Stars No Longer Born, They are Made!

MOVIEGOER

Manila Bulletin Online {Entertainment]

By NESTOR CUARTERO

September 27, 2010, 3:41pm

STARSTRUCK V’ UPDATE: Ida Henares, head of GMA’s talent development division, says that ultimately, the success of a TV reality discovery is measured by how one can sustain the exposure long after the competition is over.

She cites the winners of “StarStruck V,” the Final Five themselves, namely, Steven Silva, Sarah Lahbati, Enzo Pineda, Diva Montelaba, and Rocco Nacino. All five are seen regularly on GMA-7’s Sunday noontime show, “Party Pilipinas” even as they carve their niche in the network’s drama programs.

One doesn’t have to be a champion or a finalist to land a showbiz career as in the case of Sef Cadayona, who has similarly joined the Sunday noontime party, being a good dancer himself.

Sef is just as interesting as a talker. Eliminated during the “StarStruck” a few days before 2009 ended, he’s also one of the segment hosts of “Startalk,” alongside Jan Manual and Chariz Solomon, who, like him is also a “StarStruck” alumnus. Sef is the busiest of the lot as he is also seen on “Ilumina” and “I Laugh Sabado.”

Filipino-Japanese mestiza Nina Kodaka, 21, didn’t make it to the Top Five of her batch even if she was a crowd favorite throughout the competition. She gets to use her halting Filipino, however, as a segment co-host of “Startalk.”

Enzo and Rocco, “StarStruck V’s” First and Second Prince, respectively, now act opposite each other in the fantasy-comedy, “Kaya Ng Powers.”

There’s also the Fil-German mestizo, Ian Batherson, one of the leading contenders in the now-running “Survivor Philippines” celebrity edition.

During a recent media outing in Cagayan de Oro where Batherson was one of the celebrity guests, he was rumored as one of the probable winners. The press based their guess on how deeper his tan was compared to the rest, meaning to say, he stayed longer on Survivor island.

A deeper tan, however, is no guarantee for an extended, enduring showbiz career. The “StarStruck V” winners and non-winners who have stayed on in various capacities have to continually reinvent themselves even as they also try to prove themselves equal to the grand breaks afforded them in the first place.

nescuar@yahoo.com)