Gleefully ‘game’ contestants get plus points for nerve and verve

Solenn Heussaff (left) and Bentong Sumaya

The new game show, “All-Star Videoke,” is a perky addition to GMA 7’s Sunday lineup of shows, mainly due to the spirited participation of its stellar contestants.

The day we viewed it, the six entrants were Glaiza de Castro, Rocco Nacino, Divine, Andre Paras, Thea Tolentino and Diego Lorico.

They made up for hosts Solenn Heussaff and Bentong Sumaya’s generally perfunctory performance, impressing viewers with their sharp memory for song lyrics and their gleefully “game” participation.

They also got plus points for nerve and verve, because they all agreed to be dropped from a hole in the set’s floor when they serially lost a round—a scary prospect, even if they knew that it was only a brief drop, and that a bed of foam would cushion their fall.

Indeed, a couple of the free-fallers even managed to assume “sexy” or funny poses at the end of their literal “downfall.”

It turned out to be a very good night for comedienne-singer Divine, who was the “last contestant standing,” and won the show’s top plum and hefty cash prize.

But, Divine lost in the “final-final” square-off with three-week champ Boobay, who turned out to be an even more amazing repository of old song lyrics than her!

Some of the game show’s celebrity contestants are already established and certified stars, but others, like Divine, are still trying to make it big in the biz.

So, the exposure they get on “All-Star Videoke” can significantly speed up the “starmaking” process for them, especially when they emerge ecstatically victorious.

In Divine’s instance, she impressed viewers not just with her singing ability, but also with her knack for ad-libbing wittily and entertainingly.

Unlike other relatively new comics who try to make a “pow!” and “wow!” impression on viewers with abrasive and cynically downbeat “humor,” Divine much more judiciously keeps things bright and blithe.

She commands attention, not with “the comedy of insult,” but with genuinely droll comments and banter. She does go “nega” at times, but it’s instructive to note that, when she does, the “insults” and put-downs are aimed at—herself.

If “All-Star Videoke” gains more adherents and becomes a regular viewing habit on weekends, it could become as popular as “Eat Bulaga’s” “Pinoy Henyo” tilt, which hasn’t lost its appeal, even after many years.

We’ve boosted “Pinoy Henyo” consistently, because it’s a homegrown competition that’s a perfect fit for our Pinoy sensibility.

Since Filipinos also love to sing together the karaoke or videoke way, GMA 7’s new Sunday treat could similarly end up as a uniquely plugged-in and “extended play” success.

As long as its celebrity contestants continue to impress viewers with their spot-on memory for a wide range of song lyrics, as “amazingly” demonstrated by Divine, Boobay and their perky ilk, a couple of Sundays ago.

To be sure, they must have had to really work hard and long to firm up and expand their natural affinity for song lyrics.

So, prospective celebrity entrants have to be prepared to put in the weeks and months of training needed to also flash the “V for Victory” winners’ sign on “All-Star Videoke.”