THE ACCIDENTAL gold mine that is “AlDub” could make history again—if it accepts an offer to do a Valentine concert for P20 million.
The tantalizing offer was made by Joed Serrano, a former actor and currently a concert producer, whose recent projects include the five-member American a cappella group Pentatonix.
Held for two nights, one at Smart Araneta Coliseum, the other at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel, the Pentatonix shows, which Serrano said cost P9 million to mount, grossed P18 million in ticket sales.
Serrano is known to friends for operating a thriving food business. He is also said to have deep financial resources, with private individuals as partners in his concert production venture.
Now his offer to the AlDub duo is perhaps the biggest amount to be laid on the table for the phenomenal TV love team composed of Alden Richards and Yaya Dub (Maine Mendoza), which has gained not only millions of fans but also numerous product endorsement deals.
READ: ‘Maine Mendoza a natural comic, not fully aware of her popularity’
41 million tweets
The pair first set a record 41 million tweets—acknowledged by Twitter itself as currently the highest worldwide—before, during and after “Tamang Panahon,” a special live edition of noontime variety TV show “Eat Bulaga” (where the love team was born), held on Oct. 24 at Philippine Arena in Bulacan province.
On that day, Philippine Arena itself was filled to its 55,000 capacity—another record-setting precedent.
Initially the offer to perform in a Valentine concert was only for Richards, mentioned in passing by Serrano recently at a press conference for his ward, young singer Gabrielle “Garrie” Concepcion, daughter of actor Gabby Concepcion and former girlfriend Grace Ibuna.
A reporter asked Serrano if he was open to producing concerts aside from the foreign ones he had bankrolled. Something as hot as AlDub, added the reporter.
READ: Joey Reyes: Alden Richards is the next Piolo, John Lloyd
‘Eight-figure’ amount
Serrano, known in show biz circles for his candor, replied that he had, in fact, been talking to Richards’ management and offered an “eight-figure” amount.
Asked to elaborate, Serrano, speaking on the phone to the Inquirer, confirmed that his offer still stands and that he’s just awaiting word from GMA 7’s talent center which handles Richards. Pressed to specify the amount, Serrano was mum, though he said, “Maybe,” when the Inquirer asked, “Is it P10 million?”
But that’s not all. Serrano added that he had also extended the offer to Mendoza—for the same amount, which makes the concert truly a Valentine show.
Serrano has booked the show for two nights, on Feb. 13 and 14, 2016, at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
However, this is one project that, if green-lighted by AlDub’s respective handlers—Mendoza is being managed by Television and Production Exponents Philippines Inc., the production arm of “Eat Bulaga” —would require painstaking preparation.
For one, Richards and Mendoza have never performed in a full show, which is expected to have a live band accompanying the musical numbers.
Second, Mendoza has yet to prove that she can even sing, since all that the public has seen on TV is her lip-synching skills. But that drawback can be remedied, if properly handled by a competent musical director.
And if the pair can pull it off, the concert may have a bearing on Richards and Mendoza’s reputation as bankable young stars with credible talent that would transcend their cutesy courtship rituals and repetitious lip-synching on TV.
Not to mention that they stand to become multimillionaires in two nights.
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