Dozens of active and inactive showbiz idols lost in the 12 May elections, but that doesn’t really mean Pinoy showbiz is in the doldrums. Actually, Pinoy voters still trust showbiz idols as political leaders and public servants: about 10 of the showbiz idols who courted votes in the midterm elections won, including Revilla’s wife Lani Mercado, their son Jolo, Daniel Fernando, Alex Castro, Angelu de Leon, Arron Villaflor, Cai Cortez (daugter of actor Rez Cortez), former Viva Hot Babes member Jaycee Parker and Allen Tan who is the husband of singer Roselle Nava.

The entertainment industry seems to have never been as alive in this country as it is these days. Proof? Pinoys have been watching not just films but also live productions of all sorts even as tickets to those entertainment events are five to 10 times more expensive than watching movies and shows on free TV.

Our Pinoy stage actors are getting cast in films for streaming and for release in moviehouses, though our thespians are not as prominently billed as those who are primarily movie idols. Our film and TV producers may soon realize that stage productions have become well-attended entertainment events in Metro Manila, and more Pinoys may go to the moviehouses if they know that their stage idols are cast in major roles. Pinoys love to be entertained live and through mass media. Masaya kung laging may palabas!

With the likes of Bong Revilla, Dan Fernandez, Marco Gumabao, Aljur Abrenica, Ara Mina, who were not voted back into public office, they might consider going back to their showbiz careers and portray respectable roles – and eventually go back to politics and win higher political seats. The brothers Anjo and Jomari Yllana may do the same, as well as the latter’s wife, Abby Viduya (known as Priscilla Almeda in the movies) who ran for the first time as a councilor in Paranaque but did not win.

But if the likes of Revilla, Fernandez and Gumabao don’t want film and TV exposure anymore, they might want to becomeserious advocates of one cause or another and give themselves serious reputations.

K-pop invasion

K-pop concerts have become part of Philippine entertainment industries. There’s hardly a week that we do not get to read publicity yarn about some K-pop bands booked in venues the size of Music Museum, SM Skydome, New Frontier Theater or even major ones like the Araneta Coliseum and the Mall of Asia Arena.

Actually, concerts of K-pop bands of all boys and all girls seem to outnumber Pinoy shows in the live entertainment circuit. Last year, according to Google’s AI, at least 43 K-pop stars visited the Philippines and held various events, including solo and group concerts, fan-cons, and fan meetings.

This 2025, there might be the same number of Korean solo and group concerts, fan cons, and fan meetings in the Philippines. Their main ticket buyers are Pinoys. A bunch of ticket buyers are Koreans and other foreigners. Our fondness for foreign acts, for idols with skins whiter and smoother than ours remain. That kind of fondness used to be called “colonial mentality.” We don’t know what it is called in this era of cosmopolitanism and internationalism Noranians (fans of petite and brown-skinned superstar Nora Aunor) are not always dominant in this country ruled by the Spaniards for 300 years and by the Americans for 50 years

The NMIXX headed back to Manila on 2 May for the K-pop girl group’s second fan concert tour, dubbed ‘NMIXX Change Up: MIXX LAB.’ The concert was held at SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

EXO’s Xiumin had a solo concert at the New Frontier Theater Manila on 10 May.

Korean G-DRAGON’s “Übermensch” World Tour was held at the 55,000 seater

Philippine Arena in Bulacan on 17 May. He came back to the country after eight years. Ticket prices started at P8,500.

This June, Jay Park is finally making his long-awaited return to Manila after nearly six years. On March 31, 2025 (Monday), it was announced that the “McNasty” hitmaker and More Vision multi-hyphenate is set to stage a concert at the New Frontier Theater in Quezon City this 28 June.

The upcoming show will be part of his ‘Serenades & Body Rolls’ world tour, which will also see dates in other parts of Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

There are several Broadway plays already calendared to be staged as Pinoy productions this 2025, including “Into The Woods” in August.

“Delia D.,”: a musical touted to be “a bold leap for queer representation in Philippine musical theater,” is running until 8 June at the Newport Performing Arts Theater. Our theater companies come up with a new musical every three months or so. Shouldn’t Manila be known already as “musical capital of Asia” even if our hit musicals are in Filipino/Tagalog (because if they are in English, they wouldn’t be big hits)?

Can any of the forthcoming staging of Broadway hits run longer than three months? Or we really should be happier that our Tagalog musicals last longer in our theaters than any of Broadways’ or off-Broadway.

Oh, well, whatever! We’re happy with our suspicion that it’s our entertainment fares (including Tagalog and English raps of Pinoy rappers on Spotify and other digital outlets) that keep us sane and save us from breeding mysterious shooters and killers the way the US have unwittingly raised them. We in the urban areas seem to be over-entertained by movie stars obsessed with becoming politicians.

We really have no idea about how the Pinoys in the rural areas divert themselves from lack and hardships and apathetic political leaders. Do they get entertained by the antics and statements of Vice President Sara Duterte who look overfed like gay comedians and musical actors?