The other side of the story we might have heard but refused to believe.
The untold story of his rise to power, of taking back what he was destined for, long before a suicide, an addiction, and issues of “insanity”………..there was the brilliant RUDY FARINAS.
“Fate and Faith” brought him back from oblivion.
“They’ve seen the worst of me, now is the time to see the best of me” – Cong Rudy
Last Saturday, July 7, 2012, a dream come true for the young Ilonga Myrtle Sarrosa as she wins PBB Teens Edition 4.
Since it first aired in 2005, Pinoy Big Brother as a reality show has produced celebrities that have the potential to withstand the test of time in Philippine Showbiz; two of which, Gerald Anderson and Kim Chiu. Hence, PBB has also become a shinning beacon of hope for the millions of ARTISTA WANNABEs (substituting the epic fail Star Circle Quest).
And yes, I was one of them.
I remember the first time I tried to audition for that show; I thought I had it in the bag, considering my personality. I believe I will be one of the most colorful characters that will ever be on the show.
Obviously, I didn’t make the cut.
On that season, Melai Cantiveros won.
She captured the heart of the mass with, purely, her personality.
Years after, I found myself trying out for the second time, but after two hours of painstakingly standing under the heat of the sun, between thousands of sweaty fellow hopefuls, reality hit me.
One shot. For most of us, that’s all we really need, to showcase every minute detail of our being, what we are made of, what we can do, offer, prove. It’s not a question of talent anymore, it’s a game of chance, whoever luck will favor, it’s all about right timing.
It sucks to realize that we really are all beggars in life trying to make our dreams come true. We solicit time, trust and chance to those who already succeeded in life.
I wont be part of that unfortunate circle anymore. I am taking back my divine right to take control of my life and go thru it how I want it to be.
True story.
LOL. With all the rants I made in twitter over the now very famous XFactor Phily 2nd results night, [exposing myself to other fans, especially chasters] it suddenly hit me. I made this blog for the very reason to serve as a channel for my angst without soliciting direct argument, confrontation, from relatively “concerned” parties.
Warning: This might be a long blog (since it took me weeks to make a follow up on my very first, and because we will be talking about, drum rolls please, MARK MABASA!)
Sko! (call center agent saying “let’s go”)
Fact #1
I was a Charice (Pempengco) fan even after she gone, uhm, let’s just say after she dyed her hair, got a tattoo and whatnot. I always believed in her talent. I used to fight for her against cyber bullies, and even got a lot of RT’s and favorites from fellow chasters (obviouls that’s on twitter).
However, last Sunday (August 12, 2012) I declared myself to be her worst hater.
Fact #2
Mark Mabasa (I feel tickly saying his name) first came to my attention during his brief stint in the now defunct GMA talent show Pinoy Pop Superstar. But he made a mark during his This Is It days (also a defunct GMA show).
Mark, unlike many balladeers, he can do pop, rock, etc, without sounding as if trying hard. After This Is It, I literally went gaga trying to take a hold of him, on FB, Multiply, etc. unfortunately, NADA. Nevertheless, I became the first ever Mark Mabasa fanatic.
So what did happen last August 12 that stirred up the twitter nation (or I’m just exaggerating things)?
Still painful (not exaggerating things) Mark got eliminated from XFactor Philippines.
(I assume you all know the format of X Factor)
But before it happened, he did put up a God damn fight (expression from the almost fail movie No Other Woman, we’ll talk about that on a different post). He sang James Ingram’s “There’s No Easy Way” aarghh, no words, no words. Just imagine this, Mark was holding back his tears, trying to compose himself, he was on the verge of a meltdown (still not exaggerating things), while saying these immortal lines of Ingram…
I thought that she’d bring down
But she smiled at me and never made a sound
And I guess she understood in her way
Coz her silence told me everything she could not say
When they fall apart
There’s easy way to break
There’s just no easy way
There’s no easy way to break somebody’s heart…
(for better imagination, play his videos on, where else, youtube)
People say that the best singers should convey the story of the song better than by just performing it. I don’t know if it helped Mark to motivate himself by being in the bottom two but he did nail that survival round, he did without a doubt.
As for his opponent, the other part of the bottom two that night was Take Off, another crowd fave. I admit, the first time I saw Take Off during auditions, I did think they were good, but that was just that.
Anyway, for their survival round they sang Secondhand Serenade’s “Fall For You” (like that’s a shocker). Fine, they did blending and all, but it was no match from the vocal versatility of Mark. For me, Take Off is a good example of Cheerleader Effect (lesson learned from barney of HIMYM). Take Off as a group looks good together but look at them individually? I rest my case.
Funny, it takes five voices to complete their act, but it only takes one Mark Mabasa to perform one very superb (yes, no exaggerating on that one too) number.
So what went wrong?
Charice happened.
When it was the judges turn to make the decision, Martin Nievera and Charice were the key players. Martin saying that he will follow his “gut feeling” chose Mark, and Charice, well for many, they say she played it safe by letting the people (votes) decide, giving equal chances to Mark and Take Off. I say it’s Nicole Scherzinger all over again.
Nicole was a judge of X Factor America. Apparently she had no clue as well who to send home so she let the people decide. Rachel Crow, another talented girl was sent home by America. Nicole, on her interviews said that she thought Rachel will be saved, and that she was stunned with the results as well. But she didn’t want to end somebody’s dream so she let the people be the bad cop.
This part is where I am really annoyed (that’s an understatement). The thin line between X Factor and American Idol is that in X Factor, the judges have the last say (in AI, judges have one Save Power). I think this is better because these set of people are the experts in the industry, they should be the one to make the cut, not the people, not just by popularity, but by pure talent, focus and determination.
Going back to Charice, if you watch the episode again, when she couldn’t decide, it was as if someone shouted/dictated for her to vote off Mark so they will all have to go to deadlock.
(January 28, 2013)
Gaaaaawd! Just opened my blog again, after almost a year (exaggerating of course) and i see this on my drafts. Talk about procrastinate. Well, I was busy. And lazy, fine. Anyway, as i wanted to say 5months ago, Charice should’ve made the cut. Or at least own up to who she really thinks must go home that fateful night.
Lesson learned, the moral, JUDGE, a person appointed to decide in any competition, contest, ormatter at issue; a person qualified to pass a critical judgement.
Gift of gab – the ability to speak in a persuasive and interesting way – can actually be a curse.
People say I come on too strong, that I am outspoken, frank, and tactless, that most of the time I either intimidate someone or irritate someone. I say, I’m just straight, candid, and sincere.
Nonetheless, I tried to tone down and filter the things I say, although admittedly, there are those constant word vomits, but I try, I really try.
For a certain time, I tried to hold back on voicing out what I feel, what I think, regarding random matters, issues, and people.
I try to be the bigger person and just give a nod, a smile, a slight giggle, and almost, seemingly, acting stupid.
However, recently, while having a great time with friends, I was singled out by someone when he called my attention and pointed out, yet again, my strong personality. I felt I was attacked, but I politely answered, “I get that a lot but I’m not aware, I believe I am nice”.
After that night, I tried to look back on the things I might have said that triggered him. But it kept me wandering, clueless.
Also, it really made me think that no matter how hard I try to control myself, I always end up being noticed, is there something wrong with being confident(?) oh yeah, I know the difference between that and a show off. I don’t brag, I just share, I don’t criticize, I just advise.
And so I decided, I will no longer keep my flair from burning just not to intimidate people or outshine anyone. As they say, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
I have an opinion, a rational one. I have a voice, a big one. I embrace my, if ever it is, curse.
I cease to be SSHHH’d. Hence — TROUTY MOUTH.
troutymouth 