Another Pinoy wins in US TV’s Star Search

Curtain-raisers:
* Could it be true that Victor Neri and Aiko Melendez broke up (after a short-lived romance) because of Victor’s womanizing? Even when he was going steady with Aiko, Victor was seen with other girls, including Iza Calzado, Gwen Garci, Roselle Nava and Desiree del Valle (his current date).

* Could it be true that upcoming singer-actor Mark Bautista is courting Rachel Ann Go, winner of this year’s Search for a Star (the same contest won by Sarah Geronimo last year)? Mark was among last year’s Search contestants and is now being built up as Sarah’s loveteam-mate (in the ABS-CBN new soap Sarah: Teen Princess).

* Televiewers didn’t notice it but when Regine Velasquez hosted last Saturday’s grand finals of Search for a Star (a production of Viva Entertainment), she was suffering, as usual, from a terrible migraine. A true pro, Regine performed as if she was okay. Incidentally, Regine is leaving today for a concert in Canada.

* * *

We’ve been cheering (right on!) our kababayan Camile Velasco and Jasmine Trias, both born and bred in Hawaii, who made it to the Top 12 of the popular US talent search American Idol. Between now and the next 12 weeks, one contestant will be eliminated every week until only one – the best one – is left standing. Let’s hope and pray that it’s either Camile or Jasmine, or a "tie" between them.

As I mentioned in an earlier column, another Filipino, Harlem Lee (whose mother, Cora Sevilla, is from Nueva Ecija), won last year’s Fame search in Los Angeles (the show was beamed in various parts of America). Harlem is now rehearsing for the musical (Fame, that is) which will be restaged soon on Broadway.

Here’s another piece of good news contributed by Funfare reader Jason Parcon of Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA:

Another Pinoy, Mark Mejia, won a few days ago in the grand finals of the Junior Singers category of Star Search, another popular talent search on US television said to be "the mother of all talent-search shows in America," it being the first and therefore the original. Star Search is back after having been shelved for a few years, with Arsenio Hall still as host.

Jason said that Mark bested two Afro-American junior singers Spensha Baker and Kevin Francis. The final scores: 12 stars for Mark, 11 stars for Spensha and nine stars for Kevin. (Perfect score is 15 stars.)

Filipinos both here and abroad should be familiar with Star Search because it’s the same show where our very own Josephine "Banig" Roberto, now a grown-up living in L.A., won several years ago. It was also the show where the likes of Christina Aguilera (was she the one Banig beat for the grand prize?) and the late Aaliyah first showed their singing talent.

Funfare reader Kaye Basilides reports that Banig has just come up with a CD entitled Silent Whispers. "All the cuts are awesome," said Kaye who is encouraging Filipino music-lovers to get a copy. "Banig and Mark met last November in San Diego, California, when Mark performed at the Philippine Expo there."

Yes, it’s vertigo

Several Funfare readers have been asking what it is Lorna Tolentino is sick of. Yes, vertigo.

"Cervical and positional vertigo," said Lorna who is also, like most of her female relatives (among them Zsa Zsa Padilla and Amy Perez who may still be in the hospital right now) afflicted with scoliosis.

The symptoms include severe headache, dizziness (sometimes accompanied by fainting spells) and immobility.

Lorna first felt the symptoms late last year while shooting Regal Films’ Mano Po 2 and at the same time doing the ABS-CBN soap Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay. Possible causes: Stress, fatigue and acute lack of sleep (due to puyat while shooting/taping).

But now that her schedule is more relaxed, doing only the new GMA soap Hanggang Kailan and the Sunday show All About You, Lorna hasn’t been feeling any symptom.

"I work on Hanggang Kailan from 8 a.m. to 12 midnight, three times a week," said Lorna. "Oftentimes, we finish much earlier. And to think that we can shoot 33 sequences a day! Now, it’s as if I’m observing office hours. I get home early."

In Hanggang Kailan, directed by Joey Javier Reyes, Lorna plays mother to Nancy Castiglione who’s a deaf-mute in the story. So Lorna and Nancy had to study sign language before the shooting started. She and Nancy, along with direk Joey, are now so proficient in sign language that they can communicate with the deaf-mute "fluently."

Sen. Kiko supports women’s group

Sen. Kiko Pangilinan is supporting the women’s group in a protest against the Kinse Años liquor ad which the women find offensive.

Here’s Kiko’s official statement:

I join child rights advocates in calling for the immediate pullout of the Kinse Años ads in radio, TV and billboards.

At a time when we have just passed the law against abuse and exploitation of children, perceptions are rife that the ad undermines the moral foundation of our people. It corrodes the moral fabric we are trying very hard to protect.

In coming out with the commercial, the ad-makers clearly violated the law against child abuse. The commercial is an assault to decency.

I also call on the ad agency responsible for this to be extra vigilant. It should ensure its advertisements are not offensive to good taste and morals but should give emphasis on social responsibility.

Such an ad is an anachronism in modern-day Philippines.

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