciano, her manager Sandra Chavez, technical expert Rene Cruz, make-up artist Fanny Serrano, Fannie’s assistant Pezchy Garcia and staffers Nelson Espinosa and Penelope Chung.

After Singapore, what?

Sharon has more cities to conquer, so stand by.

Blowing Bubbles models

The Click gang (about a dozen members) of GMA 7 has its own following, especially among the teen crowd. Magazines featuring them are almost always sold out, swept off newsstands within an hour of delivery.

Another proof is the enthusiasm of advertisers to hire Click stars as endorsers such as Chynna Ortaleza, 19, and Dyan Delfin, also, 19, who have just been enlisted as new endorsers for Blowing Bubbles T-shirts, the same brand which Ruffa Gutierrez and Zoren Legaspi used to promote.

A UST CommArts sophomore ("on leave"), Chynna, a deadringer for ABS-CBN’s Pia Hontiveros, is the youngest child and only daughter (she has two brothers) of Leah Fernando Roque and Greg Ortaleza, formerly of Saatchi Advertising and now with PAGCOR, who used to produce foreign and local movies (among them, Bomba Arrienda and Turuang Apoy). Chynna has always wanted to be an actress. It’s a pity she was only two years old when her father was producing movies. But better late than never, isn’t it?

"Actually," said Chynna, "my dad didn’t want me to be in showbiz."

At 8, she was doing commercials. The two popular ones she did as a grown-up were for Cloud 9 chocolate and Sprite. She then joined the kiddie show 5 & Up, graduating (as per the rule) at 14. After that, she concentrated on her studies at OB Montessori (Greenhills).

Besides Click, Chynna is also in the cast of the GMA soap Ikaw Lang ang Mamahalin and the new one (which is soon replacing Mamahalin), Habang Kapiling Ka. On Click, Chynna’s love team-mate is Richard Gutierrez, the most popular guy in the gang.

Dyan Delfin, an Alessandra de Rossi lookalike, started in showbiz only last April, rudely interrupting the plan of her parents, Miguel Delfin and Edna Amon, to have her join her father in the US and continue her studies there.

"My dad is in Atlanta where he’s working as an engineer," said Dyan who’s enrolled at Kostka (high school);. "Before I got into Click, I just came from Atlanta where I spent three years."

Her plan to take up Business Management in a US school might have to be set aside now that her showbiz career is doing well.

On Click, Dyan’s loveteam-mate is Bryan Revilla (son of Bong Revilla and Lani Mercado). She denied, however, that they’re going steady.