If you go Maine Mendoza, don’t look back!

Image from Instagram/@mainedcm

Maine Mendoza, boy, what an extremely special and super rare talent she is! Yup, that is how I will start the first sentence of the first paragraph of my latest article. Which reminds me, I rarely go out of my realm of expertise which is writing about anything to do with popular music since I am a purist at heart, and because this is MusicMatters and not ShowbizMatters! hahaha…

However, there are instances that I must break my own rule when it comes to individuals that have made such a huge impact that all realms were affected by them. For me, Maine Mendoza is one of those few exceptions. She has successfully been able to thread the fine line between the entertainment industry and the music industry in the Philippines.

How can I not also write about her?! Maine Mendoza and the AlDub phenomenon got the country “drunk” with love! Those two inspired so many amateur and aspiring singers and bands to compose songs about their “onscreen romance” in the Kalyeserye segment of Eat Bulaga. The term Kalyeserye was conceptualized, created, and coined by Joey De Leon.

I will not lie when I say I watched it regularly because it was cute, funny, and there was a sense of innocence on the parts of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza that is so rare in this day and jaded and even vulgar age of television. In fact, I was getting moved by everything that was unfolding in Kalyeserye that I ended up writing an article about it entitled “My Top 3 songs to be included for AlDub” which was posted exclusively here on September 18, 2015.

In that article of mine, my Number 1 pick for a song to be included in AlDub and the Kalyeserye segment itself was “Happy Together” by The Turtles. That song is decades old and was released way back in 1967 yet the meaning of the song is timeless, thus making it a classic.

Interestingly enough, after 2 to 3 months when that article of mine came out, that song “Happy Together” was used for a commercial of Maine Mendoza and Alden Richards. It just so happened to be the song for the Number 1 soft drink brand in the world. However, a rather slow cover version of “Happy Together” by The Turtles was utilized and used in that commercial which lacked the “magic” of the original song.

Hmmm… I wonder where they got that idea from to use that song in the first place?! Since at the time songs that were that old and long forgotten were never used in a commercial for that brand. Furthermore, AlDub’s second movie entitled “Imagine You and Me” was taken also, but tweaked, from the very first line of the first verse of “Happy Together” by The Turtles, as seen below:”

“Imagine me and you, I do

              I think about you day and night, it’s only right
              To think about the girl you love and hold her tight
              So happy together…”

How do I know? It is because I am so familiar with the song! And how did that happen to be, you ask? It is because I heard the song “Happy Together” being used in a scene of a movie called “Making Mr. Right” which was often played in HBO when I was still in early grade school! The song’s melody is light, happy, and has such a mesmerizing quality to it that it has remained stuck in my head forever.

Well, anyway, switching back to the matter that relates to Maine Mendoza… most of us know by now that the ultra charismatic, very intuitive, and naturally funny Maine Mendoza is going through a crossroads in her life. That open letter she did to her fans was a shocker to many mainly because of the possibility that she could be leaving showbiz for good and go down a different career path.

While it is her absolute right to follow her dreams and fulfill what other goals she has in life, it is also perfectly normal for anyone who has followed her career as an artist from the time she became a breakout star in Eat Bulaga to feel bad and sad that she may no longer be seen and heard in the longest running noontime show in the Philippines or anywhere else on television. That may need some adjusting psychologically for televiewers because she provided such a refreshing and welcome respite from the norm.

On a brighter note, I think Maine Mendoza has achieved so much already in a relatively short amount of time ever since she became a celebrity and a public figure. She can hold her head up high knowing that what she has accomplished collectively what no one has ever done before. I doubt if anyone can ever replicate what Maine has begun after she is gone from television. In fact, there have been so many trying hard copycats of Maine Mendoza when they saw her phenomenal breakthrough. Why, even veteran actresses imitate Maine Mendoza’s fashion sense and also try their darnedest best to be wacky which only makes them appear so silly and pathetic. Maine Mendoza being wacky comes naturally to her and what’s so great about her is that never has her antics diminished her dignity. Why so? It is because Maine Mendoza is obviously well-bred and basically decent and that shines through her. Let me add, nothing beats the original.

Maine Mendoza has also exhibited toughness and that fact is one reason why some known veteran actresses who are known to give newcomers or newbies to the industry a hard time have thought it best not to mess with her. It also helped that Maine Mendoza is educated and does not come from a poor background because the reality is that those who come from disadvantaged homes are the ones who get bullied once they enter the entertainment industry.

Maine Mendoza is not desperate to “keep her job” because she can survive without it. So that puts her in a position of advantage. She can’t be forced to do something she does not want or uncomfortable with. For her this is not the end all, be all. She maintains her freedom make decisions for herself… on her own.

In closing, Maine Mendoza truly is a shooting star that has shot out of the dark sky leaving a trail of twinkling star dust in its path mesmerizing everyone who could witness it. And just like a shooting star that burns bright until it hits its final destination, it also vanishes from sight.

I would like to believe that Maine Mendoza is that proverbial shooting star in our entertainment industry. She will forever have made an impact in everyone’s hearts and minds just long enough leaving all wanting to have more of her.

If it happens that she quits showbiz and decides to become a private citizen and even getting out of social media, her becoming reclusive from the public eye would be a self-chosen path. That is something no one would have ever expected she would do, and so soon at that.

What a grand way to go, Maine Mendoza! It will make you even more of a legend.

I, for one, will miss Maine Mendoza when she is no longer appearing in television, movies, and commercials. She is really extraordinary.

But what is right for her is ultimately her decision to make.

So if you go, Maine Mendoza, don’t look back.