'Homeboy' Beats 'Sis'

Starstruck's Rainier Castillo made Ai Ai delas Alas, Biboy Ramirez and his co-stars in "Shake, Rattle and Roll" wait for nearly seven hours last Friday at their location shoot in Antipolo City. But the Comedy Concert Queen is not putting the blame solely on Rainier but on the teen actor's handler from GMA Artist Center who messed up Rainier's schedule, making him tape for a TV show even if they had agreed to shoot in Antipolo City for the Regal movie being directed by Uro dela Cruz.

"The nerve of the handler to lie about Rainier's whereabouts," said Ai Ai when we got to talk to her at Cork Grill at the ABS-CBN compound Tuesday. "The handler was the one at fault, but he used Rainier as front so he had to bear the brunt of everybody's ire. Kawawa rin naman ang bata. Hindi ko naman nakausap 'yung kausap noong handler pero siyempre lahat ng taga-Regal ay nagdidilim na ang paningin dahil pinaghintay nga kami."

The call time was at 11 a.m. Ai Ai was on the set at 10:30 a.m. Lunch time came yet there was still no sign of Rainier. "At first, I didn't bother to ask since it was still quite early and there were still some cast members who haven't arrived. Saka sabi noong talent coordinator nasa EDSA na raw. Darating daw," said Ai Ai. "But when I finished my lunch and he still wasn't there, nagtanong na talaga ako. Noong medyo tumataas na ang boses ko dahil matagal na nga kaming naghihintay, ayaw na nilang pumasok sa tent ko para sagutin ako," she continued.

The comedienne said that the inconvenience brought by Rainier's absence could have been remedied had the teen actor's handler from GMA Artist Center told the Regal Films talent coordinator that he's still taping and would be delayed. Direk Uro could have shot other scenes in Rainier's absence.

"Rainier's handler shouldn't have lied to us. Telling a lie is not good," added Ai Ai. She's even planning to call up Yda Henares, head of GMA Artist Center, and inform her that her talent handlers are bungling up their jobs. "Instead of finishing our scenes this weekend, we have to extend our shooting days for three more days dahil sa delay na nangyari. Dapat sana pictorial na kami sa Sunday pero dahil sa nangyaring delay, may shooting pa ulit kami."

In fairness to Rainier, he was very apologetic to everyone when he finally arrived on the set. "He didn't know what to do or how to say how sorry he was for the inconvenience he had caused. Buti na lang dumating pa rin siya kasi kung na-packed up ang shooting, kawawa naman ang crew na nagtrabaho that day. Kung puwede lang siguro hindi na lang siya dumating kasi alam niya na galit sa kanya ang lahat ng tao," said Ai Ai.

Expect Ai Ai to do a lecture on punctuality and truthfulness when she takes her hosting chores on ETK (Entertainment Connect) on Saturday. "I really want to know the name of Rainier's handler. Nakakaloka talaga ang ginawa niya. Mabuti na lang wala si Tita Gloria (Romero) sa shoot namin last Friday. Nakakahiya talaga kung pati si Tita Gloria paghihintayin ni Rainier," said Ai Ai who plays an ispiritista in "Shake, Rattle and Roll."

Ai Ai even joked that she had bought all kinds of suman while waiting for Rainier. "Pati kasoy, bumili rin ako. Eh kakorte ko pa rin naman ang kasoy, nakain ko tuloy. Nakakaloka. Nag-attempt na ako ng cannibalism. Nakain ko tuloy ang kapatid ko," she joked.

Also because of the delay caused by Rainier, Ai Ai's vehicle conked out so she had to leave her driver and her PA when she had to go to the next location. "Kawawa naman yung driver ko at PA. Basang-basa sila ng ulan. Kawawa talaga ang handler na iyan kung sino man siya. Lagot talaga siya sa akin sa ETK."

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"Homeboy" of ABS-CBN is now the number one talk show on the morning slot, beating the rival program "Sis" on GMA 7 in the ratings game. According to the drumbeaters of "Homeboy," the show had beaten "Sis" in the ratings for a full week since last week. In last Monday's airing of "Homeboy," it garnered a rating of 11.3% as against the rating of "Sis" which is 8.8%.

"We don't do the show to compete. We just enjoy doing the program," said Boy Abunda who hosts "Homeboy." According to Kuya Boy, there is no secret to "Homeboy's" sudden surge in the ratings, but its recent success lies in the hard work done by the staff to come up with an engaging program that is totally different yet very entertaining.

Even if "Homeboy" has outdone its competing show, Kuya Boy and his staff believe that there is still so much work to be done for the show to continuously rate well and keep their audience captivated.

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Starstruck finalist Yasmien Kurdi didn't expect she'd win any award from the SOP Music Awards held Sunday at the UP Theater. She had gone home already (she lives near UP) but was asked by the SOP staff to return to UP Theater. But she didn't have the slightest idea she'd win the Viewer's Choice for Artist of the Year for her song "I Know" taken from her debut album under GMA Records. She was also nominated in the Breakthrough Recording Artist category.

Because she's an artist of GMA and the award was given by a GMA program, Yasmien is getting flak for her victory. This is unfair for Yasmien since her album made it to the cutoff period for the contest duration. And since it was viewers who voted for the winners, we don't believe Yasmien should be faulted for her victory. It is also unfair for her fans who voted for her.

Yasmien beat Bamboo ("Hallelujah"), Hale ("The Day You Said Goodnight"), and Cueshe ("Stay") for the Viewer's Choice for Song of the Year plum.

The duo MYMP won the Viewer's Choice for Artist of the Year for "Tell Me Where It Hurts," beating Sugarfree, Hale and Bamboo.

The winners were based through text votes from September 12 to October 1. The viewers were the ones who voted for the awards so even if some don't agree with the choices, we can't complain. This is the choice of the viewers.

Other winners in the SOP Music Awards are: Aryana (Maximum Dance Blast for "Bop Pop"), J Brothers (New Age Novelty for "Pasaway"), Bamboo (Strictly Alternative for "Hallelujah"), MYMP (Revive O5 for "Tell Me Where It Hurts") and Aikee (Stand Out Rap for "Kahit Bata Pa Ako").