Outside the Box: The Two Most LSS Songs on the MYX Daily Top 10 Pinoy Edition

‘Panaginip’ and ‘Fake Love’.

Those two songs are currently in the middle of the pack on the MYX Daily Top 10 Pinoy Edition. But for whatever reason, ‘Panaginip’ and ‘Fake Love’ simply cannot get out of my head.

For the record, ‘Panaginip’ is a song recorded by Morissette, a former finalist on ‘The Voice of the Philippines’. On the other hand, ‘Fake Love’ is the debut single of actress Kyline Alcantara (of ‘Kambal Karibal’ fame).

And since music videos on MYX usually feature digital on-screen graphics of song lyrics at the bottom (akin to a videoke machine), I get to look at the lyrics of the two songs to see what really hits the spot. Here are some of the lyrics that got my attention.

Baby, don’t lie
It won’t work on me, don’t try
To even message or call me up
I’m not falling for your fake love
Baby, goodbye
You’re no longer in my life
I decided to move on
Get up on your knees, ’cause I’m gone
Fake Love
by Kyline Alcantara

Gising na gising
tulala sa hangin nakatitig pa rin
isa kang panaginip
Gising na gising
tulala sa tabi
nakatitig pa rin
isa kang panaginip

Panaginip lang ba
panaginip lang ba
panaginip 
panaginip ka sa tuwina 
Panaginip lang ba
panaginip lang ba
panaginip 
panaginip ka sa tuwina
Panaginip
by Morissette

The two songs have quite a contrasting mood to one another. ‘Fake Love’ is pessimistic, negative and serious, while ‘Panaginip’ is optimistic, happy and loose.

Just look at the music videos for the two songs. They do go the opposite ways, isn’t it?

The same thing applies to the teleseryes on ABS-CBN and GMA. Light-hearted shows like ‘Playhouse’ play the ‘Panaginip’ part, while every afternoon teleserye plays the ‘Fake Love’ part, albeit without the upbeat tone.

That said, I find the two songs too addictive for my liking. I can’t stop humming to either ‘Fake Love’ or ‘Panaginip’.

Too bad neither song is at No. 1 right now (although ‘Panaginip’ reached No. 1 a few weeks ago). Still, ‘Panaginip’ and ‘Fake Love’ are worth a listen, especially when relationships are involved.

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LizQuen Letdown: Disappointing Bagani to End Run Friday

Fantasy remains one of ABS-CBN’s weakest points.

After all, the network is not used to creating big-budgeted fantasy dramas on a daily basis. Unlike rival GMA, they usually produce their teleseryes conservatively, letting the story become the emphasis and not on special effects or gaudy costumes.

But in the case of ‘Bagani’, they decided to be big spenders for once. Unfortunately, not even the power of Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil can turn this costly series into a humongous draw.

Even before ‘Bagani’ premiered on March 5, 2018, the series became shrouded with controversy. Not only did it drew unfair comparisons to ‘Encantadia’, it also drew flak for its casting choices (Liza and co-star Matteo Guidicelli were part-Filipino) and its alleged misuse of the term ‘Bagani’.

Despite that, ‘Bagani’ came out strong from the start, earning ratings in the 30s during its first few months. By July, however, the series struggled to get to 30%, mainly because viewers grew tired of the plodding storyline and the fact that ‘Kambal Karibal’ became a strong threat.

Nevertheless, ‘Bagani’ continued to win its timeslot in spite of these difficulties. Still, the series’ unsatisfactory finish has left LizQuen fans with a bitter taste in their mouths; after all, they expected a lot more from this love team after the runaway success of ‘Forevermore’ and ‘Dolce Amore’.

Overall, ‘Bagani’ will wrap up with a total of 118 episodes to its credit. The reason why ABS-CBN decided to end the series now than to extend it further is for Liza Soberano can devote her energies to her first project (film or television) without Enrique Gil, which is ‘Darna’.

In the end, ‘Bagani’ became a total disappointment regardless of its performance. The story became a slow-developing one and the characters simply did not have enough progression to convince viewers.

It was one series that LizQuen fans would like to forget. No disrespect for them but for a big-time draw that is LizQuen, it was a letdown.

They can only hope that ‘Bagani’ will finish on a graceful note come this Friday. After that, move on and let bygones be bygones.

Kambal Karibal Bows Out This Friday

After 178 episodes, ‘Kambal Karibal’ will be history.

The GMA Telebabad series will officially come to a conclusion Friday night. And while it enjoyed a long and stellar run, its ratings performance was anything but impressive.

