Janine Berdin's life story on MMK soon

CEBU, Philippines — Before her “Tawag ng Tanghalan” days, singer Janine Berdin had appeared on TV shows like kid series “Wansapanataym” and “Maalaala Mo Kaya” (MMK). Fast forward to 2018, the 16-year-old singing champion will finally have an MMK episode all her own.

Janine confirmed that putting her story on the drama anthology series hosted by Charo Santos-Concio is already in the works.

The Cebuana from Lapu-Lapu City shares in a Pep.ph interview how acting isn’t that foreign to her. She first stepped into the limelight when she finished as the fourth female semi-finalist in the fourth season of “Star Circle Quest: Search for the Next Kiddie Superstars.” Among her batch mates is now GMA talent Kyline Alcantara of the primetime series “Kambal Karibal.”

From there, Janine was endorsed to ABS-CBN talent management arm Star Magic and has appeared in a number of “Wansapanataym” and “MMK” episodes since.

“Nagpa-plano na po, sa MMK po,” Janine says in a Pep.ph report, adding that she might portray herself in the anthology series.

The Grade 10 student, who is also a Citizen Army Training officer in her school and trains with the Air Force Reserve Command (Fifth Air Reserve Center) under the Philippine Air Force, shares that other than singing, she’s also interested in a lot of things, acting included.

“Yes po. Isa din po siya [acting] sa mga passion ko. Marami po akong gusto — singing, poetry, acting. Hindi rin po siya unfamiliar sa akin kasi nung bata po ako nakapag-acting na po ako,” says Janine, who also plays the ukulele and guitar.

Janine says that she wouldn’t hesitate to take on the role of portraying herself.

“If ever bigyan po nila ako ng chance na mag-acting, siyempre wholeheartedly ko pong tatanggapin yun. Kasi isa po yun sa gusto ko talagang gawin,” she shares.

Having your own “MMK” episode is a big deal, being the country’s longest-running drama anthology series. The show has become a staple of the Filipino household’s Saturday evenings, with many tuning in to hear about real-life stories or anecdotes from the lives of common people as well as famous personalities.

Before winning the second edition of It’s Showtime’s “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” Janine had been a mere dreamer. With that ambition also came her share of rejections: she had auditioned to compete for “The Voice Kids Philippines” but did not make the cut. Last year, she also auditioned for Tawag ng Tanghalan’s first revival since 1953 to no avail. The singer recalled how she endlessly wondered why people didn’t want her when she was starting out, how she didn’t mind not getting paid so long as she could sing.

“Ito po lahat dream come true ko po ito. Dati po lahat… nung student pa lang po ako parang iniisip ko po na, ‘Bakit hindi ako kinukuha sa mga gig na okay naman boses ko?’ Gusto ko lang talagang kumanta. Kahit hindi ako bayaran, basta makakanta lang ako sa restaurant, yung ganun,” Janine says.

“Tapos ngayon kumakanta na po ako sa buong Pilipinas and ina-appreciate po nila at naniwala po sila sa passion ko kaya sobrang dream come true po ito lahat.”

These days, Janine is recognized by her idols and beloved by fans. She’s set to headline the “TNT All-Star Showdown” tonight at the Araneta Coliseum alongside last year’s grand winner Noven Belleza as well as finalists, TNT Boys and Sam Mangubat.

Janine has also released her first single “Biyaya.”

Since winning “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” Janine was granted a management contract, a business package, house and lot, a vacation package, a trophy forged by renowned Filipino visual artist Toym Imao, as well as P2 million which aided her grandmother’s dialysis procedures.

It’s been a little over a month since the grand finals and Janine is slowly starting to get the hang of being a star.

“Yes po. Parang ngayon po, a month na po has passed since nag-grand finals. And parang ngayon na-grasp ko na po yung thought na ako na po yung grand champion and yung mga responsibilities rin po na dapat kong gawin as a grand champion,” Janine says.

“It’s nothing but a dream come true po talaga.”