Stars, scandals and staying power

Coming up with a year-ender wrap-up for 2025 is no easy task. The year produced an overwhelming number of men and women in showbiz who barely had to lift a finger to become controversial — or, conversely, to be considered among the most accomplished. Some people simply have “it,” an innate quality that makes them compelling no matter the circumstance.

We begin with the longest-surviving, despite enduring multiple autoimmune ailments that have sidelined her from accepting projects: the country’s all-time “Multimedia Queen,” Kris Aquino.

She also happens to be the only person we’ve heard of who managed to gain a boyfriend while being bedridden most of the time. These relationships were short-lived, and naming those inconstant men would be pointless.

Lea Salonga remains our most valuable performer on the international stage, particularly in narrative theater. According to Google’s AI, in 2025 Salonga appeared in three major productions and logged over 30 international solo shows across North America and Asia.

Her busy year included participation in a foreign animated global hit, KPop Demon Hunters, where she provided the singing voice for Celine. She starred as the Witch in the Philippine production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, which ran in August at the Samsung Performing Arts Theater in Manila. In December 2025, she joined the cast of Les Misérables: The World Tour Spectacular for its Manila engagement, playing Madame Thénardier. She also guested on an episode of Finding Your Roots in January 2025 and was selected to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as part of the Class of 2025–2026.

Salonga’s international solo tour, Stage, Screen & Everything In Between, included 32 shows in North America, four shows in Asia (Singapore and Bangkok), and eight shows in Europe that began in 2024 and continued into 2025. In total, she performed in over 30 international solo shows during the year.

For the past few years, live theater companies have been more productive than film studios. Audiences flocked to shows like the Philippine Educational Theater Association’s (PETA) Walang Aray, even with a general admission ticket priced at P800 — almost twice the cost of a movie ticket. Not all Filipino fans are eager to watch movie stars on screen; many prefer to see actors perform live, in flesh and blood, onstage.

PETA made history this year by casting a trans woman in a female lead role in Walang Aray, a reimagining of the zarzuela written by Severino Reyes during the American period in the Philippines. That actor is Lance Reblando.

In movies and television, the onscreen loveteam of Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino is hands down the pair to watch, even without proof that their partnership extends offscreen. Their projects — Linlang, What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim and The Alibi — kept viewers hooked without the expectation of public displays of affection. Meanwhile, the young loveteams formed from the Pinoy Big Brother collaboration between ABS-CBN and GMA7 generated plenty of noise and social media buzz but have yet to amass enough substantial projects to be taken seriously.

If it’s a real-life sizzling romance you’re looking for in 2025, then the Janella Salvador–Klea Pineda relationship takes the spotlight. Their romance surfaced in the final five months of the year, shortly after Pineda announced her breakup with her girlfriend of three years, Klariece Kierulf. At the time, Salvador and Pineda were working on the sapphic Cinemalaya film Open Endings, a story partly centered on partner exchanges.

The two became inseparable and openly affectionate, answering curious onlookers with a casual, “What you see is what you get.” Their December trip to Los Angeles — dubbed a “honeymoon” by observers — was marked by visible PDA, followed by more of the same during a beach holiday in La Union, where fans freely took and posted photos and videos of the couple.

Unless Salvador and Pineda break up or tone down their public affection, their romance may eclipse the once-sizzling whirlwind affair of Ellen Adarna and Derek Ramsay. That relationship, too, was marked by frequent PDAs, overseas trips, marriage, and a child — before it unraveled amid revelations of infidelity.

In music, SB19 remains the leading band of 2025. However, if we’re talking about a distinctly Filipino boy band that has surged ahead without sounding or looking like K-pop, that distinction belongs to Cup of Joe from Baguio City. They sold out three-night concerts at the Big Dome and charted as one of the most played Pinoy bands worldwide on video-sharing platforms.

Among girl groups, BINI firmly cemented its position as number one, outperforming many boy bands. Despite being frequent targets of bashing and rude behavior — sometimes even from fellow fans — the group has weathered every assault thrown its way. Other girl groups have emerged, but none has come close to matching BINI’s popularity.

Vice Ganda remains truly “Unkabogable.” In 2025, he earned recognition as an actor, winning Best Actor at both the FAMAS Awards and the Metro Manila Film Festival. Fearless and outspoken, he continues to command attention wherever he goes. One can only hope that his bold presence helps foster greater respect for gay men and trans women across the country.

We look forward to seeing how our colleagues will frame their own year-enders — and which names they believe truly defined 2025.