• Tootsie Guevarra to wed • Pinoy a finalist in CBS reality TV series

Of course, you remember Tootsie Guevarra, don’t you? After all, Tootsie (real name: EmmaTherese Pinga) hasn’t been away from the (local) limelight for long, although her fans, I’m sure, have been wondering whatever happened to her. She simply vanished, you know.

I remember seeing Tootsie at the PAL Mabuhay Lounge last year. She was with her mom, Tess Pinga, and they were going to Los Angeles. Two days ago, I got a text message from Tootsie, saying she was getting married on Aug. 8 at the Santuario de San Antonio in Forbes Park, Makati City. The lucky guy is Jansen Cunanan who is from California.

"I can’t believe I’ve been in California for a year now," Tootsie wrote in an e-mail to Funfare yesterday. "How time flies! Life in California is great but I sometimes miss showbiz. I miss the recording and the tapings, and doing live shows. When I was new here, I cried a lot because I was homesick. It’s my first time to be away from my family. I refrain from watching TFC (The Filipino Channel) because it makes me more homesick."

Now, Tootsie, 25, doesn’t feel so homesick anymore, thanks to Jansen, 29, whom she met in August 2001 through Geneva Cruz.

"I was then in the Philippines taking up Physical Therapy at St. Jude College," recalled Jansen in another e-mail. "During my free time, I would tag along with Geneva, who’s my friend, to her out-of-town shows. I first saw Tootsie when she guested with Geneva on A.S.A.P. which was being remote-telecast from Olongapo City. I was thrilled! Tootsie was my crush. It was a casual meeting. Tootsie was so focused on her performance that she doesn’t remember our first meeting."

Anyway, they met again when Jansen accompanied Geneva to the ABS-CBN Studio.

"Mommy Tess was known to be strict and cold towards guys who wanted to court Tootsie," Jansen added. "And it took me a while before I convinced her about my sincere intentions."

Just when things were falling into place, Jansen graduated from college and returned to California.

"You can just imagine how much I missed Tootsie," said Jansen. "When Tootsie graduated from college on March 22, 2002, I surprised Tootsie by flying to Manila to be with her. Then, five months later, Tootsie and Mommy Tess went to California. The trip was Tootsie’s birthday and graduation gift to herself. They visited me. Our birthday falls on the same month (August), so I decided to organize a party for both of us."

Unknown to Tootsie, the guests and her family were in on a secret Jansen was going to surprise her with that night – he proposed to her. He put a dummy engagement ring on the birthday cake and attached a string to it with a note that said, "Follow the string, the string of life. Tootsie did, following a path of lighted candles that led to Jansen who was standing inside a huge, lighted heart-shaped candle. Jansen knelt and proposed to Tootsie.

After the wedding, Tootsie won’t settle down as plain housewife. They will reside in California.

"I have shows lined up later this year," said Tootsie (who graduated from a Real Estate School in November last year and who recently performed with Ella Mae Saison and Dessa in San Francisco, with Carol Banawa in Portland and San Diego, and Jasmine Trias). "In October, I will have a show with The APO in Las Vegas and in December a repeat show with Carol Banawa."

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After Jasmine Trias and Camille Velasco’s stint in American Idol, another Pinoy, Miguel Ayesa, is making waves, this time in the new CBS reality TV series called Rock Star: INXS. Here’s the exclusive report from Edmund Silvestre, news editor of the New York-based The Filipino Reporter:

A Filipino-Australian singer and theater actor is among the 15 finalists who will vie to become the new lead singer of the internationally renowned band INXS in a new CBS reality TV series premiering on July 11.

Manila-born Miguel "Mig" Ayesa, already a theater star in Australia and London, landed in the top 15 after auditions were held around the world, from New York to Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Auckland and Sydney.

He is the nephew of Dr. Ramon and Dr. Ching Legarda of New York, who used to be the partners of Alice and Red Martinez in producing concerts in the US, featuring mostly Filipino artists, under Lemar International. (Alice and Red now have their own company, Re-Al Productions.)

The show, called ROCK STAR: INXS, will follow the remaining members of INXS as the band seeks a replacement for 37-year-old Michael Hutchence, who was found dead at the Ritz Carlton Double Bay in Sydney in 1997.

Ayesa said it’s hard to predict what original band members Kirk Pengilly, Tim Farriss, Jon Farriss, Andrew Farriss and Garry Gary Beers were looking for. "The last thing they’d be looking for would be a Michael Hutchence clone," he said. "It is kind of hard to call at this stage. I think I have got a good chance. I am pretty confident." Ayesa’s background is very impressive, having starred in London’s West End production of We Will Rock You for the past two years. He has also starred in the Australian and New Zealand productions of Grease, Rent, Buddy, West Side Story, Cinderella, Aladdin and Fame. He also has his own band called Mignition.

"I have been wanting to be a rock star all my life," said the 35-year-old married singer, who also appeared in several commercials, including one for British Airways.

ROCK STAR: INXS, from Survivor executive producer Mark Burnett, combines the world of rock music with relationship-style unscripted drama, performance competition and a weekly contestant elimination. The last singer standing will become the lead singer of the internationally renowned band INXS and embark on a worldwide concert tour with the band and be part of the group’s new album.

The 15 performers will be housed together in a Hollywood Hills mansion, nicknamed The Rock Star Manor. Each week will feature taped reality segments focusing on the performers’ relationships and activities (Monday episodes), along with a performance competition (Tuesday) and weekly elimination (Wednesday).

The series is produced by Mark Burnett Productions and hosted by celebrated rock guitarist Dave Navarro and Brooke Burke. Mark Burnett, David Goffin, (American Idol) Lisa Hennessy (Eco-Challenge) and INXS managers David Edwards and Michael Murchison are executive producers. Conrad Riggs is co-executive producer.

INXS had a string of worldwide hits in the late ’80s and early ’90s, including What You Need, Need You Tonight, Devil Inside, Suicide Blonde and New Sensation.

Since Hutchence’s death, the band has worked with a number of singers including US soul artist Terence Trent D’Arby and Australian Jon Stevens, but has failed to capture their earlier successes.

ROCK STAR: INXS, will begin with a special one-hour premiere on July 11, followed by a one-hour broadcast on July 12 and a half-hour edition on July 13 on the CBS Television Network. Beginning the following week, ROCK STAR: INXS will be seen regularly on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

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