My of ficial entry to the DAILY TRIBUNE was through the Dyaryo Tirada (DT) YouTube Channel. Its former editor Rose Novenario invited my colleague and good friend Alex Brosas to host an online entertainment show for the said YT Channel.
It was Brosas who recommended that I be part of the program — he believed the show would be more exciting and fun to have two opinionated entertainment writers discussing the latest events, happenings and scandals in Philippine show business.
The title, D’TT Show, short for Talakayan and Tarayan Showbiz Edition, was a suggestion of this columnist. The branding of Brosas, “Ultra Maldita” and “The Diva That You Love,” also sprung from my fertile imagination. When Glen Sibonga became part of the talk program because Brosas had to go on health sabbatical (he will be back on the show on 14 January), the “Kaibigang Bongga-Bongga” became yet another creative contribution.
As hosts of the D’TT Show, we are proud of the fact that we have organic subscribers. This is something we always emphasize. Our numbers are not a product of paid boosting. We earned them.
Slowly but surely, the subscribers came, grew and continue growing in digits. Real people give us comments, feedback and violent reactions. We already have regular letter and message senders, from Manila and other parts of the world. A few have become YT friends. We also have a good set of advertisements.
And we are mighty proud of the show’s technical team who are the reasons why, when you view it during Saturday and Sunday, it is always an engaging watch, with the banter and conversation on point and exciting. As the number of episodes grow, learnings from the D’TT Show are not only precious but great indicators of what keeps Pinoy show business popping and pounding.
Love teams’ hold and power
Despite Liza Soberano’s outright dismissal of the potential and power of the love team as not only important but necessary in bolstering the careers of upstarts, in the D’TT Show, their dominance and the followers of the most important love teams nowadays cannot be denied.
The biggest love team in Philippine show business, based on the most popular and viewed D’TT Show videos, is KimPau — Kim Chiu and Paulo Avelino.
After Chiu’s breakup with a long-time relationship and Avelino’s choice to drop his pairing with Janine Gutierrez, the tandem scorched and sizzled in Linlang. As Juliana and Victor, the level of intensity and truth that Chiu and Avelino gave their respective characters led to KimPau fandoms.
Their follow-up project, the Filipino adaptation of the Korean hit romantic comedy series What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim, further bolstered their team-up, and all the sugar and spice and all that is nice scenes in the series, and the closeness being seen and felt by the KimPau supporters, escalated the popularity of this tandem.
Next year, for the Valentine season, their movie My Love Will Make You Disappear is being touted this early as a surefire box office winner, which brings KimPau to superstar love team status.
Speaking of superstar love team status, KathDen, the portmanteau for Kathryn Bernardo and Alden Richars, is the other love team that received a great amount of love and views in the D’TT Show. KathDen fans all over the planet showered the Bernardo and Faulkerson Jr. with the mammoth hit that was Hello, Love, Again.
This love team and their box office appeal placed them at the apex of the love team pyramid. Fans and supporters are not only manifesting but praying that the Bernardo and Richards will not remain as just a love team but have their happily ever after and new forever for real.
The third most important love team is composed of an ex-pairing, Joshua Garcia and Julia Barretto. The power of JoshLia is proved anew in how their closure and farewell moment in Moira dela Torres’ “Paubaya” music video made it an authentic music sensation. And, oh yes, the producers of their movie Un/Happy for You, literally laughed their way to the bank.
P-pop royals
All the video discussions about SB19, the Southeast Asian Pop Superstar Group, were well-received, watched and shared by A’Tin who made the show feel their love. Not only did they give praise, they shared information about the Mahalima that added to our knowledge and furthered our SB19 appreciation. They also invited their co-A’Tin to subscribe to the channel.
Another endearing reason we adore A’Tin is they are respectful, sending intelligent comments and feedback, and they even go out of their way to defend us from other fandoms.
Among the SB19 videos and shows, the most popular were that of Ken Suson, KenTell and the Pablo Nase and Stell Ajero as The Voice Kids coaches.
There is no doubt in our collective minds and hearts that SB19 is indeed a P-pop royal, it is the standard by which other P-pop groups are measured. Yes, everyone awaits their “Simula” and “Wakas” and their quest to musical world domination is not an impossibility with their special kind of music and pop anthems.
Scandals and breakups
From the sexual kind of scandal and, of course, showbiz breakups of the natural and bizarre kind, we learned in the D’TT Show that the online viewing public loved them, they really loved them!
The most impressive digits and views were earned by the Mark Anthony Fernandez sex scandal video and, of course, the breakups of Andrea Brillantes and Ricci Rivero, Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, Kim Chiu and Xian Lim, and the love triangle to end all love triangles, Maris Racal, Anthony Jennings and Jam Villanueva.
All these became national obsessions and in the comment sections, one can read who are pro and against, careful and careless, moralists and decadents, and the mema (may masabi lang) and the intelligent ones.
As hosts, we had a field day discussing these personalities, always filled with boisterous or nervous laughter, and engaging conversations that showcased and highlighted how we agreed to disagree and shared our colorful points of view.
Yes, 2024 was good year for the D’TT Show and we know the next year, 2025, will be a better season. After all, we are all fueled to achieve and realize our own YT Silver Button.
On behalf of my kumareng Ultra Maldita Alex Brosas, Kaibigang Bonggang-Bongga Glen Sibonga and the Diva That You Love, thank you and the most joyous and wonderful New Year to us all!