The Voice Out, Your Face In

Congratulations to Jason Dy for winning the second season of ‘The Voice of the Philippines’.

Now that the latest season of TVPH is history, a replacement program is currently in the works for this month. And yes, it will also be a talent show except that they have to transform into a particular artist and perform like one.

Enter ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’, a talent show created by Endemol, makers of the ‘Big Brother’ franchise. The Philippine franchise will be hosted by Billy Crawford, and it will feature eight celebrities who will have the enviable task of imitating an assigned singer, as chosen by a ‘randomiser’ (for more information, visit this Timow’s Turf article).

If that sounds familiar, it is that this approach has already been done numerous times in noontime shows, with the most recent instances being ‘It’s Showtime”s ‘Kalokalike’ and ‘Eat Bulaga”s ‘Gayang Gaya, Siyang Siya’. But in the case of ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’, a more meticulous approach will be used, primarily with the use of prosthetics.

That said, expect ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ to be a more extreme, in your face version of the aforementioned noontime show segments. The excitement level should be raised even higher once these celebrities perform in their assigned alter egos.

‘Your Face Sounds Familiar’ is scheduled to air this March on ABS-CBN, premiere date to be announced.

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FTT Year 2013 in Review: ABS-CBN

Another year is about to end. But before the calendar flips to 2014, here is a look back at the year that was in television and radio. This article will focus on ABS-CBN, who dominated television ratings all year.

The Positives

Everything went right for ABS-CBN. And it showed in its weekday offerings. Primetime Bida teleseryes dominated the Kantar ratings, led by the year’s top-rated series ‘Juan dela Cruz’. ‘TV Patrol’ remains the most preferred evening newscast, while ‘Showtime’ introduced the most talked-about ‘That’s My Tomboy’ and ‘Kalokalike’ segments that propelled them atop the noontime pyramid. And thanks to the highly-anticipated November wedding between Maya (Jodi Sta. Maria) and Richard ‘Ser Chief’ (Richard Yap), ‘Be Careful with My Heart’ continued to lord over the late morning slot.

The Kapamilya network continued to rack up ratings victories on weekends, aided by its reality competition shows ‘The Voice of the Philippines’, ‘Masterchef Pinoy Edition’, and ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’. Also helping their cause were the long-running anthology ‘Maalaala Mo Kaya’ and game shows such as ‘Bet on Your Baby’ and ‘Kapamilya Deal or No Deal‘. ‘Gandang Gabi Vice‘ and ‘ASAP’ remain the most talked-about shows on social media.

Even its sports offerings beat the competition. The Miami-San Antonio NBA Finals and the La Salle-UST UAAP Men’s Basketball Finals scored big in the ratings and in the hearts of netizens. The network also continued to showcase top-notch boxing matches such as the ‘Pinoy Pride’ series and fights featuring Nonito Donaire.

The Negatives

While they were able to enjoy high ratings on primetime, there were still some shows that ended up lasting less than half a year. Examples include ‘Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin‘, ‘Apoy sa Dagat‘ and ‘Muling Buksan ang Puso’, whose storylines required only at least four months of airing. Also getting the ax were the sitcom ‘Toda Max’, after lead star Robin Padilla reportedly left, and ‘The Buzz’, which was reformatted as ‘Buzz ng Bayan’. ABS-CBN’s programs were likewise not spared from MTRCB’s iron hands, as ‘ASAP’ was reprimanded in February for Anne Curtis’ sensual outfit and performance.

ABS-CBN personalities were also involved in various controversies. ‘Kris TV‘ was nearly cancelled when its host Kris Aquino announced her resignation after getting embroiled in a custody case with then-husband James Yap for their son Bimby. However, a month later, Aquino announced that she would only take a ‘leave of absence’ in June. As of now, ‘Kris TV’ continues to air in the morning slot.

And last November, Korina Sanchez criticized CNN’s Anderson Cooper regarding the latter’s report about the slow delivery of goods to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). As a result of the negative reaction she received from netizens, Sanchez took a ‘leave of absence’ before returning to duty a month later.

Outlook

ABS-CBN capped off the year by showcasing the love team of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla on ‘Got to Believe’, young child star Raikko Mateo on ‘Honesto’, and budding star Jessy Mendiola on ‘Maria Mercedes’. For 2014, they are expected to introduce another potential star in Julia Barretto on ‘Mirabella’. Going forward, ABS-CBN is poised for another banner year, and as long as their products continue to entice audiences, ABS-CBN will remain the country’s top network.

Kalokalike Fever

For the past few months, ABS-CBN‘s ‘Showtime’ has been holding a contest on who has the best impersonation of a celebrity. Dubbed ‘Kalokalike’, it drew over a hundred contestants from all walks of life attempting to impersonate either a local or a foreign celebrity. Last Saturday the finals of the competition was held, with an impersonation of Christopher de Leon winning the finals.

45-year-old Jonathan Garcia won the competition over hundreds of contestants who showed up in their best celebrity impersonations. Garcia’s near-perfect portrayal of Christopher de Leon, from the beard and eyeglasses to his mannerisms, earned him praise from the Showtime judges. Not only did he earn P 300,000, but also won the BFF Award for being adjudged as the most friendly, and the Picture Frame Award for the most uncanny resemblance.

Sherylene Castor, who portrayed Jinkee Pacquiao, finished second with a P 200,000 cash, while Julia Montes impersonator Learsi Gomez finished third with a P 100,000 cash, along with the Kumarir Award for being the most improved. Joey de Leon impersonator Robert Tobillo and Adele impersonator Suzel Lim won P 50,000 for finishing in the top five.

Other special awards include the Trending Award and the Texters Choice Award, won by Justin Bieber impersonator Cliff Hogan and Vice Ganda impersonator Jay Failanga, respectively.

The ‘Kalokalike’ segment was also a ratings and social media winner. The ‘Ultimate Kalokalike’ competition last Saturday lifted ‘Showtime’ to an impressively high rating over GMA 7’s ‘Eat Bulaga‘, at least on the Kantar Media radar. Saturday’s edition of ‘Eat Bulaga’ featured the weekly finals of a similar competition called ‘Super Sireyna’. The Kalokalike segment also trended on Twitter during the early afternoon hours of June 1. Overall the ‘Kalokalike’ segment, which aired opposite Eat Bulaga’s ‘Juan for All, All for Juan’ segment, rated higher according to Kantar’s data.

The short five-minute video of the announcement of the ‘Ultimate Kalokalike’ can be viewed below. Credits to the ABS-CBN YouTube account.

This was something to look forward to. In the past, well-known comedians such as Michael V, Willie Nepomuceno and Jon Santos were known to impersonate various public figures. But with ‘Showtime’ introducing the ‘Kalokalike’ segment, even ordinary people can mimic celebrity mannerisms and looks, bringing comedic impersonation to a whole new level.