What comes first

You can tell how popular he is by the number of girls — their moms in tow — interrupt this writer’s interview by asking for photo-ops.

Shrieks and screams mount to a deafening crescendo each time he so much as smiles or waves his hand.

If this is the kind of reaction you get even after you miss winning the grand prize and emerge number two, it’s perfectly okay to be a runner-up.

PBB Teen Edition Plus Second Big Winner Robi Domingo admits the adulation has yet to sink in. Sure, he loves it. But he is well-grounded enough to know that popularity is not for him alone.

In true blue Atenean fashion, Robi wants to use all that popularity for others — to lift their spirits, to make their day.

“That’s why I love the spotlight but I don’t like the spotlight at the same time,” he intones. “I’m quite selfless when it comes to popularity. It’s not for me, but for others.”

Award-winning actors would say, “For the greater glory of God.” Robi’s take is, “If it pleases others, so much the better.” Then, he’s also serving his Maker.

Robi is in the best position to do just that, now that he was chosen one of the four winners in this year’s MYX VJ Search (with Chino Liu Pio, Monica Yncierto and Bianca Roque).

His latest triumph has given Robi another reason to reach out and make even more people happy.

“I really want to be a host,” this Rico Yan look-alike says. He even has a dream subject: Newly-elected US President Barack Obama.

Robi would spend hours watching VJs Luis Manzano, Nikki Gil and Iya Villania’s shows.

“Kuya Luis is witty and Ate Nikki is soothing,” Robi observes. “But I have my own style.”

People expect witty spiels and a no-nonsense approach from him. And he plans to give them just that, as naturally and spontaneously as possible.

Robi surfed the Net and wore his headset for hours to research on the artist’s work and listen to his songs. And this time, it’s not just the music he loves, like acoustic. Robi listens to as much music as he can lay his hands on. He does his homework.

Away from the limelight, Robi burns the midnight oil as a regular freshman taking up BS Health Science at Ateneo de Manila. So bent is Robi in getting that degree he insists he’s a student first, a celebrity second.

Thus, when a conflict of schedule arises between studies and showbiz, you know what Robi will choose, hands down.

Thank God the guy’s feet are firmly planted on the ground. Let’s cross our fingers it stays there, even as he goes on reaching for the stars.