‘Kambal Karibal’ was led by Bianca Umali as Criselda, Pauline Mendoza as Crisanta (Criselda’s dead twin sister), and Miguel Tanfelix as Diego. Kyline Alcantara, as Cheska, played a key role as a villain who made Crisanta’s life a living hell and was eventually possessed by the spirits of both Crisanta and Criselda.

The series had a wider following than everyone thought. Many, in particular, praised the acting chops displayed by breakout stars Pauline Mendoza and Kyline Alcantara, and as ‘Kambal Karibal’ progressed, so did the praise for the two young talents.

Yet despite the fact that ‘Kambal Karibal’ was by far the strongest and most compelling GMA primetime series in recent memory, the series failed to win in the ratings when it mattered most. And it didn’t help that the series went up against two of ABS-CBN’s most popular love teams today.

From November 27, 2017 to March 2, 2018 (70 episodes in all), ‘Kambal Karibal’ went head-to-head with ‘La Luna Sangre’ which starred Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla (a.k.a. KathNiel). Then from March 5 until this Friday (108 episodes in all), the series took on ‘Bagani’ led by Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil (a.k.a. LizQuen).

In all, ‘Kambal Karibal’ averaged better than 17% in the national ratings. Meanwhile, both ‘La Luna Sangre’ and ‘Bagani’ scored in the 29-30% range.

Notwithstanding its unimpressive ratings, GMA insisted that ‘Kambal Karibal’ performed well contrary to other’s expectations. Throughout the course of its run, ‘Kambal Karibal’ received multiple extensions in hopes of proving a point but it doesn’t change the fact that it had no chance of leaping past either KathNiel or LizQuen.

But regardless of how it played out, ‘Kambal Karibal’ will still be remembered for launching Kyline Alcantara and Pauline Mendoza into stardom. And for good reason, since GMA badly needed young stars to beef up their roster of talents amid criticism of their over-reliance towards veteran stars.

Come this Friday, viewers will have one last chance to see ‘Kambal Karibal’ work out its magic. Whatever happens, this series will bow out on a graceful note.

Inday Will Always Love You to Give Since I Found You a Run for Its Money

Talk about a lethargic follow-up.

After a strong premiere week, harsh reality hits the ABS-CBN primetime romantic comedy series ‘Since I Found You’. From averaging in the 20s its first week, its ratings are now down to around 18%.

To make matters worse, its closest competitor (in this instance GMA’s ‘The One That Got Away’) made an inspiring rally to pull to within 3%. Although it may not be enough to overcome the deficit by the time the series ends tonight, it should give ABS-CBN plenty of concern when it comes to the fourth teleserye in Primetime Bida’s lineup.

Starting Monday night, a new headache for ‘Since I Found You’ will come in the form of Barbie Forteza and Derrick Monasterio. Their new series ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ is set in Cebu and will feature the culture and the sights and sounds of this popular Visayan city.

In ‘Inday Will Always Love You’, Happylou (Barbie) is a Manileña lechon store assistant who decides to return to Cebu in search of her father and to help her impoverished family who lives near the train tracks. Encountering the rich and kind Sir Philip (Ricky Davao), she begins to take care of him after the latter suffered a heart attack, and in turn, he helps Happylou search for her father.

Sir Philip also introduces Happylou to Patrick (Derrick), his nephew, and the two begin to forge a healthy relationship. But Patrick’s mother Amanda (Gladys Reyes) and his girlfriend Ericka (Kim Rodriguez) will look to put a wrench in their plans, and when Sir Philip dies, they look to make Happylou’s life a living hell.

Also part of the cast are Juancho Trivino, Manilyn Reynes, Nova Villa, Tina Paner, Super Tekla, the “Lumen Twins” Charisse and Charlotte Hermoso, Kimpoy Feliciano, Buboy Villar and Fliptop artists Mzhayt and Price Tagg. It will be directed by Monti Parungao and Rember Gelera.

If the premise of ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ sounds familiar, then one should remember another locally-themed romantic comedy in ‘I Heart Davao’. Both series were produced by GMA Public Affairs and the setting was based on a popular tourist destination in the Philippines.

But if ‘I Heart Davao”s brief run is any indication, then ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ is in for a reality check. Still, with its incoming competitor ‘Since I Found You’ not doing exactly well in spite of its ratings, one can expect ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ will enjoy a longer tenure and perhaps steal some victories from its rival.

It will be interesting to see how ‘Inday Will Always Love You’ can change the primetime romcom arms race. With that, best of luck to this series.

‘Inday Will Always Love You’ airs weeknights after ‘Kambal Karibal’ on GMA Telebabad.

