ONLY 14 hopefuls remain in the latest edition of the ongoing ultimate Starstruck search of GMA.
We were invited to witness the announcement of the Final 14 over the weekend, and there were a few really promising ones who might lord it over the competition and become the next big stars of the network.
There’s Klea Pineda, who is the tallest among the last remaining girls in the search. The 16-year-old lass from Caloocan City told us that she has two goals in joining the search. “I’d like to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a star, and I also feel this is a good preparation to build my confidence further and shape my personality so that I’d be ready in two to three years time when I join a beauty pageant. I want to be a beauty queen.”
She explained that there’s nothing wrong with having big dreams. “As long as you know yourself, what you are capable of and where your passions are, then nobody can stop you from reaching for your dreams.”
We also like Arra San Agustin, a prim, proper and doe-eyed colegiala from De La Salle University. Arra speaks and moves with maturity and an endearing refinement, and she might just unleash a bagful of surprises each week leading into the finals. She will be Klea’s biggest threat, we reckon.
Then there’s the underdog named Liezl Lopez, a 17-year-old from Olongapo City. She strikes us as a natural, and she can be quite funny, too. If she is molded well by GMA, Liezl can be a really good bida-kontrabida and she can also be a sensible comedienne.
From the seven guys, there were two guys who caught our attention: Kevin Sagra and Elyson de Dios.
Kevin is from South Cotabato and he shared that he started to live independently since he was 15. “I guess that by being on my own early in life, I became more mature and more responsible faster than boys my age. Sometimes life shoves you into a situation and all you have is yourself, and you can’t help but to be courageous and make the most out of whatever opportunity there is.”
He told us that he auditioned in Davao City and flew to Manila on his own when he made the cut. He thinks that he got his mestizo features from his Spanish grandfather, but he is not aware that his last name is Italian and not Spanish. Sagra denotes a local fair, like a fiesta, usually a celebration of the bounties of the earth. In Italy most of the sagras are held in small towns, usually in the piazza, where music, food and dancing are aplenty.
“I’m wishing upon that star, hoping it will shine on me and make my dream come true. I’m really sure that this is what I want,” he said.
To us, Kevin has the most interesting look among the remaining young men. He is fair-skinned, possesses a piercing stare and has a naughty boy’s natural charm. If he plays his cards right from now until the next few weeks, then he can be a most-deserving ultimate grand winner.
Kevin might face stiff competition from Elyson, the 16-year-old from Liloan, Cebu. We all know how Cebuanos support their own, as proven in many local contests where text voting is a component in choosing the winner.
At first glance, Elyson looks like your ordinary neighborhood boy but when you talk to him, he grows on you. He is naturally charming and projects a “what you see is what you get” type of a personality.
Initially, Elsyon looked nervous and shy, but he easily warmed up the entertainment media with his effortless charm and handily became the darling of the media that night.
Aside from our top 5 picks, those who made the cut were Ayra Mariano, Australia-raised Migo Adecer, Spanish mestizo Avery Paraiso, half-Thai Joemari Nielsen, beauty titlist and former Star Magic talent Koreen Medina, Princess Guevarra, Jay Arcilla, James Teng and Analyn Barro.
FLYING HIGH
A few years ago, Xavi Hemady tried his luck and landed a role in Lawrence Fajardo’s Cinemalaya film Amok. The experience planted a seed in Xavi’s life and even if he decided to stay off-course from acting, he never forgot about his passion.
“I think it’s right to say I suppressed that passion, but I never killed that dream. In my heart and mind, I know that acting will make me happier and more fulfilled someday,” he said, adding, “I knew that one day, I will come back and pick up where I left.”
Xavi became a flight attendant and started to travel the world. He liked the adventure and learned to love his job. “I’d always touch base with my few friends in the film industry to be updated, and to ask if there are short roles that I can take on during my free days.”
Then one day, Xavi experienced a pinched nerve while onflight which required him to be on forced sick leave so he could recuperate.
“I learned about an audition after I got out of the hospital and I went for it, while still wearing the hospital wrist band. I’m fortunate that I passed the audition,” he said.
Xavi is talking about Pepe Diokno’s entry to the coming QCinema Film Festival, Kapatiran, where he is one of the many actors. He shared that on the day of shoot, he felt jitters like it was his first time again but added that he truly enjoyed the process.
“I want to make more films. I feel that the fire in me was ignited again, and that this—acting for film—can be my ‘happy place’ in the future. Someday, I hope to really fly high in the acting business.”