New ABS-CBN celeb game show makes waves

“Your Face Sounds Familiar,” the newest and exciting TV show of ABS-CBN hosted by Billy Joe Crawford, started airing last Saturday and Sunday, with Sharon Cuneta, Jed Madela and Gary Valenciano as jury members.

Before the contest proper, the jury gave a sample of how good they are in mimicking a celebrity. Sharon did Adele, Gary impersonated Bruno Mars while Jed did Elvis Presley.

We had the chance to watch the celebrities who performed last Saturday – Karla Estrada as Sharon Cuneta, Tutti Karingal as Freddie Aguilar, Nyoy Volante as Michael Jackson, Maxene Magalona as Taylor Swift and Jay-R as Pepe Smith.

The best performer for us last Saturday was Jay-R as Pepe Smith. He really looked like Pepe Smith because of make-up and even his voice matched even if he is no rocker. Jay-R was so good that the three jurors gave him a standing ovation.

On Sunday, it was the turn of Jolina Magdangal as Lady Gaga, Edgar Allan Guzman as Usher and Melai Cantiveros as Nora Aunor to perform. For us, standout on that night was Edgar who had total transformation as Usher. He did very well, which impressed the jury, as well as fellow celebrity contestant Maxene. He got good marks from the judges. When the votes were tallied, he placed second to Jay-R, which is not bad considering that he is really not a singer.

The biggest surprise for us was the good marks that Melai got for mimicking Ate Guy. We felt that Melai did not do justice in impersonating Ate Guy since she didn’t look serious at all. Her performance looked like a rip off from a comedy bar. But that is our opinion and I guess some people liked what she did, including the jury.

* * *

Wynwyn Marquez failed to bring home one of the titles in the Binibining Pilipinas beauty pageant held Sunday night and telecast over ABS-CBN. Despite being a pre-pageant favorite, she only got three special awards – Best in National Costume, Best in Talent and the She’s So Jag Award.

Netizens were surprised with the failure of Wynwyn to get one of the titles, or even emerge as one of the runner-ups. She did very well on the ramp and had a good performance in the Q&A portion. But the judges did not favor her.

Another thing that caught the attention of viewers was the adlibs of Toni Gonzaga who hosted the event together with Xian Lim. Some of the viewers felt that Toni, with her adlibs, insulted the candidates. She made a remark about candidate Hannah Ruth Sison’s earrings, saying it looked like a chandelier, even breaking into a song of Sia’s hit “Chandelier.” She also said ambassador extraordinary instead of ambassador extraordinaire.

She might have been trying to come off witty but she rubbed some viewers the wrong way. No wonder she got negative comments from netizens although there were also those who defended her manner of hosting.

* * *

Allen Dizon had been winning best actor awards one after the other for the movie “Magkakabaung,” including trophies in two prestigious festivals abroad. But it is also Allen’s fervent prayer that his work be recognized by his fellow Filipinos.

“Magkakabaung” won the best picture and best director awards at Gawad Pasado, where Allen was also named best actor together with John Lloyd Cruz and JM De Guzman.

Allen is currently shooting for his newest movie titled “Daluyong” where he plays a priest who got involved in a crime. Written by Ricky Lee and directed by Mel Chionglo, this film has a controversial theme.

Aside from this, Allen is featured in “Imbisibol” under the direction of Lawrence Fajardo (who directed the Cinemalaya best film “Posas”) which is part of the Sinag Maynila Film Festival that runs from March 18 to 24 in select SM Cinemas.