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Date Posted: 05:15:12 08/17/05 Wed
Subject : L I F E & T I M E S —
F R E N C H I E I N T H E D R E A M F A C T O R Y
================ part two =================
An article from the ..
Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ)
DAYS before a show, Frenchie is sitting with her childhood best friend Notnot, her mother Florita, and three of the other "Star" finalists at the Starbucks in the ABS-CBN compound in Quezon City. Between smokes, Frenchie recounts how she wound up with a name like Gyphertori ('G' because her parents were naming their children alphabetically, and the rest because they wanted it to sound "biblical"). Out of the studio and in the company of friends, she is also able to say that despite the pressure of the competition, she feels happy proving that talent can matter more than anything else, including a whistle-bait figure.
Former "Star" contestant Christian Bautista probably wouldn't be able to say why he placed only fourth in the program's first season, which ended early this year. But for sure, it is talent that has enabled him to survive such a showing, and go on to have a gold record. Of course it helped that he already had a management team before he even joined the contest; after the show ended, his managers arranged a meeting with a recording label that had shown interest in him. By March Bautista had an album. Now he is busy doing concerts, touring provinces, and performing with artists he has admired since he was a little boy. He is doing interviews and pictorials for newspapers and magazines. He has fans who put up and maintain websites and email groups for and about him. It's hard to recall what the slight, preppy-looking Bautista's image was when he was a "Star" contestant, but that hardly matters now. At 22, Bautista is finding out he can no longer see a movie without attracting attention-and more.
Bautista finished landscape architecture at the University of the Philippines, but he has yet to take the board exam. He promised his mother he will get to that at some point, but for now he is concentrating on his singing career, which may or may not have been boosted by his stint at "Star." Bautista may not really care one way or the other; he says the experience was both "crazy" and "fun." He adds, "At first, we were all just excited to do this on TV. But when we realized what was going on, we all just got very nervous!"
Moments before the show and another round of eliminations, Frenchie and the other contestants are all trying not be too tense. Aside from Frenchie, the finalists include OJ Mariano, Shanna Hife, Eman Omaga, Nyko Maca, Michael Cruz, Ralph David, and Jasmine Fitzgerald. Each will get four minutes onstage. During rehearsals, they were given ample time to feel the stage, test the microphones, do their songs, and practice their moves. They gave their all then, but things are always different when there is a live audience.
Michael enters the dressing room for the girls. His image, he says, is "matinee idol na bading (gay)." He adds that it's sort of new, and could be a hard sell, but that's what he got. He proceeds to do his own makeup in one corner. A friend comes in to hand him his mobile. After taking the call, he says in jest, "That's one of the nicest things. Mga kaibigang nagsisilbing alila (Your friends become your slaves)."
Friends do picture a lot in their lives-screening phone calls, watching over carefully chosen wardrobe, or simply hanging out with them in the dressing room. They can be old friends, like Notnot for Frenchie, or new ones, like all of them for each other. The competition is a leveler, and even as one sees how different they are from each other, they are now undergoing the same experience of taking shot at stardom.
When Shanna starts to get emotional about the low turnout of her text votes, both Frenchie and Michael tell her not to mind it too much. Frenchie: "Kahit sino pa'ng matanggal tonight, alam naman ng tao kung sino'ng nagbigay ng best niya (It doesn't matter who gets eliminated tonight, people will know who really gave their best)." And Michael, while doing his eyes: "A basta, mamaya iinom tayo to death (Chill, later we we'll drink to death)."
ONE OF the stylists comes in and checks to see that everything is perfect: the shoes, the clothes, the hair, the eyelash extensions. The crew readies the set. All the backup singers are there, as are the band members and dancers. Cameramen fix their equipment, check out their angles, and tell people milling around to steer clear of the crane. People keep coming back to the "forbidden" spots, and the cameramen just keep telling them the same thing over and over.
Meanwhile, the audience is heating up. All sorts of people fill the gallery: teens sporting identical bandannas, middle-aged men and women taking time off from work, parents, aunts and uncles, including some who have flown in from overseas to see their kin. Banners are fixed ("Jasmine, the sweet singing sensation!"), chants are rehearsed ("We love you Ralph!"). By the time "Star" co-host Edu Manzano enters the studio the fans are ready for him, too. Screams of "We love you Edu!" greet him, and he smiles. He has been in the biz for years, and he's used to this.
But the finalists are obviously less so, and when they trickle in and the audience shouts out their names, they seem taken aback and seconds pass before they look up, smile, and say hello. Ralph is easily the most popular one, and when he enters the studio, one particularly loud group of young people gets hoarse screaming for him. They keep it up and stop only when Jasmine comes in. Then they scream for her.
The show starts. As each finalist performs, the viewers are shown the number of text votes she/he got for that day. Then the finalist faces the three judges who will say why such a score was given to him or her. Some remarks could be mean: "The only thing that stood out tonight is your earring!" or "I don't understand your outfit, what are those, ruffles?!"
Frenchie gets the highest scores from the judges. One judge kisses her hand and says, "Kasi 'pag sikat ka na baka hindi ko na magawa 'yun (Because when you're already famous I may no longer be able to do that)." Another tells her, "You didn't need those dancers, you're a show on your own!"
Finally, the show is over, the cameras are switched off, and most of the lights go next. The finalists will have to wait until the next show to learn who will have to leave, but Frenchie's family and friends come up to her and congratulate her for a job well done. Without the klieg lights, and while she is standing still and not doing her "black woman" moves, she looks different from the knockout performer she just was minutes ago. Although she is still in her "show" outfit, she could be anyone's younger sister.
Everyone is smiling. It was a good night for Gyphertori.
-end of article-
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