THE YOUTUBE STAR SEARCH

Just as I expected, GMA7 signed up their own YouTube discovery weeks after ABS-CBN signed up Maria Aragon, the 11-year old Canadian resident who became popular after doing a Lady Gaga cover on the same website.

Admittedly, I never heard of Leana Tabunar not until she was featured in 24 Oras. I checked out her video, which is at that time with 50,000+ views, a small sum compared to Aragon’s million hits. The 8 year old can sing, but isn’t way too early to call her a YouTube “singing sensation”? Anyway, I still wish her good luck. Leana debuted on Party Pilipinas last Sunday.

Not to be outdone, ABS-CBN may soon sign up another web discovery Arjohn Gilbert. The Aeta boy gained a following because of his impressive singing of Justin Bieber and Bruno Mars songs. Looks like finding the next YouTube talent is the new phase of the network wars. So when is TV5 will follow suit?

Others who made the jump from viral videos to TV include Momoy Palaboy (now regulars in Bubble Gang), Robert (in Happy, Yipee, Yehey) and Bekimon.

MORE DANCE, LESS DRAMA PLEASE

GMA7’s new primetime drama Time of My Life offers nothing new, except for the dancing scenes of course. I don’t understand why our local writers can’t get that molding “missing kid” storyline out of their systems. This time it’s Jean Garcia who is searching for a daughter (Kris Bernal) who may or may not be alive. Are their paychecks not large enough for them to come out with better scripts?

Time of My Life would have been a better show if instead of the usual tearjerker they turned it to a dramedy. None of the usual “apihan” and “sampalan”, which is already so boring. Wouldn’t it be better if it became the dance version of Glee? There will still be drama but not too heavy. There should be a lot of light moments and comedy. And everyone should dance. I bet you guys would love to watch Rez Cortez do some footwork like he did years ago. The token gay guy provides the only comedy in the current setup.

The only lifeline this program has are the dance scenes. Other than that, there is nothing else.

HINDI NA LANG BASTA INDIE

I would have to applaud Star Cinema and Regal Films for picking up the rights to distribute two films from the recent Cinemalaya festival. Last August 3, Ang Babae sa Septic Tank starring Eugene Domingo was released to mainstream audiences by Star Cinema and made them a whole lot of money. Another festival hit Ligo na U, Lapit na Me was picked up by Regal Films and is to be shown on September 7. I hope the other film outfits (GMA films, Viva Films, Studio 5) will also gamble on the other films shown in the festival. Come on, GMA films. You’ve got billionaires as bosses, surely you can afford to buy the rights to distribute films like Busong or i-libings. We’ve had enough of Richard Gutierrez Valentine’s Day movies anyway.

MAULAN AT MADRAMA

If you are a teleserye addict, you might have noticed “rain scenes” in most recent episodes of whatever you are watching. It’s not fake rain. Almost two weeks of back to back to back typhoons are the reasons why your favorite teleserye characters are carrying an umbrella.

            I’ve seen rain scenes on Futbolilits, 100 Days to Heaven and Munting Heredera. Even on Amaya, though there was no actual showing of rain you can hear rainfall on the background.

PAANONG NAKALUSOT SI SIMEON?

Last night in Munting Heredera, Simeon (Neil Ryan Sese) was able to enter the Montereal mansion by pretending to be one of the bodyguards. Now that is just dumb.

In real life, that would never happen. The security agency should have treated the Jacob-Sandra wedding as a high-risk case, knowing that Simeon is on the loose. Those bodyguards should already know each other days before the wedding and surely they know who Simeon is and what he looks like (even if he shaved and wears those glasses!). Also, they should have known in advance where they are going to be positioned throughout the wedding. On the actual day of the wedding, a head count should have been made. Simeon coming in late and making traffic as an excuse should already signal red lights, right? So it should have been impossible for a high-profile escapee to be able to break into the security.

One should wonder if such an incompetent security agency exists. Just imagine if the Presidential Security Group is as idiotic as those guys, the President’s life will always be in danger! Michiko Yamamoto was credited as episode writer for that night. Lapse of judgment, perhaps?

NASAN KA INAY?

What does Futbolilits, Amaya, Munting Heredera, Time of My Life, Babaeng Hampaslupa, Mutya, Mara Clara, Mula sa Puso, 100 Days to Heaven and Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin have in common?

             The answer – they ALL deal with the same theme of “the missing kid” or in Filipino, “ang nawawalang anak”!

              Now here are two more questions. Have our local TV writers no fresh ideas (Wala na ba kayong maisip na iba)? And are the viewers not yet tired of the same old story (Hindi pa ba kayo sawa)?

DO PEOPLE STILL BUY CDs?

Reports claim that music labels now make more money from digital sales of albums and singles compared to buying an actual CD. And with music easily downloadable, thanks to the Internet, the question is – do people still buy CDs?

I say YES for three reasons:

One. The Artwork. There are some CDs out there with really cool covers The boring ones are those that just put the singer’s face on the cover.

Two. A quick gift. Can’t think of a gift for someone for his birthday or for Christmas? Buy a CD of his favorite artist or type of music. Wrap it up, put a nice ribbon and a card and you’re ready for the party.

Three. The fanatic. Even if the artist comes out with an album every month, the fanatic will buy them. No matter how bad the reviews are, the fanatic won’t care. If there are more of those kind of people, music labels will be very happy.