The winning charm of Marky Cielo

It was a lavish party TAPE, Inc. (headed by Mr. Antonio Tuviera) threw for the members of the entertainment press last Saturday at the Le Pavilion in Roxas Boulevard. It was a thanksgiving party in celebration of the 27 years of "Eat Bulaga." There was food galore and raffle prizes like cellphones, magic sing, cash, with one movie scribe winning P50,000 in the "Laban o Bawi" portion and another one coming home richer by P47,000 in the "TKO" portion of the party.

Of course, people have been talking about "Eat Bulaga" for the past week because of the sudden absence of the Sexbomb Dancers in the popular noontime show. But Ms. Malou Choa Fagar, the executive-in-charge of production of the top-rating noontime show, wouldn't want to talk about the issue of the Sexbomb Dancers' non-appearance on the show since Wednesday. Tita Malou sweetly parried all the attempts of the writers to corner her into saying something about the issue.

"This is a party and not a presscon. We are here to enjoy and have fun, and not to talk about anything," says Tita Malou as she moved from one table to another while ushering in the press as well as the "Eat Bulaga" hosts and mainstays like former Sen. Tito Sotto, Vic Sotto, Ruby Rodriguez, Allan K, Toni Rose Gayda, Ciara Sotto, Paolo Ballesteros, Pia Guanio, Wally Bayola and Jose Manalo. She would introduce the writers to the stars as they come. It was a reunion of old friends, but as Tito Sen would add "pero di naman ninyo magustuhan ang salitang old kaya friends na lang, dear friends from way back."

But we were able to watch an interview with Tita Malou in the news program "Saksi" in which she said they (Eat Bulaga) had no idea that the Sexbomb Dancers will not report to the show last Wednesday. "I don't have any idea since their manager Joy Cancio even had a meeting with me on Monday for our Saturday show. We were caught unaware that they were not going to appear," she said on the "Saksi" interview.

Tita Malou added that the Sexbomb Dancers don't have a contract with Eat Bulaga or TAPE, Inc. (the producers) so there's no way they can force them to come to the show. While she said she's hoping the problem would be patched up, it seems unlikely since they are opening their doors to other dancers who would like to audition. Likewise, Vic Sotto and Joey De Leon said on Thursday, "wala na talaga ang Sexbomb" then followed this up with "kung hindi na maayos ang problema." Still, the Sexbomb Dancers were a no show in the press party tendered by Eat Bulaga.

Saturday afternoon, the Sexbomb Dancers appeared in an interview in "Startalk," saying they were saddened that they were already out of "Eat Bulaga." The problem arose when an alleged shouting match ensued between some senior Sexbomb members and a new member named Sugar (who seems to be the new favorite in the show, in the same manner that the "Eat Bulaga" cast showered attention to Rochelle Pangilinan and Jopay Paguia, two of the more popular members of the group). When Sugar was invited to join "Eat Bulaga" as a solo artist, without the other Sexbomb Girls, this allegedly started friction between Sugar and the rest of the girls. Hence, their sudden decision not to report to the show anymore.

If and when Eat Bulaga makes good its intention to audition other dance groups to take the place of the Sexbomb Dancers, for sure a lot of aspiring dance groups would storm the "Eat Bulaga" studio in Broadway Centrum to try their luck. While we may say there is life for Sexbomb after "Eat Bulaga," the fact remains "Eat Bulaga" is the number one show in the land. It would not have lasted for 27 years if the show is not a top-rater and is watched by an enormous number of people through all these years from Aparri to Jolo.

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The fans of Marky Cielo and Jackie Rice rejoiced Sunday night at the Marikina Sports Park when their idols were proclaimed Ultimate Male Survivor and Ultimate Female Survivor respectively at the "Starstruck: The Final Judgment."

Marky, the pride of the highlanders (he is from the Mountain Province, thus a true and full-blooded Igorot) won over Gian Carlos, the rock star from Iloilo while the Starstruck Council chose the Olongapo-born Jackie over Iwa Moto, the half-Pinay, half-Japanese from Las Piñas.

Marky as Ultimate Male Survivor won P2 worth of exclusive management contract from GMA and P1 M cash. He is doubly lucky as he was also chosen as the Starstruck Sole Survivor, winning additional prizes of P1.5 M business package from Ink for Less, P300,000 cash from Drs. Manny and Pie Calayan, and a house and lot from Filinvest East County worth P2.5 million.

It was obvious that Marky was favored to win, not only from the viewers but also judging from the comments of the Starstruck Council namely director Louie Ignacio, actress Lorna Tolentino and entertainment guru Joey de Leon (who left for the States that day but gave his comments on the Final 4 on video) who were joined by GMA 7 executives Ms. Darling de Jesus and Ms. Wilma Galvante.

He was also the choice of majority of the press people who came to watch the live telecast of the announcement of winners. He was very impressive in his solo dance number and he'd surely give Mark Herras a run for the tag "Bad Boy of the Dancefloor." From his dance alone, it seems Marky is it. While a columnist in a tabloid commented that Marky lacks star quality (this came out even before Marky was named to the Final 4), the Starstruck jurors and the fans who voted for him surely won't agree. We also beg to disagree with the comment of our colleague. While Marky may not be outstanding in terms of looks, he's really a charmer. He has this certain appeal that grows on you. And fans really love him. That's why when he entered the Final 4, Marky easily became a favorite.

With his victory, his brothers from the Mountain Province are rejoicing. Yes, Marky is proud of his heritage.

Jackie has been our choice as Ultimate Female Survivor and we feel that Iwa Moto's display of arrogance prior to the announcement of the Final 4 turned off a lot of people, possibly including the members of Starstruck Council. Attitude does count a lot and this might have been Iwa's undoing. But being a runner-up is also an achievement for Iwa and it's up to her to prove her detractors wrong.

We are not too familiar with Gian Carlos and if we were to use his solo number (he sung a rock song) during the Finals Night as the gauge for his performance and what he could possibly offer, we would be unfair to him. Sad to say, we were not impressed at all with his performance compared to the dance number done by Marky. But we are willing to give Gian the benefit of the doubt. Maybe Joey de Leon was right in saying that Gian's forte is comedy so he should focus on this, but discover and develop his other talents as well.

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Ogie Alcasid's brand new album "Lumilipad" was launched in GMA 7's top-rating musical variety show "SOP." This is the singer's 13th studio album and the 4th under Viva Records. The album contains 14 tracks, all love songs, and includes duets with the country's top female artists such as Regine Velasquez, Sarah Geronimo, Jinky Vidal of Freestyle and Jaya.

The album's first single, "Minamahal Kita" (the theme song of the GMA afternoon soap "Agawin Mo Man ang Lahat") is already a favorite in top FM radio stations all over the country. The song's music video features Gretchen Barretto as Ogie's new leading lady. Ogie was so happy that Gretchen agreed to appear in the MTV. The MTV shoot was a breeze and Gretchen was very cooperative. And she did it for free. "She only asked that we buy her Bacolod chicken inasal from JT's chicken house," said Rey (Ogie's road manager).

Why is the new album titled "Lumilipad"?

"Because that is the feeling when you're in love. It's like you're flying on air," said the singer-songwriter. The song is also the Bench theme song, and is accompanied by a glossy music video which pairs Ogie for the first time with Lucy Torres-Gomez. The video marks the directorial debut of famed photographer Ronnie Salvacion.