GMA7 Launches ‘PINOY IDOL’

March 30, 2008

GMA-7 had a grand launch at Annabel’s Restaurant for the first “Pinoy Idol”. Per their arrangement with Fremantle, GMA exec Wilma Galvante says they have to stop all their other talent searches like “Starstruck” and “Pinoy Pop Superstar”. It will officially start on April 5, after “Pinoy Records”, replacing “Kakasa Ka Ba sa Grade 5”.

At the presscon, they showed the auditions they held in Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Batangas, Davao, Iloilo, Dagupan, Clark, and Mega Manila where thousands upon thousands of hopefuls joined. The audition footage was shown and some of the wannabes are really hilarious. 179 hopefuls were given gold tickets to go to Manila where more tests will be held until they get the semi-finals of 24 contestants and then the last 12 finalists.

The footage shown to us also indicated the kind of judges Jolina Magdangal, Wyngard Tracy and Ogie Alcasid will be. Jolina can be harsh, but also compassionate like when she insisted that a male singer has a good voice and does not sing a monotone so she voted “yes” for him. Wyngard is the “mataray” one. He says he’s not just imitating Simon Cowell because he’s older than Simon and his friends will attest to the fact that he has always been frank and candid in giving his assessment of his talents. Ogie is the sweetest one and is said to be the real counterpart of Paula Abdul, not Jolina.

The show will first be aired on weekends, then it will be shown more frequently with updates everyday. It will also have different venues and different stunning sets as the search goes on. First, it will be aired live from SM Edsa Cinema 6, then in SM Mall of Asia, then in SM TMX. The fabulous prizes include P1 million cash, recording contract with Sony BMG, brand new house and lot, brand new car, TV contract with GMA-7, and many more.

JOLINA NOT MAD AT GABBY

AT the presscon for “Pinoy Idol,” Jolina Magdangal admitted she was disappointed when Gabby Concepcion suddenly backed out from the movie they’re supposed to do for GMA Films. “Hindi naman ako nagalit. Very strong word naman ‘yun. Let’s say naguluhan lang ako kasi excited siya noong binubuo namin ang project. Tapos, two weeks before we start, biglang hindi na siya puwede. Sabi niya, may hindi siya gusto sa script. When I asked him naman kung anong gusto niyang ipabago, hindi na siya sumagot.”

‘PINOY IDOL’ TO BE SHOWN IN U.S.

“PINOY Idol” host Raymond Gutierrez is glad that the show will also be shown at the GMA Pinoy TV cable channel in the States. “Normally, hindi pumapayag ang Fremantle na maipalabas ang local version outside of the host country kasi like sa U.S. kasi meron na nga namang ‘American Idol’ doon. But this time, pumayag sila kaya ‘Pinoy Idol’ will be seen by our kababayans in the States who subscribe to GMA Pinoy TV.”

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