Now in the middle of its ninth season, the show started airing in August, 2001. It’s the brainchild of Canadian-based executive producer Christopher Tan, who saw a show with a similar concept in Canada. He then thought of the possibility of bringing the show to the Philippines. But then, he wanted to do something more than just showing raw footage; thus, he put in a show host. And On-Air was born. However, there were birth pains. Running the show didn’t come easy at first for its head company, Ideal Minds Corporation. Short on budget, they had to share space with the Karaoke King, which had a booth at Glorietta 4. They would simply leave their camera there, hoping that a customer would want to take a crack at instant fame. It seemed that Lady Luck was on their side and after a couple of successful episodes, they were able to get some money and soon enough, had their own office and booth.
With no airs and pretensions, The show’s creative minds have remained true to their goal: To promote freedom of expression among Filipino raw talents. As Roman explains, "On-Air gives everyone a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be seen, heard, liked (or disliked), or even laughed at." Either way, it’s a person’s minute (literally) of fame. If you think you want to give it a try but don’t quite know exactly what you want to do, let me give you some ideas. Based on the past episodes, a wide range of acts has already been performed. This is why they have decided to throw in a number of film clip categories. First, there’s "Sing Mo Babe," for the born singers or those who must have been born with a microphone in their hand; second, the "Singtunado," for those who are better off not singing at all; third, "Get Real," for those who just want to goof around; and lastly, "Just Plug It," for those who simply want to plug or promote a product or share an idea with viewers. While you’re deciding on how you want your act to be, let me just warn you that vying for a spot on television can be bit tough. Wading through the huge number of film clips, the show’s creative team reviews the materials daily and chooses only the best of the lot. Meaning those that satisfy certain criteria. First, it must have a humorous side. On-Air is really meant to be a comedy reality show. Thus, it would really help if you could make your audience smile, at the very least. Second, you must be a real person, meaning you’re not supposed to be a celebrity. After all, this is a reality show!
Of course, there are the serious clips, too, where content is the important thing. If you really have no intention of tickling people’s funny bones, at least bone up on what to say – have something substantial to say, something other people can learn from. Really, this is a reality show like no other – though it shares some similarities with other reality shows like Fear Factor, Amazing Race and The Bachelor.
On-Air is very fortunate to have young and dynamic Studio 23 VJ JM Rodriguez to amuse thousands of viewers on each show. According to JM, getting to host the show was pretty challenging. He had to beat eight to 10 other hopefuls. Having gotten the part, he’s simply having the best time. Along with an animated TV screen named Cervantes, JM delights in introducing the clips that the show has chosen. He says that the most fulfilling part about hosting the show is that he can simply be his goofy self and have fun. "Corny is funny. So far, it’s worked for our target audience, which is the young," he notes.
Certainly, JM hopes that On-Air would still be on the air two or more years from now. By then though, he envisions it to have more excitement, more participants and more show segments.
Truth is, On-Air is getting bigger and better. The show held its 2nd Annual On-Air Awards last Sept. 25. In the show’s second year, Ideal Minds threw a party at Streetlife, Glorietta to honor and award some of On-Air’s most dynamic participants. Sponsored by Sun Cellular, Pepsi, Pulp, Airwizard, Starmall, NU107, BG’s, RX 93.1 and Streetlife, the event was a huge success. Hosted by JM Rodriguez, the event named Year 2’s top 10 in between performances by such scintillating groups as the Kiko Machine, Bystanders and UP Samaskom. There was also the special appearance of last year’s winner Maverick and Ariel, "Single" Season 4 contenders Reema Chanco, Marvel Julian, Alex Ferrer, William Thio and Champagne Morales. All in all, it was a glorious night, especially for first prize winner Jordan Tan, whose clip is entitled "Lalake Ako." In her clip, she explodes with rage over a guy who thought she could be his girl. After cursing the guy on national television, she drops this bombshell, "Lalake ako!" Now, can you beat that?
Now, are you giving it a try or what? If you are, simply walk into the booth located at Starmall every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and every weekend at Robinsons Novaliches. Or simply watch the show every Monday night at 9 p.m. on ABC 5. Stay tuned for more exciting developments!