The Last Stand of La Luna Sangre

The most physically demanding series in the careers of Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla will come to an end this week.

After 185 episodes, ‘La Luna Sangre’ officially closes its curtain Friday night. The third series in the ‘Lobo’ trilogy, ‘La Luna Sangre’ saw Kathryn and Daniel (as Malia and Tristan respectively) grow up from being mere mortals to full-fledged vampires while enduring some of the toughest challenges that proved their worth.

But KathNiel was not the only main attraction. The series also marked a comeback of sorts for Richard Gutierrez, who as the villainous Sandrino, tried to convince Malia to join the dark side.

The original duo of ‘Imortal’ in Angel Locsin and John Lloyd Cruz likewise made a cameo earlier on as Lia and Mateo respectively, though Angel returned midway through the series as Jacintha. The duo’s presence helped connect the story of ‘La Luna Sangre’ to its predecessor.

Throughout its lengthy run, ‘La Luna Sangre’ provided an avenue for new talent to shine. The series would mark the acting debut of another rising love team in MayWard (Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber), as well as former ‘Pinoy Boyband Superstar’ participant Tony Labrusca.

Not to be outdone are industry veterans who were also part of ‘La Luna Sangre’, namely Randy Santiago, Gelli de Belen, Maricar Reyes and Albert Martinez. Overall, an estimate of over 50 actors, whether in a supporting or cameo role, were included in ‘La Luna Sangre’.

As far as its performance is concerned, ‘La Luna Sangre’ far and away made a huge impression. The series constantly earned ratings in the 30s while it dispatched its GMA rivals in ‘My Love from the Star’, ‘Mulawin vs. Ravena’, ‘Alyas Robin Hood’ season 2 and ‘Kambal Karibal’.

That said, the high ratings and the long run of ‘La Luna Sangre’ are further proof of KathNiel’s wide commercial appeal. But more than just KathNiel’s brilliance is the fact that both Angel Locsin and Richard Gutierrez rekindled some huge memories of past GMA projects, albeit not as a love team of years past.

It will be an interesting final five episodes for this thrilling ABS-CBN primetime series. Best of luck to ‘La Luna Sangre’ on making its last stand.

Staying Loose: GMA Premieres The One That Got Away Tonight

Three ladies, one guy, all for the promise of rekindling one’s love.

This theme will be premise of GMA’s newest romantic comedy series ‘The One That Got Away’. Premiering later tonight, the series will be led by four of GMA’s most sought-after lead stars, namely Rhian Ramos, Max Collins, Lovi Poe and Dennis Trillo.

The central character behind ‘The One That Got Away’ will be Liam (Dennis), the owner of an organic farm and the ideal boyfriend. Soon after, however, he meets a fatal accident and when he wakes up from a coma, his three ex-girlfriends are inside the hospital room to meet him.

These three ex-girlfriends are as follows:

• Alex (Lovi) – her relationship with Liam was approved by both family and friends, but they broke up as soon as her personal goals got in the way.
• Darcy (Max) – met and fell in love with Liam as soon as he broke up with Alex; however, she later ended her relationship with him to pursue opportunities abroad.
• Zoe (Rhian) – after her parents separated, she and Liam fell in love with each other, but they broke up due to Zoe’s insistence to stick with Liam amid his busy schedule.

All three, as it seems, are still in love with Liam even after going their separate ways. But it will be up to Liam to choose his one true love.

Rounding out the cast of ‘The One That Got Away’ are Ivan Dorschner, Migo Adecer, Jason Abalos, Bembol Roco, Snooky Serna, Luz Valdez, Ervic Vijandre, Ayra Mariano, Nar Cabico, Ashley Rivera, Sophie Albert, Jason Francisco, Patricia Ismael, Dea Formilleza, and Euwenn Aleta. It will be directed by Mark dela Cruz and Conrado Peru.

‘The One That Got Away’ will be the latest in a series of romantic comedies that GMA will offer in the third slot of Telebabad. But despite the premise of ‘good vibes’ and ‘light-heartedness’, GMA has yet to figure out a way to make their romantic comedies succeed every night.

Going up against ‘The Good Son’, a more serious and mature drama that ABS-CBN currently offers, will be a huge test for the veteran foursome of Dennis Trillo, Lovi Poe, Max Collins and Rhian Ramos. One can only hope that ‘The One That Got Away’ will put up a good fight and give Kapuso viewers something to enjoy and love.

‘The One That Got Away’ airs weeknights after ‘Kambal Karibal’ on GMA Telebabad.