14 to watch for in 2014

The past year has been a roller-coaster ride of events, from natural disasters to relief and rebuild operations  the current spirit is to unite and do what’s good for the country and others.

On the pop culture front, we at Supreme have always championed the new and the now, focusing on the people, the names, and the places that will make your 2014 more awesome. After all that has happened to this country the past year, we deserve some slack and some stellar moments, don’t we?

So again, as tradition dictates, from It girls to artists, to artistas and models, here’s our annual and most accurate (from our foresight-oriented mind) of 14 of the whats and whos that you should watch for this 2014.

Remember them, and don’t forget that we told you first. 

1. Alessandra Madrigal. This dusky beauty is starting to turn heads with her statuesque frame and regal bearing. This future It girl was a former professional go cart racer and is also very active on the club scene. You’ve seen her on the pages of the Philippine Tatler and Preview, this young fashion plate — a chocolate brown Barbie, if you will.

2. Sabrina Co. Just turned 17 and founder of ATIN, which stands for Aiming To Inspire A Nation, Sab champions the Filipino spirit by making all Filipino products, from soy candles to reed diffusers, all inspired by her favorite Filipino historical and tourist destinations. She is also a champion athlete at British School Manila and volunteered extensively for YolandaPH, mobilizing planes of relief goods to be sent on the first day of relief operations and beyond. Overachiever much, well the rest of us just have to step up.

3. 71 Gramercy. The most hyped-up nightspot this side of Instagram has yet to formally open its doors, but the whole town is already abuzz with excitement. Word has it that it’ll open its doors for a very select few for New Year’s Eve, but that’s yet to be confirmed as of press time. What’s sure is you get the best view of the city, 71 floors up. With a vantage point that high, the only way to go is up, baby!

4. Julia, Dani & Claudia Barretto. Supreme predicted the rise and rise of Julia Barretto, who is now shooting one endorsement after another. She enters a party and everyone is mesmerized by her presence. There’s an innocence and angelic quality about her that is refreshing. Yes, she’s an It girl alright, but she’s not the only one. There’s her blogger fashion plate of a sister Dani and youngest sister Claudia, which makes them an It brood of hot chicks all destined for the big time. 

5. Liza Soberano. Her print debut was right here in Supreme, which got quite a number of retweets and was the most-sought-after item on social media when it was released. She is ABS-CBN’s favored girl, “most likely to succeed, “and you last saw her on the cover of Metro magazine, appearing with more established stars like Kim Chiu, Rico Blanco, Iza Calzado, and the Younghusbands. She also got a major endorsement without any show or major project  to back her up at that time. Add some more accomplishments and she is sure to zoom all the way to the top.

6. Ruru Madrid. A relative newcomer who came out of GMA7’s reality artists search Protege, Ruru has legions of female fans who shriek upon the sight of their twink idol. He is seen in Sunday All Stars and just finished a film with Pepe Smith, showing before 2014 ends. This might be his ticket to stardom. If he plays his cards right, it may just be the year of good boy Ruru.

7. Louise Delos Reyes. No less than film legend Peque Gallaga noticed the talent of this girl before she got cast in indie movies left and right. She also got a couple of awards for her work. Her film Island Dreams directed by Gino Santos is in the New Wave of Cinema category for this year’s Metro Manila film fest and she’s top billing some major telenovelas this 2014. Busy is an understatement for Louise.

8. Comedy Manila. They rocked this year when they opened for Rob Schneider, but unbeknownst to many, these Filipino standup comics have been hopping around bars and clubs spreading the gospel of Pinoy comedy. JB Poblador, Mike Unson, Alex Calleja and Eri Neeman are some of the names you’ve probably heard of. They most recently had a cultural exchange, bringing Malaysian comics to jam with Filipino comedians and it was a sell out success. Methinks 2014 will be the Year of the Filipino stand-up comic. Let’s watch them and you’ll know what I’m taking about. 

9. Leo Po. Some boys squander their money on toys for the big boys. Not Leo Po, whose family owns the tuna giant Century. He invests his money where his mouth is, on film — Filipino film. He was the producer behind one of 2013’s most-talked-about On The Job. He also distributed niche Hollywood films such as Before Midnight and The Butler. With his supportive wife Marielle, they rocked the Cannes Filmfest red carpet with our very own Piolo Pascual, Gerald Anderson, and. Rayver Cruz. I saw Leo recently planning with collaborators Dondon Monteverde and director Erik Matti, and I’m sure 2014 will even be a more awesome year for Filipino film.

10. Kelsey Merritt. Kelsey is 16, studying at the Ateneo. I first saw her in Willie Revillame’s upscale Wil Tower Mall VIP opening and I was smitten. Onscreen she is a fusion between Anne Curtis and Georgina Wilson, two of the top endorsement moneymakers this year. Kelsey was also a standout in this year’s Fashion Week and has started to do the rounds of editorials for the top magazines of the land. Again, let me reiterate that you read it here first. Kelsey is the next It Girl. Remember her name. She’s worth the merit.

11. Pretty Little Liars in Filipino. And TV5 continues to push TV viewing by making bold experiments. This year, headed by visionary TV exec Wilma Galvante, the network bought the script of Pretty Little Liars and set it to Tagalog. Marimar was a hit, the Koreanovelas adapted to Filipino were hits. Let’s see if this one, starring homegrown TV5 actresses Sophie Albert, Chanel Morales, Stephanie Rowe, and Danielle Lee will be a hit. It might just be.

12. Orion Tamayo. Male models now are a dime and a dozen, but one face stood out from the Jerome Lorico-Lord Viktor collaboration show. Standing at 6’3 but with the face of a child, this Fil-Am balikbayan, who now lives in Binan, Laguna, is a fixture on the club and music festival scene and a walking advertisement of “It’s more fun in the Philippines” tourism slogan. You’ll see him rocking the catwalks and the ad campaigns of 2014.

13. Enrique Gil. Enrique has been dancing his way to audience’s hearts in ASAP, but it was a YouTube video of him dancing to Psy’s Gentleman that sealed the deal. He also came out with a breakthrough performance in this year’s She’s The One, with Bea Alonzo and Dingdong Dantes, no less. He also has quite a few billboards and campaigns under his belt, and he hasn’t reached his peak — but he is surely on his way there.

14. Sub Projekt. Composed of individually talented musicians and singing contest champions Lloyd Zaragoza, Brennan Espartinez, Joshua Desiderio, and Buboy Manalo, they have been rocking the parties of the Tatler crowd, at Anton San Diego and Tessa Prieto-Valdes’ parties that got the entire crowd grooving to their fresh take on R&B and current hits. When you let them loose with their own versions of old and new favorites, you get to see true artists and singers at work. They’re wonderful to watch and more wonderful to jam with. With their good looks, great chemistry, and showmanship, will they bring back the era of the band?