From left: Levince Sotto, Migs Villasis, Gab Yabut, Kimson Tan and Sebastian PajarilloGMA ARTIST CENTER introduced 20 of their new stars in a zoom presscon including Hannah Arguelles, Kirsten Gonzales, Ashley Alcayde, Gab Yabut, Shanelle Agustin, Matt Lozano, Coleen Paz, Jeff Moses, Sheemme Buenobra, Levince Sotto, Lime Aranya, Carlo San Juan, Gabrielle Hahn, and Seb Pajarillo.
Some of the newbies are the kids of more senior stars and we ask them if it’s an advantage or a disadvantage to have parents who are already in business?
This is what Alessandra Yap, the daughter of Melissa Mendez and Raymond Keanu says:
“Actually, it’s both. Advantage, kasi sa acting workshops that we take sa GMA, may homework kami and my mom helps in guiding me. Ang disadvantage, siempre may expectations ang tao sa’yo.
"Kasi it’s not just my mom who’s into acting but also my aunt, Glenda Garcia. E, pareho silang sobrang galing na artista, so you have very big shoes to fill in.
"My mom was really against me joining showbiz. After high school, I was convincing her na, but she asked me to finish college first and get a degree. And now that graduate na ako, she’s very supportive na.”
Lala Vinzon (daughter of Roi Vinzon):
“May advantage kasi, nilagay na agad sa bag mo ng parent mo yung talent and creativity nila. May support systerm ka na. Ang disadvantage, may pressure, kasi people would think nakuha mo lang ang isang project because nga may kakilala ka na.
"Pero siempre, dahil doon, nacha-challenge ka and you have to really prove yourself on your own. My dad is really helping me and he’s always there to guide and support me. He says that with GMA, I’m in the right hands daw.”
Sandro Muhlach (son of Nino Muhlach):
“Yes, may advantage and disadvantage. The advantage is I see my dad being very passionate in his work and it inspires me. Pero siempre, maririnig mo, naging artista lang yan kasi anak yan ni Nino Muhlach.
"What they don’t know is I applied sa GMA on my own. 8 months muna akong nagpapadala ng aking audition videos bago ako natanggap. So hindi totoong porke anak ka ng artista, madali kang makakapasok. Hindi ganun. Pinaghirapan ko ito.
"Hindi ako humingi ng tulong sa dad ko. At mas mahirap sa akin, kasi halos lahat ng family ko nasa showbiz, from Tito Aga Muhlach, Tita Arlene, and my cousins. Kaya nang finally makuha ako, naiyak ako sa tuwa.”
Tanya Ramos (daughter of Wendell Ramos):
“Mas maraming advantages kasi our dad has a big impact to me and my brother Saviour as we were growing up. We saw him being so dedicated to his craft and that inspires us.”
Saviour Ramos (son of Wendell):
“The disadvantage is people will compare you with your dad, lalo na ako. But what I do is that I use that as a challenge for me to excel in my craft at malampasan ko ang daddy ko.”
Brianna Bunagan (daughter of Michael V):
“The advantage is that my dad and even my mom are both very supportive.
"It didn’t take a lot of convincing for my parents to allow me to join showbiz, kasi ever since alam nila I really love performing, but ang request lang nila, magtapos muna ako ng pag-aaral, which I did.”
In showbusiness, many are called. But only a very few are chosen to really hit it big as popular stars.
So let’s see who among these newbies will be truly blessed to shine brightly on their own in the days to come.
