Matteo hosts search for the next pop star while on quarantine

Matteo Guidicelli is leading a search for the next big pop star while on quarantine. Welcome to the “new normal” of talent shows.

Titled The Pop Stage, the online reality contest is now accepting on its website https://www.thepopstage.ph video audition pieces filmed at home, showing hopefuls singing, dancing, doing magic tricks, or playing instruments, until the deadline on May 27. It’s open to individuals or groups (maximum of four members) from ages 13 to 25. The winner stands to receive P1M cash prize and a management contract.

The actor-athlete, who also turned 30 in quarantine, has joined forces with Popeyes, a food brand he endorses, and his management company Viva Artists Agency in making this happen amid the lockdown.

During a recent virtual presscon, Matteo explained, “With the Popeyes group, we’ve been working together since the Taal crisis and now with the COVID situation. And I was also appointed the national youth ambassador (by the National Youth Commission) and we were working a lot with the youth, and sabi ko, why don’t we work around something to let the youth have different activities and give them opportunities to do something else, since everybody out there is doing TikTok and all these activities online. Why don’t we create a talent show around it?”

He continued, “I’m very, very happy that they agreed and they said we’re going to give P1M to the grand winner. I called my management up and my boss said okay, let’s give them a management contract also. Everything just fell into place, and I’m very thankful to all.”

According to Kuya J Group (which runs Popeyes, among others) CFO Francis Reyes, they decided to support The Pop Stage because it’s always inspiring to see people trying to showcase talents despite facing challenges in life. “There are a number of reasons why there may be setbacks in terms of sharing their talents. There is the difficulty of going to Manila to audition. The time that it takes out of working and earning a salary. Or even the simple act of courage to show who they are and how they have been living. It’s oftentimes very challenging. So, that’s why we really made sure on making it accessible for them to be able to submit their entries. Having this online talent show creates opportunities for many talented Filipinos and we hope we can inspire more to find the courage and inspiration in sharing their talents to people knowing that they also inspire others to have a glimpse of hope in the everyday lives we live in.”

Matteo also dispensed some advice to those who want to stand out in their audition. “Just be as organic as possible, be as real as possible. We want to see what you really are, what kind of talent you have, and what your character really is. Just let your mom or your father hold that camera… Show us your bloopers, show us how you made your videos, show us your talent, show us everything. And make it as organic, as exciting and as comedic as possible.”

He was quick to add though to make things safe. “Let’s not do extreme and crazy things like eating exotic things or whatever. Let’s keep it normal, safe, artistic, creative and wholesome,” he said.

If he were to submit a talent video to Pop Stage, what would be his entry? “Sasayaw ako ng Tala,” he said, referring to his wife Sarah Geronimo’s viral dance hit.

Matteo for sure will receive some great inputs as host and part of the judging panel from Sarah G., whose career trajectory saw her from being the country’s Pop Star Princess who got her break via a singing contest, to Pop Star Royalty with all her success as an artist.

Meanwhile, Matteo was asked how he’s been coping with the enhanced community quarantine. “You know, it’s been how many several weeks already. I’m very, very blessed that I’ve been able to establish a routine. I try to keep active every day. My dad actually, every year, we have this event called Giro D’Luca. We bike through the whole Bohol (island) in three days. It’s 500 kms. It was supposed to happen this week but it cannot happen. So, we decided to do it virtually. I think this is one of the biggest virtual events we’ve had, cycling events. Over 300 or 400 Filipino people all together virtually biking.”

He’s also enjoying the downtime cooking at home and supporting charity events (including those in tandem with Popeyes and the Landers Group). “We’ve had an event called One Voice PH. We’ve raised over P12M and we’ve shared that with our different locations in Manila and in Cebu. We bought grocery items for them. We’ve been keeping ourselves busy.”

(For more details, check out the Facebook pages of The Pop Stage and Matteo.)