Megastar should get out of her comfort zone

It’s been a week since Megastar Sharon Cuneta made the announcement on her Facebook account that she is no longer connected with TV5. People are wondering why Sharon didn’t finish the five-year contract she signed with the Kapatid Network. They were also asking if Sharon (who was supposed to receive P1 billion for the contract) returned any part of the money to evade any legal problem after she prematurely terminated her contract with TV5.

There was not much detail as to why Sharon severed her ties with the network. We surmise though that Sharon had a good parting of ways with TV5 since the network issued a statement in which said they were thankful the Megastar became part of their network and they wish her well in whatever direction she wants to take in her career.

Sharon’s fans are also asking if she is going back to ABS-CBN (her home studio for more than two decades) or if she is moving over to GMA-7. Sharon and her manager, Boss Vic del Rosario of Viva Entertainment, have yet to reveal their plans with regards to her career. She can opt to be a freelancer so she can swing from one network to another, depending on the project that will be offered her.

We admire Sharon as a performer and we wish that she can finally get her act together. We would like to see her finally winning her battle with her weight problem and get into shape. We believe that if she will work hard on it, she can go back to her best fighting form. She did it before and she can do it again.

We’d like to see her doing roles she had not done before. It’s about time for her to get out of her comfort zone and experiment with film portrayals. We remember she launched a scriptwriting contest a few years ago with the intent of finding a good script that she can do as a film project. We wonder what happened to that contest.

We are looking forward to seeing Sharon again on TV and in the big screen.

We’d like to see her do an indie film and we would like to see her compete in Cinemalaya as an actress. After Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor did films for Cinemalaya, it is high time that Sharon consider the same route.

We remember box-office director Wenn Deramas telling us that he has a project in mind for Sharon and he’d like to present the concept to her personally one of these days.

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Newbie singer Michael Pangilinan admits getting nervous but excited when he was asked by Star Records to interpret the song “Pare Mahal Mo Raw Ako.” The song, composed by Joven Tan, is an entry in the Himig Handog P-Pop Love Songs competition. The grand finals is set on September 28 at the Araneta Coliseum.

This is the first time that Michael had been asked to interpret a song for a competition so it’s but natural for him to feel the jitters. But he is looking to the finals night with excitement. He considers it a big break for a newbie singer like him to be chosen to compete in Himig Handog and although this is a songwriting competition, he is going all out to do his best and is hoping for a win.

The message of “Pare Mahal Mo Raw Ako” is quite controversial. The song speaks of a guy’s sentiment to his gay friend who expressed his love for him. But the guy tells his friend that while he cannot reciprocate his gay friend’s feelings towards him, he will remain a friend until the end.

Michael said it is a challenge to interpret the song because of its theme and he knows that he must be able to reach out to the members of the gay community who have identified with the song.

“The song has beautiful lyrics and a catchy melody. I fell in love with the song the first time I heard it and when I learned that Star Records wanted me to interpret the song, I readily said yes,” said the former “X-Factor Philippines” contestant.

Since the Himig Handog album was launched and the entries were given airplay, “Pare Mahal Mo Raw Ako” has been getting very good feedback and Michael is very happy with it.

At the presscon of Himig Handog last Monday, “Pare Mahal Mo Raw Ako” was among the songs which got the loudest applause from the entertainment media. Some of the press people said they were able to relate to the song and it’s music video (produced by students from the University of the Philippines) which featured Michael and his “pare” played by Miggy Campbell.

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Bela Padilla is the featured guest in “Bubble Gang” tonight. The best supporting actress in Famas for “10000 Hours” shows her knack for comedy as she competes with “Bubble Gang” mainstays Michael. V, Rufa Mae Quinto, Antonio Aquitania, Sef Cadayona, Jan Manuel, Jackie Rice, Sam Pinto and Mikael Daez in letting their hair down in comedy antics.

Among the segments viewers should watch out for in “Bubble Gang” include Drunk in the Gotohan gags, Atlit segment of Diego, Istambay sa Looban, Tata Lino, Binatilya (a sketch about a gay undergoing puberty), Antonietta, Lala Ytera and Ang Dating Doon.

Bela gets to show her versatility: from comedy, she switches to drama in the series “Sa Puso ni Dok” which airs Sunday on GMA-7. Directed by Adolf Alix, Jr, she gets to pit her acting chops with award-winning Kapuso actor Dennis Trillo in this medical drama series.