Christopher Diwata of ‘What haffen Vella?’ popularity jams with Ben&Ben
Ben&Ben with Christopher Diwata. Right, Diwata as Taylor Lautner.. Images: Screengrab from Instagram, YoutTube/ABS-CBN Entertainment,
From being a noontime show contestant 10 years ago to becoming the newest internet sensation, Christopher Diwata continued with his path to stardom with an appearance at the recent show of Filipino folk pop band Ben & Ben at a mall in Quezon City.
Diwata is known as the contestant on the “Kalookalike” segment of noontime show “It’s Showtime” impersonated Hollywood film star Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black in the Twilight saga movies, and for his now-viral lines on the show’s skit, “What haffen, Vella (What happened, Bella)?”
On its social media pages, Ben&Ben posted about Diwata’s sudden appearance on their show — courtesy of their label Sony Music — which they happily welcomed and was a hit with their audience. He was styled as Jacob Black, too, with his signature black shirt under a dark jacket, and wolf-like haircut.
“Minsan lang kami i-surprise tapos ganito pa. Grabe hahahah salamat sa pakana @sonymusicphl!!! Sobrang random pero sobrang special HAHA thank you sir Christopher Diwata, pinasaya mo kami!” the group said, posting a video of their impromptu performance together.
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Diwata thrilled the audience when he uttered the famous lines from the movie. “Wha’haffen, Vella? Why you crying again? Vamfire, right? Edward, why you doing it? You told me you would protect Vella, but you did not! I will sure you die! From now on, she’s mine!” (What happened, Bella? Why are you crying again? Vampire, right? Edward, why are you doing it? you told me you would protect Bella, but you did not. I will make sure you die! From now on, she’s mine!)
The video segued into singing the chorus of the Twilight theme song, “A Thousand Years,” by Christina Perri.
In the comments, Ben&Ben said they were blown away when the Bataan native appeared, and once of the commenters said that Diwata went as swiftly as he came.
“Moon has never glowed this color, nandito na si Jacob,” the band commented, referencing the Twilight character’s werewolf tendencies and affinity with the moon. “Pinasaya mo kami sobra!”
“Wha’haffen, Ven&Ven?” Sony Music chimed in the comments.
Still in disbelief
Talking about his sudden popularity more than a decade after his “It’s Showtime” appearance, Diwata said he is still in disbelief that he is getting a second wind in show business.
“Sa loob ng isang dekada, hindi ko po aakalain na mauungkat ang pagsali ko sa ‘It’s Showtime.’ Nagulat na lang ako na may nagtatag sa’kin, [at sinasabi na] ‘yung post ko daw, sumisikat na naman (In a matter of a decade, I didn’t expect that my ‘It’s Showtime’ stint will resurface. I was surprised that people would tag me, saying, my stint is getting famous again),” he said on the May 15 episode of TV Patrol.
Diwata, who now works as a fish dealer in Orion, Bataan, shared that his newfound fame led him to opening his own TikTok page to create content. He was also asked to promote an online shopping platform and a popular food chain that also referenced his Jacob Black impersonation.
In the interview, Diwata recalled that he didn’t have anything prepared while auditioning for the noontime show.
“Noong sasalang na ako, naghanap ako sa internet ng linya ni Jacob,” he said. “Sa totoo lang, napakarami kong utang pero noong dumating po [‘yung pag-viral ko], nabawasan na ako ng [utang]. Unti-unti akong nakakaahon.”
(When I joined the show back then, I had to search for Jacob’s lines on the internet… To be frank, I was in a lot of debt but when I became viral, they are now slowly getting repaid. I’ve been slowly getting by.)
Lautner has yet to notice Diwata impersonation, as of this writing. Despite this, Diwata has been appearing on celebrities’ social media platforms, while some celebrities are joining the “wha’ haffen, Vela” trend, among them, Piolo and Iñigo Pascual, Kyline Alcantara, Bella Padilla, SB19, and BINI, to name a few.
