Easy come, easy go

MAGDANGAL AND AGUSTIN. Versatility is key.

Each and every show biz season, droves of young talents dream of being signed up by established production houses or TV networks, in the fond hope that being officially “discovered” will assure their long-term success and popularity as bankable stars.

—Ah, not so fast: Remaining in the public eye is more difficult than initially getting there, as a survey of talents introduced more than a decade ago will show:

In 1995, ABS-CBN proudly introduced its new discoveries for the year, but not many of them have survived the passing and onus of time—and viewers’ notoriously fickle tastes: Of the 10 starlets unveiled that season, only Regine Tolentino, Victor Neri and G Toengi are occasionally seen onscreen.

Happily, things went much better for the 16 talents introduced the following year, of whom quite an impressive number are still around—Marvin Agustin, Carlo Aquino, Diego Castro, Mylene Dizon, Patrick Garcia, Jolina Magdangal, Diether Ocampo, Angelica Panganiban, and Camille and John Pratts.

A more detailed parsing of their respective careers should prove to be informative and even illuminating: Marvin has just made a successful comeback with Jolina via the popular teleserye route. Diego Castro appears occasionally on TV, but is busier as a chef. Mylene has established herself as an exceptional indie and character actress.

Angelica is more popular than ever, with successful sorties in both dramatic and comedic productions. Camille acts and does TV hosting chores, John dances and does comedy—but Patrick and Diether haven’t been seen much this season.

After their relatively resilient group, the next Star Circle batch produced only a few survivors, like Kaye Abad, Paolo Contis and Carlos Agassi—but, it did include Piolo Pascual, whose long-running success has been extraordinary!

Question: Why is he still around and in demand, even as many of his batchmates have had to move on to other attempts and undertakings?

Some observers cite his exceptional looks and “connections” in the biz as relevant factors, but who can really and definitively say?

As a famous producer whom we asked to share the secret for coming up with a hit production or star wryly put it, “Ay naku, hijo, kung alam ko ang sikretong ‘yon, e ‘di sana bilyonaryo na ako ngayon!” —It’s a crapshoot, plain and simple, and big stars like Piolo just get really lucky!

Our survey may initially cover just a few years—but other “teaching and learning points” emerge: First, don’t give up. New stars experience some lean seasons, get discouraged and drop out of sight—but, the survivors we’ve cited also had their share of failures—and yet they bounced back, and have thus become popular again!

Next, versatility is key. If you do only one thing or role well, viewers will eventually get bored—so, develop other skills!

For instance, Marvin added an interest in cuisine and the restaurant business, and he’s become doubly successful in the process.

As for Jolina, she got married—and yet her fans still support her evolving performing moves, which have recently included impersonating famous singers!