Who will be debutante Rachelle’s last dance?

There’ll be the usual 18 roses and 18 candles when Search For a Star champion Rachelle Ann Go holds her debut on Aug. 31 (next Tuesday) at The Plaza, located at the penthouse of Tektite Towers (East Tower) in Ortigas Center. But there will be no cotillion. And neither will Rachelle have an escort.

Does that rule out Erik Santos, Star in a Million champion, earlier rumored to be Rachelle’s escort? What about Mark Bautista (said to be "secretly" courting Rachelle) who has beaten Hero Angeles for the title role in Lastikman, Viva Films’ 2004 Metro Filmfest entry? Or will a non-showbiz guy be "it"?

Her first dance will be her father but who will be her last dance? That’s the other $64 question.

"We want her debut to be memorable," said Viva Artists Agency (VAA) head Veronique del Rosario-Corpus, "because it’s Rachelle’s first birthday in showbiz – at debut pa mandin niya!"

VAA is jointly-sponsoring the coming-out party with Viva Records with which Rachelle is under contract.

The venue will be decked with butterflies (the night’s motif) and acoustic music will fill the air as the debutante hop from one table to another to welcome her well-wishers, wearing creations by Rhett Eala.

During the program being prepared by VAA and VR, Rachelle will sing selections from her debut album, Love of My Life (a remake of the original South Border song), dedicated to...guess who?

"I have two birthday wishes," said Rachelle. "One, to have a hit song; and two, to put up my own business, maybe a restaurant or a bar."

Rachelle recently did a repeat of the hit show Night of the Champions at the Araneta Coliseum with Erik Santos, Mark Bautista, Christian Bautista and Sarah Geronimo.

"Once upon a time," recalled Rachelle, "I dreamed that I would have a concert at a big venue. That dream came true with our Araneta Coliseum show."

Incidentally, Rachelle is included in the Night of the Champions US Concert Tour also with Mark, Christian and Sarah in New York (produced by Alice and Red Martinez) on Sept. 18, Chicago on Sept. 26 and L.A. (produced by Al Chu and company) on Oct. 2; and the same batch with Erik Santos in the TFC-sponsored show in San Francisco on Sept. 24.

Elena Juatco Out Of Canadian Idol

Funfare’s Toronto-based "international correspondent" Ferdinand Lapuz reports that Filipina contestant Elena Juatco has been eliminated from the Canadian Idol, although she put up a good performance in last Wednesday’s (Aug. 18) episode where the six remaining finalists sang songs by legendary Canadian singer-composer Gordon Lightfoot.

"I thought Elena would make it not only to the Top 3 but to being No. 1," said Ferdy.

Here’s an excerpt from a story on last Wednesday’s competition, a clipping of which was e-mailed to Funfare by Ferdy:

The Canadian Idol Top 6 hopefuls were captivating and performed with star power, while honoring Canadian music icon Gordon Lightfoot.

Kalan Porter wowed the ladies and stole the show again, with his smooth, sexy and charismatic rendition of If You Could Read My Mind.

Elena Juatco’s take on Early Morning Rain was impressive. Her angelic voice carried her through a flawless and captivating performance, one of her best yet.

The superstars of the night were soulful Theresa Sokyrka and punk rocker Jacob Hoggard. With a classy and elegant rendition of Song For A Winter’s Night, Sokyrka proved she has the voice, the charm and the look to win this singing competition.

Showing her true colours, Sokyrka gave the song her own jazz flavour and silenced the audience with her electrifying performance.

Week after week, Hoggard nails each note of every song he chooses to sing, and tonight was no different as he put on a breathtaking performance of Sundown. He has proven to be the most unique artist in this competition.

Although Jason Greeley and Shane Wiebe also put on incredible performances, if it’s based on technicalities, one of these boys will be getting the boot. Greeley put on a charming performance of Rainy Day People, but his rendition was flat in a few places.

A few off-key notes nearly ruined Wiebe’s beautifully sung rendition of The Way I Feel. Sure, it was one of his best performances, but at this point in the contest you can’t afford to mess up on the technical side.

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