However, with the introduction of one of its newest segments  Sobrang OJ (for Ogie and Janno) Pare  viewers have clung even tighter to the program, especially in this portion (the minute-per-minute ratings sheets prove it) where everyone drops everything (Sunday chores, Sunday meals  down with those spoons and forks  but hopefully not Sunday noontime Mass) to watch and listen to this hilarious musical act.
For those who have missed it (it’s not too late to catch up), Sobrang OJ is one of the newest innovations on S.O.P. This is where Ogie Alcasid and Janno Gibbs change lyrics of popular songs to express their views and commentaries about showbiz people or anything happening in the entertainment circle.
Since both Ogie and Janno are singers and comedians, the result is riotously funny and pleasant  musically.
Actually, this is not the first time this is being done on S.O.P. In GMA network launches abroad where some of the Channel 7 shows are brought by the station to entertain Pinoys there, Ogie and Janno have done this for S.O.P. both in the US mainland and Hawaii.
Since the response from the audience is overwhelming  riotous even  Darling de Jesus, GMA 7 assistant vice president for Talk/Musical-Variety/Reality/Specials, decided to do this on a weekly basis for S.O.P. Both Janno and Ogie begged off in the beginning, however, because that required a lot of work. Everything may look easy on screen, but there is actually a lot of work to do in order to complete the segment.
And now that they are doing it finally  after stalling for about a couple of years  Janno (who puts the act together) now has a weekly laborious assignment that begins with the selection of the song he and Ogie would be singing. Next is seeking permission from the publisher of the musical piece to change the song’s lyrics. Then comes that actual work of rewording the lyrics  by Janno  to something comical. The two only rehearse the songs during breaks on S.O.P. and after a run-through with guitarist Butch Elizalde they do the actual performance that same afternoon  and eventually bring the house down with their act.
More often than not, they tackle showbiz issues and do a recap of what went around in movie talk shows, particularly Startalk, which Janno watches with the rest of the Eat, Bulaga! cast every Saturday while having a late, late lunch.
Sometimes, they work the theme around special guests in a particular episode. Darling de Jesus suggested that they do one on Sharon Cuneta back-to-back with Joey de Leon one Sunday (when the two appeared as guests) and this is my favorite among all the Sobrang OJ Pare acts. Here’s how they changed the lyrics to the tune of South Border’s Ikaw Nga (used as the theme song of Mulawin):
Heto na naman
Heto at nagkakatuwaan lang
Si Ate Shawie kaya ating pag-usapan?
Kanyang nakaraan
Ay makulay, umibig, nasaktan
Gabby, Richard, Robin at ngayo’y Pangilinan
Nais kong ipagtapat sa iyo
Kaming dalawa ay tunay na inggit sa iyo
Puede bang makahingi ng balato? Woo-woo-wooh
Ikaw nang pinakamayamang artista
Pinay na Oprah
Sunod-sunod, hindi mabilang mga commercials mo, di ba?
May burger, mayroong instant mami, may ferry
May washi-washi
May gatas, may ice cream, may cell phone
Marami pang iba, di ba?
Sinali mo pa ang iyong yaya.
Ayaw paawat
Sobra siyang busy
Sa GMA, puro siya  araw hanggang gabi
Tuwing tanghali, may Eat, Bulaga!
Mayroong Takeshi’s Castle, may Mel & Joey pa
Mayroon pang Startalk, Nuts Entertainment pa
Ano baaaah?
Tama na at ipaubaya mo na sa ibang artista
Baka pati sa Master Showman ikaw na ang bida
Sobra na
Baka next week, kaming dalawa
Tanggal na.
Sobrang OJ Pare, however, is at its best when the song’s lyrics choose to stay close to home and work around stories involving S.O.P.’s cast members  and there are a lot of them with showbiz issues! Yes  starting with Ogie and Janno themselves. There’s Rufa Mae Quinto, who was "name-dropped" by Lolit Solis at the height of the Gretchen Barretto controversy. And believe it or not, even Regine Velasquez was not spared.
One time, they changed the lyrics of a song and played around how Asia’s Songbird was first linked to Janno and now to Ogie  with Regine watching by their side. Oh, how the live audience lapped it up.
You really don’t have to be an avid follower of showbiz gossip (but in this country, who isn’t?) to appreciate Sobrang OJ Pare because it is also entertaining musically. But it’s really its being a musical comedy that makes it so worthwhile to watch for every Sunday on S.O.P.
To borrow the language of the youth today, I daresay: It’s sobrang funny, Pare.