Will Born To Be a Star find another Sarah Geronimo?

If you haven’t gotten wind of it, there’s a new weekly talent search called Born To Be a Star to be launched nationwide by Viva and TV5 starting on Feb. 6 on the Kapatid Network.

“We are looking for the next star,” said Ogie Alcasid, one of the three hosts who also include Mark Bautista and Yassi Pressman. “We are all hoping that he or she will come from this show.”

Led by big boss Vic del Rosario Jr., Viva was also the company behind Star For a Night a decade ago which discovered Mark, Rachelle Ann Go and Sarah Geronimo, all of whom have become big stars. Like Rachelle who is currently playing Fantine in London’s West End’s production of Les Miserables, Mark has also done theater in London as topbiller of the Imelda Marcos disco-musical Here Lies Love. Of course, Sarah went on not only to break records in the music industry but also in television and movies.

Tapped as judges are Rico Blanco, Pops Fernandez, Andrew E. and Aiza Seguerra.

“There are so many talent searches,” added Ogie who has hosted a similar show, Protégé, on GMA, his former home network before he moved to TV5. “But what makes Born To Be a Star different is that two big forces are behind it.”

Auditions for male and female aspirants, aged 13 to 18, shall have been done by this time. The Ultimate Star will receive a total of P3M in prizes including P1M cash, P1M management contract with Viva Artists Agency (VAA) and TV5, and a real-estate property worth P1M.

According to the show’s director Monty Parungao, four new contestants will be introduced per week, with each episode showing the “making” of a star with back stories apart from the main competition itself. Contestants who make it to the weekly round will undergo a makeover session and mentoring from some of the country’s finest vocal coaches.

Is a star born or made?

Said Pops, “Some people are born to be stars and some people are meant to be stars. With social media, it’s easier today to be a star. There are many stars today who were discovered via the YouTube. You get so many ‘likes’ and you are off to becoming a star. During our time, it was somewhat harder because we had to work very hard for us to be noticed. Noong araw, kakaunti lang kaming nabibigyan ng chance pero marami ka munang pagdadaanan. However, then and now it depends on how lucky you are and what kind of music you are making.”

Aiza: “Was I born to be a star? Ewan ko, maybe. All I can say is that I was born to be in this industry. Not everybody is given a second chance like I was. I started as a child star and then I grew up to be a singer. Thanks for the opportunity to touch as many people as I can with my music. So yes, I like to think that I was born to do this.”

Ogie started his answer with a joke, “I was born to be alive,” adding seriously, “anybody can be a star. As Pops said, konting ‘likes’ at star ka na. But bihira ‘yung nakakalikha ng sariling pangalan,” adding in jest, “I know I’m a star at ang nakapagpapatunay niyan ay si Kuya Germs who gave me a star in his Walk of Fame in Eastwood. “ (Note: Ogie made that comment on Jan. 4 during the presscon, four days before Kuya Germs died.)

The final say came from Boss Vic, a star maker in his own right.

“Some stars are born, some stars are made and some stars are manufactured,” said Boss Vic, “but to be a star, one has to have talent. We have made stars through our show Star For a Night like Sarah, Rachelle Ann and Mark, and we hope to find and build more stars through Born To Be a Star.”

(TV5 may be also viewed at the following cable channels: Cignal Digital TV, Channel 5, Destiny Cable, Chanel 6 [Analog], Channel 10 [Digital] and Sky Cable Channel 10.)

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