Jaya preps for new Sunday show

CEBU, Philippines -Asia’s Queen of Soul will soon return to her regular Sunday grind, as she happily shared her inclusion in GMA 7’s new weekend noontime show titled “Sunday All Stars.”

“Yes, I’m part of the new show with Regine [Ve­lasquez-Alcasid], Ogie [Alcasid], Janno [Gibbs]...we still have young cast, pero nagbawas talaga ng konti. Marami pa rin. You will still see most of your favorites there like Julie Ann San Jose, Rachelle Ann Go, Christian Bautista, I think Mark Bautista’s there,” said the singer, the guest performer of Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Cebu Business Month opening salvo held Saturday night at the Ayala Terraces.

The upcoming program replaces ‘Party Pilipinas’ which telecast its last episode last May 19 and where Jaya was a mainstay for the three years it was on air.

Jaya added that “Sunday All Stars” will be helmed by a new director, Rommel Gacho and will have a slightly altered format. “We used to have two teams managing the show. But now we only have one team which will put the whole program together. It’s a little different from what you normally saw on ‘Party Pilipinas’ which were grand dancing and singing. This time, a lot of other things will happen. There will be games and teams competing against one another. You will see the difference this June 16.”

On whether she feels confident that viewers will warm up to the concept, she replied, “We’re always optimistic, just like we were with ‘SOP’ and ‘Party Pilipinas.’ ‘Sunday All Stars’ is a brand-new baby, so we have to take care of it and cross our fingers that hopefully, people will like it. Understand that sometimes we just really need to change things, and it was management’s decision. For us, we’re just happy that we’re still part of the new show. We’re sad for the ones who are no longer included, but that’s how work is. At the end of the day, it’s all about being able to work and show your talent.”

When probed further if Ogie’s inclusion meant the singer-songwriter will not be jumping to TV5 as has been widely speculated about recently, Jaya said, “I cannot confirm that. I mean, he could be part of the show and then…I have no idea if he’s transferring or not.” photos by IAN JAVIER (FREEMAN)