Philippine Idol

The phenomenon known as “Idol” the reality series has hit the Philippines and it is called “Philippine Idol”. To date the series has aired in over 81 countries around the world and it has become the most popular and successful format on TV ever. The series that was created by Simon Fuller from the U.K. is now seen on the Associated Broadcasting Company network in the Philippines 7 nights a week. Season 1 of this series debuted on 30 July 2006 and crowned its first winner on 10 December 2006. The start of the second season has currently been delayed due to additional negotiations. A 2nd competitor the GMA network is also bidding to take control of this series. If ABC continues to air the series it may start in October 2007 if it is purchased by the GMA network they wish to have an early 2008 start date.

The auditions for season 1 happened in 3 different cities in the Philippines which were Manila on 3 June, Davao City on 23 June and at Cebu City on 4 July. They first selected 169 contestants to go onto the 1st round held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines on 1 August. The first round consisted of 3 days of auditions dwindling down the numbers from 169 to 84 then down to 40 and finally to only 24 who moved on to round 2. The next round was called the semi-final and wildcard rounds that cut the number down again this time to just 12. On 10 December the winner was announced to be Mau Marcelo who was born Maureen Marcelo on 13 May 1980 in Lucena City, Philippines. Her final song on the last day of competition was “Sweet Love” originally performed by Anita Baker. The runner-up was Gian Magdangal who was born Giancarlo Magdangal on 18 November 1981 in Manila, Philippines. The host of season 1 was actor Ryan Agoncillo. The judges were composer Ryan Cayabyab, singer Pilita Corrales and rapper, producer Francis Magalona.

The Associated Broadcasting Network (ABC-5) decided not to renew this series for another season. In 2007 their biggest competitor Network, Global Media Arts (GMA) decided to have their own Idol series. Instead of going with the old title of “Philippine Idol” and make the next season’s episodes become Season 2 they have renamed the franchise to “Pinoy Idol”. Pinoy is a colloquial form of the word Filipino also spelled at time Philippino.