Based on Google and Twitter analytics, celebrity Liza Soberano has been the most discussed person in the country for straight two weeks, and the most discussed person so far in 2023.
All this has brought controversy and attention to the institution of “love teams.” Soberano’s comments on aspects of the love team culture found prevalently in Philippine entertainment have sparked intense debate amongst industry insiders and fans alike.
The concept of the love team between Soberano and Enrique Gil was explored when they initially crossed paths and worked together in the 2013 romantic comedy-drama film, She’s the One. Following that, in October 2014, the love team was concretized and monikered as “LizQuen” when the two were finally given their own prime-time television series, “Forevermore.”
In 2015, the pair was introduced again as leads in two rom-com films, “Just The Way You Are” and “Everyday, I Love You.” In 2016, Soberano and Gil were given the lead roles for the romantic drama teleserye “Dolce Amore.” This series ran from February to August 2016.
Six months later, in February 2017, the love team were the lead cast in the film, “My Ex and Whys.” The duo was appointed as the box office King and Queen for 2017 during the 49th Box-Office Entertainment Awards by the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation.
In 2018, Soberano and Gil were casted as a love team once again in the fantasy drama television series “Bagani.”
Prior to signing with Careless, Soberano shared in May 2022 that pursuing a career in Hollywood was her dream. In her self-released vlog and recent interviews, she expressed her interest to be involved in projects outside of the genres she usually finds herself typecasted in.
In her “This is Me” vlog episode released February 26, Soberano shared, “I’m 25 years old now, and people may forget that I’ve been working for 13 years now since I was 12 years old. I’ve been in six feature films, over 500 episodes of teleseryes, and have only dabbled into three main genres — romance, comedy, and drama.”
“And since I was 16, I had only worked side-by-side with one main co-star, with the same production company, rotating around the same three directors. And through those years, I was never really asked for my input, my thoughts. and my ideas. I felt like I was told to just be a flower for so long, and I finally started to explore a world of being able to create and tell my story and hopefully, others,” she stated.
“I obviously know that it would be much easier to just stick to what has been working for me to stay forever the same.” Soberano later adds, “and I know and I understand that it’s unfair to all the lives of fans. But I hope you understand that by doing so, by giving into the pressure of doing what everybody else wants for me, I am being unfair to myself, Hope Soberano. I’ve sacrificed my childhood, I’ve sacrificed my freedom, and I’ve sacrificed my happiness to present Liza Soberano to the world. And I think that I’ve earned the right to finally be me. To finally be able to do things for me as Hope Soberano.”
On March 5, 2023, Soberano was interviewed by Bea Alonzo, where she shared her sentiments on the industry.
“It wasn’t ’til later that I realized, oh my God, ang dami kong hindi nagawa sa career ko. And that’s why everybody, I think, takes for granted my talent or acting capabilities because they’ve only seen me in a love team,” Soberano voiced out.
“To be honest, love teams are a phenomenon only created in the Philippines, only existing in the Philippines. And to box a woman like that is so dangerous actually for their mental health and also for their growth, not just as a professional but as an individual. So I stay away from that,” she expressed in the same interview.
Soberano’s statements on the concept of love teams have stirred online debates amongst netizens in various social media platforms and evoked articles from numerous publications, voicing their concerns on how love team culture and the formula built around it have a negative impact in the creative development of Philippine cinema and entertainment.
In Twitter and other social media platforms, many have trumpeted their adoration for their favorite love teams, while others have been pointing out how it boxes artists in a specific role throughout their careers, shutting them off from transformative growth and ultimately affecting the entertainment scene and its output. The topic of love teams and its pros and cons have been the biggest and most polarizing entertainment topic of 2023 and continues to be discussed by the industry and consumers alike.
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