‘ASAP Live in Dubai’ thrills thousands at shopping festival

(Clockwise from top left) Martin Nievera and Gary Valenciano sing as 16,000-18,000 fans trooped to Dubai Festival City to watch the show; OSN Chairman and KIPCO Vice Chairman Faisal Al Ayyar, ABS-CBN Corporation Chairman Gabby Lopez and ABS-CBN Global COO Raffy Lopez announced the exclusive partnership between ABS-CBN TFC and OSN in the region as hosts Luis Manzano, Kris Aquino and Toni Gonzaga look on; Ana Blaza of UAE held her check after winning TFCKat ME; Angeline Quinto, Rayver Cruz, Kim Chiu, Maja Salvador and Enchong Dee perform one of the high octane dance numbers; Richard Yap, Piolo Pascual and Jericho Rosales had the crowd swooning. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

DUBAI—By way of back-to-back shows of “ASAP Live in Dubai,” ABS-CBN TFC on Jan. 24 brought Filipino sights and sounds to the 19th edition of the internationally acclaimed Dubai Shopping Festival, a 32-day festivity that drew thousands to Dubai Festival City.

The event also solidifies OSN, the largest pay-TV network in the region, as the new exclusive hub for TFC subscribers in the Middle East.

The exclusive partnership combines ABS-CBN TFC’s following among Filipino viewers with OSN’s award-winning customer service, state-of-the-art technology and the widest choice of premium Filipino and Western content.

More than 40 of the biggest and brightest stars in Philippine entertainment had the city pulsating to the vibes and musical flavors of the No. 1 variety show in the Philippines.

The shows touched on themes of patriotism, Filipino pride, popular love theme songs from classic teleseryes, helping the homeland, while offering sizzling dance numbers in colorful, dazzling costumes before a gigantic screen backdrop of images that visually transported the audience to amazing landscapes.

The historic, first-ever staging of “ASAP Live” in the Middle East, dubbed by Martin Nievera as “OSN – One Special Night,” showcased stunning musical repertoires in two different two-hour shows featuring performances of world-class Filipino entertainers Gary Valenciano, Vina Morales and ZsaZsa Padilla.

The event, hosted by Toni Gonzaga, Nikki Gil, Luis Manzano and Robi Domingo, further dazzled with stellar performances from Charice, Bamboo, Jed Madela, Angeline Quinto, Erik Santos, Yeng Constantino, KZ Tandingan, Jovit Baldivino, Marcelito Pomoy, Zia Quizon, ASAP Sessionistas composed of Aiza Seguerra, Juris, Princess, Richard Poon and Sitti.

Weaving their magic with spectacular high-energy production numbers were heartthrobs Piolo Pascual, Sam Milby, Gerald Anderson, Enchong Dee, Enrique Gil, and John Lloyd Cruz, with teleserye sweethearts Kim Chiu, Julia Montes and Erich Gonzales.

ASAP Supahdancers Rayver Cruz, John Prats and Iya Villania and the MASH duo of Maja Salvador and Shaina Magdayao raised energy levels with their high-octane dance numbers. Meanwhile, the presence of “Be Careful with My Heart” leading man Richard ‘Ser Chief’ Yap, “Maria Mercedes” star Jessy Mendiola and “The Legal Wife” team-up of Angel Locsin and Jericho Rosales caused big-time swooning among the crowd.

“TFCKat,” TFC’s global singing contest, also held its regional finals. When the smoke cleared, it was Ana Blaza of UAE who won the Middle East crown, with her unique rendition of “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield.

The board of judges was composed of ABS-CBN Head of Production Laurenti Dyogi, ABS-CBN Global Head of Customer Relationship Management Allie Dela Cruz, ABS-CBN News Bureau Chief for Middle East and Europe Danny Buenafe and last year’s “TFCkat” Middle East Champion Cris Bernardo.

Kris Aquino, joined by Luis Manzano and Toni Gonzaga, announced before thousands the exclusive partnership between ABS-CBN and OSN, the region’s leading pay-TV network, in the presence of OSN Chairman and KIPCO Vice Chairman Faisal Al Ayyar, ABS-CBN Corporation Chairman Gabby Lopez and ABS-CBN Global COO Raffy Lopez.

The three executives paid tribute to the Filipinos in the Middle East, praising their excellence at work that made them preferred employees, and agreeing that they deserve the best that the ABS-CBN TFC-OSN partnership has to offer.