Cher quits ABS-CBN for Fox News

I bumped into Cher Calvin the other day at the Bruno’s barbershop (Tomas Morato Avenue, Quezon City). I was there for my regular trimming and Cher to fetch her boyfriend (of eight months) Troy Montero who was getting an "overall" treatment (massage, etc.).

I asked Cher if it’s true that she and Troy got married in Las Vegas (why in Las Vegas of all places!?!) when they were there in December last year and Cher gave a sweet "no" as an answer and a wide, wide smile that seemed to say, "Troy and I are okay as we are – simply going steady."

What’s true, confirmed Cher, is that she has resigned from ABS-CBN effective Jan. 20, the day her four-year contract expired. She could have renewed it but Cher begged off – for a good reason. You see, she has passed auditions at Fox News (with main offices in New York) and she’ll start work first week of February, doing the news as usual and hosting a new morning show (ala Today) with Robin Leach. A good career move, you might say.

Cher spent the Christmas holidays in New York with her dad, former actor Roger Calvin. While there, she and Troy took a trip to Seattle to visit Troy’s folks before proceeding to Las Vegas to, that’s it, audition for Fox News. She passed – with flying colors! – and so Cher decided to say goodbye to her local shows (F with Angel Aquino and Daphne Oseña-Paez, and Dateline: Philippines and News Central on ANC, ABS-CBN’s sister channel).

"It was my (US) agent who clinched the Fox News deal for me," said Cher. "You know what my agent submitted to Fox News? A videotape of the News Central, the same edition that won for News Central the Best Newscast award at last year’s Golden Dove Awards (of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas). So last December, I went to Las Vegas (with Troy) for the final interview," adding with a little laugh, "we didn’t go there to get married."

Cher will miss not only her local TV work but the Philippines, that’s for sure.

"I’ve made lots of friends here," said Cher who’s transplanting herself back to the US. "I enjoyed my five years here." (She came in 1998 and worked as co-host of mornings@GMA for eight months before moving to ABS-CBN.)

The sad thing is that Cher, who will be based in Las Vegas, will not be seen by local cable subscribers. Her portions will be beamed only to US audiences. But do stay tuned. Who knows, she might crop up on your screen every now and then.

Meanwhile, what will happen to her romance with Troy (who’s staying behind)?

"We’ll keep in touch," said Cher, sure of herself. "It will go on."

Despite the distance, that is.

Meet the new South Border member

Late last year, Funfare broke the story that Luke Mejares was leaving the South Border and going solo.

At a presscon a few days ago, the remaining SB members introduced Luke’s replacement. He’s none other than 23-year-old Vincent Michael Alaras who was discovered while working as a barista (bar boy) at Starbucks Coffee (on Katipunan Road, Quezon City).

"It was sheer luck," said Vince. "I was almost giving up on my dream to be a band member."

Described as painfully shy, Vince would sing Air Supply songs as a kid growing up in Mandaluyong City. He was a key player of the baseball varsity team at La Salle Greenhills where he studied from grade school to first year high school when he has to choose between sports and joining Kundirana. He chose the latter – sans regrets.

Even before Kundirana, Vince was already turning heads with his rendition of popular R&B songs along the corridors during break hours. Soon, word spread around "that guy" sounded very much like Bryan McKnight.

"My days with the Kundirana enhanced my singing and performing talents," admitted Vince. "The Kundirana boosted my morale and self-confidence."

In school, Vince formed a band called Inner Soul, composed of Kundirana alumni, which enjoyed a large following on campus.

He was an Industrial Design junior at the College of St. Benilde when he decided to leave school to pursue his singing career. He was female rapper Chill’s back up singer in her album and on her provincial tours for about a year. Soon after, he formed his own band, Into Deep. He had been trying to cut a recording deal for the band with Sony, but the company had other priorities then. The wait seemed endless, and for Vince, that right break was getting to be more and more elusive as time went by. The group finally broke up after six months of performing in different venues in the city. Disheartened, Vince decided to explore other options. While contemplating on going back to his studies, he joined the crew of Starbucks Coffee.

It was a busy August afternoon at the coffee shop when Vince received a text message from South Border leader Jay Durias, telling him about an offer. Was he dreaming? After all, South Border was every aspiring R&B singer’s fantasy band, and he could not believe that they were interested in him. Anxious but excited, Vince could not help but think that it was all just a big joke, and he was comforted by the thought that he had his job with Starbucks to fall back on (he was going to be a regular employee next month).

But Jay and South Border manager Sharon Inductivo were not joking. They later showed up at his place of work and asked the uniformed and bespectacled Vince if he could jam with the band during their gig that evening. Nervous and without practice, he nevertheless gave his all as he belted Bryan McKnight’s One Last Cry on the Virgin Café stage with only Jay’s piano-playing for accompaniment. The whole band watched and listened in awe, silently acknowledging the end of their search.