Iya is doing it again

MANILA, Philippines — Although viewers do not expect her to impersonate Britney Spears by singing Oops I Did It Again, Iya Villania is doing it again — as color commentator — in the third season of GMA 7’s Lip Sync Battle Philippines. She is still at it and brings her bubbly personality that is “easy on the eyes.” Iya and host Michael V. help Kapuso enjoy their weekend dose of musical-reality competition through celebrity-battlers’ outrageous, amusing performances.

“I will be just as colorful,” said Iya on her hosting stint in the Sunday show, which premieres on April 1, during a media call. “A lot of it also depends on what I see. I feed off what I’m watching and what I’m seeing.”

A loving wife to husband Drew Arellano and a doting mom to Primo, Iya added that Lip Sync Battle Phl is “easy to enjoy. It is really so much fun. Kuya Bitoy and I get shocked (every episode) because we don’t watch (the battlers’) rehearsals. Nagugulat na lang kami na parang. ‘Oh my god, nakita mo yun? Grabe yung flip niya.’”

Her work as color commentator sees Iya to be objective, especially with her opinions, which should not sound “aral” or scripted. After all, Iya is not privy to what celebrity-battlers will do on the show.

“They keep it (the production number) in secret,” she said. “Ayaw nga nilang lumabas baka maiba pa ang gimik nila.”
With that game plan of the battlers, Iya has the front row experience of witnessing something new and exciting. “We get surprised every time, every week,” she said.

What also amazes Iya is the hard work and dedication that battlers put into their performances.

“There’s no prize at stake. It’s really just the bragging rights,” she said. “Kaya nakakatuwa despite na walang premyo, walang cash prize whatsoever, although they can take home the belt, kinakareer pa rin nila ang production numbers nila.”

Iya and host Michael V. provide Kapuso their weekend dose of musical-reality competition

The engagement of the viewers with the battlers is anticipated to be higher as the new season is touted as grander.

“We have three-way battles and four-way battles,” Iya said. “That only means it’s not just twice the fun, it’s not just twice the kwela or lokohan o kalokohan. It’s three times or four times depending on episodes. (The show is) also unpredictable. You don’t know what week or when we’re going to have a three-way battle or a four-way battle. There’s a variety.”

The past two seasons had only two-way battles, where participants, impersonating particular personalities, faced off. Rhian Ramos and Heart Evangelista lip-synched Lord Patawad of Bassilyo and Halik (Aegis), respectively. Tom Rodriguez played Scary Spice and sang Wannabe, while Dennis Trillo did Sia’s Chandelier. For sure, Lip Sync Battle Phl Season 3 will have an interesting mix of battlers.

“They take it seriously,” said Iya on the competitive stance of the battlers. “When they lost or failed at first attempt, they would want to come back and take home the championship crown.”

Although the secret to a successful bid in the competition is for battlers to come up with unique creative outputs, Iya offered, one may consider, a realistic tip.
“When you lose, don’t take it seriously, wag mo na lang masyadong dibdibin. Kasi sobrang kinakareer nila, you’ll see it. They smile or try to shrug it off but the truth is, they are disappointed. Just have fun.”

Having starred in teleserye, Iya is essentially a host. One can see that enthusiasm and happiness in Iya in doing Lip Sync Battle Phl. Part of that happiness, too, is the fact that she is pregnant with her second child.

“I’m just enjoying it as much as I enjoyed my pregnancy with Primo,” she said. “Yung pinagkaiba lang dito, mas naging mapili lang ako sa pagkain. But other than that, yun lang.” Iya expressed that she loves “to do Lip Sync Battle” because “makakadagdag yan sa happiness ko. I think it’s healthy for my pregnancy.”

“It might be lighter this time around (because) during my pregnancy with Primo, I had Because of You,” she added. “At that time, kaya pa kasi wala pang anak. This time, Primo is here and he needs my time kailangan ko ng oras para umuwi to be with him.”

This only speaks that Iya and Drew are hands-on parents.
“I love being hands-on,” she said. “I get familiar with Primo. I can take his cues. I see what he is interested in. So that’s my opportunity to introduce him to more things that are in his interest. I’m aware of his development, what level he is at. I’m able to manage my expectations (like) I won’t be expecting him to be doing this. I’m expecting that he is doing this, na alam ko pa lang na dito pa lang siya. I feel like we get to work together.”

(Lip Sync Battle Philippines Season 3 is directed by Rico Gutierrez. For updates, visit www.GMANetwork.com.)