Yesterday's one-day grand audition for
TV5's upcoming reality-based star search
Artista Academy was one of the most successful and massive auditions ever done for a Philippine TV show. Showbiz hopefuls from all walks of life trooped to the SMART Araneta Coliseum (the Big Dome) in Cubao, Quezon City to take their chance at the whopping P20 Million worth of total prizes that the network will be giving away to the grand winners -- the Best Actor and Best Actor -- at the end of the competition.
Artista Academy opened the doors to showbiz aspirants aged 16-22 years old who want to pursue their dreams of living the glamorous artista life. And pursue they did, as thousands of them lined up and patiently waited for their turn to go on stage to face the screening committee, put their best foot forward and shine their best smiles, so to speak.
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| Thousands of Artista Academy applicants all took their turns on the Artista Academy stage |
The cattle call for the auditions announced a 2:00 p.m. start, but the applicants were lined up outside the venue as early as 7:00 a.m., some of them admitting that they were already in the area by midnight. That alone speaks for their sheer determination to really make the cut.
By 2:30 p.m., the crowd count inside the Big Dome was already reported to be 10,500. By 4:00 p.m., the number was up to 12,000 and they had to stop entry for the meantime. They accommodated the other walk-ins after a while, and soon the crowd count reportedly reached 13,000. Of course, that included the companions of the applicants who were asked to occupy the upper boxes of the coliseum.
In all, there were around 3,000 registered applicants in yesterday's Artista Academy auditions, setting a record in terms of applicant turn-out in a one-day audition.
Lots of good-looking and promising youths showed up at the auditions, including siblings and children of well-known celebrities. Here are some of my personal picks:
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| This is Mark Phillip Newman. And I'm willing to bet that he's already a shoo-in to the Top 16. This part German-part Filipino-part Croatian kid is one of the freshest faces in the crowd. He also speaks fluent Filipino, which gives him an added advantage. |
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| This is Jonathan Orlando, who easily got the judges' nod. |
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| Here's a closer shot |
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| Alvin Abrenica, brother of GMA-7's Aljur Abrenica |
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| Benjo Leoncio from Cebu |
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| I just had to take a photo of the two hunks together :) |
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| Angelo Patrimonio, son of PBA star player Alvin Patrimonio |
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| Kenneth Anderson, brother of ABS-CBN's Gerald Anderson |
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| Ryan a.k.a. RK of dance group XLR8 |
And now for the girls:
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| Rose, who flashes the sweetest smile |
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| This girl is eye-catching even without makeup |
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| This one came fully made up |
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| This one is a Kris Bernal look-alike on screen |
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| Sexy girl in leopard print |
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| Patricia, who looked smart in glasses but she took them off for this photo |
These are just some of the applicants I managed to pull out among the crowd for a quick interview and photo op, but there were still hundreds who exuded the looks, charm and potential to make it to the Artista Academy Top 16.
The auditions ended past midnight. Out of the thousands who were screened, only 300 were selected. They will be called in for the next cut wherein only 100 will remain. From the 100, the Top 16 be named.
Hosted by Cesar Montano and Marvin Agustin, Artista Academy will air from Monday to Saturday starting July 16 on TV5.
