Parang 20 pa rin ang ipinakilalang Sparkle Teens sa launching nito last Tuesday.
In spirit ay kasama pa ng 19-member ng Sparkle Teens ang nasawing si Andrei Sison.
Namatay ang apo ng OPM icon na si Marco Sison sa car accident isang buwan bago ang launching ng grupo.
Kaya bilang pag-alala, hindi inedit si Andrei sa original AVP na kinunan bago ang aksidente at dito ay nakalagay ang linyang: “Andrei Sison: Forever a Sparkle Teen.”
Maging sa guesting nila sa All-Out Sundays ay kasama sa plugging si Andrei.
Si Josh Ford, ang lone survivor sa naturang car crash, ay panay ang pasasalamat sa Sparkle GMA Artist Center mula sa consultant na si Johnny “Mr. M” Manahan hanggang sa kanilang mga road manager.
Ayon sa Sparkle GMA Artist Center execs na sina Joy Marcelo (assistant vice president for Talent Management Group) at Vic del Rosario (senior talent manager), sumailalim sa grief counseling ang Sparkle Teens matapos ang aksidente.
“Nag-grief counseling sila. We provided a counselor for them. Si Cathy, ‘yung anak ni… Cathy Babao, ‘yung anak ni Caridad Sanchez. She’s known for being a grief counselor, so, immediately after what happened, parang lahat ng kids nag-undergo ng grief counseling. Siyempre alam mo naman, bata, kailangan ma… araw-araw nilang kasama si Andrei so it was hard for them at the onset na, siyempre, nalaman nila bigla-bigla nawala si Andrei,” pahayag ni Ms. Joy.
Halos kalahating taon ding nagkasama-sama ang grupo.
“May bond talaga ang mga ‘yan. And even kanina, nakita n’yo siguro, ‘di ba, they cheer each one talaga. ‘Yung kapag may sumagot, may support system. So, naging close talaga sila kaya conscious din kami na siyempre hindi naman pupuwede na o basta na lang ‘kalimutan n’yo na si Andrei, magsayaw na kayo d’yan.’ So ganu’n.
“As kids naman they were able to… sabi naman sa amin nu’ng grief counselor na ‘yes, they’re okay, they’re more stable now.’ So, ‘yun, we have to move on, guys. Life has to move on.”
Sa tanong kung may pagbabago bang ginawa sa date ng launch dahil sa nangyari, ang sagot ni Joy, “’Yung launch kasi, I think the accident happened almost a month ago, kasi malapit na ‘ata ‘yung 40 days. So parang iniisip nu’ng una, kumusta sila, how they will cope with, ‘yun nga, with the loss of Andrei. So after a few days and after they went to the wake and then na-express siguro nila ‘yung grief nila, nakita nila si Andrei and even the family, na okay naman ‘yung family na, so nu’ng we said, kung kaya na, we asked the grief counselor and then she said na it’s okay. It’s about time kasi kesa magmukmok and then you think about a lot of things, it’s also good for kids to be busy. Siyempre, may work, may trabaho, kailangan, parang sabi nila, it would also be advisable for them to be busy siguro para to keep their mind off what happened.”
Sinabi rin ni Ms. Joy na kahit si Josh ay unti-unti na raw nakaka-adjust sa kalungkutan.
“Okay naman siya kanina. I think he was able to answer the questions very well also. Kasi we also gave him a special one-on-one session with Miss Cathy. And the family came home from the UK so may support siya not just from Sparkle but from the family.
“‘Yung mom niya flew in from London to support him. So okay naman siya, he has family and us.”
Sa ngayon, tuluy-tuloy lang ang trabaho ng dating child actor.
May taping na ito para sa isang soap, ang once-a-week series na Wattpad 2.
“Tuloy naman. In fairness to him, the doctors said he can go back to work. Fit to go back to work,” dagdag pa ni Joy.
Bukod kay Josh, kasama rin sa Sparkle Teens sina Antonio Vinzon (anak ng character actor na si Roi Vinzon), Zyren dela Cruz, Charlie Fleming, Princess Aliyah, Keisha Serna, John Clifford, Waynona Collings, Liana Mae, Naomi Park, Aya Domingo, Gaea Mischa, Selina Griffin, Marco Masa, Lee Victor, Bryce Eusebio, Ashley Sarmiento, Aidan Veneracion at James Graham.
Ayon naman kay Vic, regular na mapapanood ang Sparkle Teens by batches sa All-Out Sundays.
Dagdag niya, ang iba, gaya ni Marco, naka-cast na sa ibang shows habang ang ilan naman ay ongoing ang auditions sa mga proyekto.
Tuloy rin ang online classes ng mga bagets at lenient naman ang Sparkle sa schedule lalo na kung may exams ang mga ito sa klase.
“Ayaw din naman ng management na mapabayaan nila ang school nila,” paniniguro ni Joy.
Naniniwala rin si Ms. Jo na inihanda nang husto ng talent agency ang Sparkle Teens para harapin nila ang anumang hamon na ibibigay sa kanila ng industriya.
“We had these kids go through months of intense workshops before their launch as Sparkle Teens. They trained with the best acting, singing, and dancing coaches to help them become the stars that they’re meant to be. No easy task but they pulled through really well.
“Ask any one of them to perform and they will deliver, that’s how confident I am with the caliber and star power of our Sparkle Teens. And it’s a big plus that these kids genuinely love to perform - they are a joy to watch.”