Angelia Ong quit school to pursue her dream of stardom.
“Finishing college is still among my goals in life. I just thought, why not try show biz now while I’m still young?” said the junior mass communication student at the St. Paul University in Iloilo. “I don’t encourage other kids to stop school. I will definitely give my mom a diploma, no matter what age I may be. It is the only thing that will make her happy.”
She added: “I just realized I’m studying mass comm so I can work in front or behind the camera, and I’m doing that now. I’m living my dream.” At 17, Angelia hosted the weekly lifestyle magazine show “Istayl Naton” in her hometown. When she turned 20, she joined the 2011 Binibining Pilipinas pageant; she was voted Face of the Year.
Only recently, Angelia made it as one of the 12 finalists in the annual MYX VJ Search. “To prepare, I’ve started researching about the lives of famous artists. I’m educating myself on how to be a VJ.”
Finalist K-La Ramirez shared Angelia’s views. “We have to know what we’re talking about. Not only is knowing about music useful for the challenges in the contest, it’s also good for me—I get inspired learning about the artists and the stories behind each of their songs.”
Toughest rival
K-La, 19, was a finalist in the recently concluded talent search “Star Power” on ABS-CBN. Angelia confessed that she considers K-La her toughest opponent. “She’s super cute. People love her. Her exposure in ‘Star Power’ will help her a lot. I think she’s a step ahead of everybody since she already has a fan base,” Angelia said.
This year’s winners will be chosen through viewers’ text votes and by a MYX jury. “If the people who watched ‘Star Power’ are still supporting me, I can’t be anything more than thankful to them, but this is a different competition and is aired on a different channel (Studio 23). The crowd is different,” the Filipino-Canadian R&B singer countered. “My passion is my edge. I love music and talking. This is where I’m having most fun.”
Completing the group of 12 finalists are aspiring actress Camille Caoile, sexy charmer Cara Eriguel, humorous Chewy Buhion, Fil-Am stunner Drew Rivera, theater geek Earl Burgos, quirky Joyce Pring, funny guy JJ Kaufman, club DJ Marga Bermudez, swimming hottie Mike Advincula and boy-next-door Martin Javier.
Now on its fifth year, the countrywide search for the best music video ambassadors has produced well-loved hosts like Chino Lui Pio, Bianca Roque, Janine Ramirez and Robin Nievera.
Email mcruz@inquirer.com.ph