Despite receiving negative remarks for his alleged dismal performance last week from the “Pinoy Idol” judges — Ogie Alcasid, Jolina Magdangal and Wyngard Tracy — lady luck and text voters helped save Daryl Celis from elimination, beating Robby Navarro during last Saturday’s showdown, July 6 at the Centerstage of the Mall of Asia.

Daryl, Robby and Sue Ellen were the three “Pinoy Idol” contestants who made up the bottom group last Saturday night. Luckily for Sue, she was the first to return to the safe group which left Daryl and Robby on stage.

With Daryl hearing the worse comments about his singing, viewers of “Pinoy Idol” have expected him to be axed from the contest, but it wasn’t. To recap, Jolina Magdangal called his performance as “pang high school” while Wyngard told him that he made a simple and beautiful song very hard with his performance.

Yet the judges’ opinions didn’t matter to the supporters of Daryl who relied greatly on text votes to save him and eliminate Robby in the process. Robby, a former member of the now disbanded boy band Wise Guys, was one of the earlier favorites to go home with the title as the first “Pinoy Idol.”

Last Saturday’s result also opened the floor for the judges to voice their concerns regarding the results on television.

“Ako nalulungkot for Robby,” lamented Ogie Alcasid. “He is vocally better than a lot of the singers here today...he is one of the better singers.”

Wyngard claimed he was still not shocked with the results. He cautioned though the audience in Centerstage and the nationwide viewers regarding text votes.

“I’m appealing to the text voters na sana maging really objective sila. Nakikiusap kami. Hindi madali sa iba lalo na yung kamag-anak at kaibigan. But always remember that we are looking for the first ‘Pinoy Idol’ who will represent us globally sa Asian Idol at sa iba’t-ibang lugar. Huwag ninyo kaming sisihin kapag ang nanalo dito di ninyo gusto kasi kayo ang may kasalanan.”

He added immediately, “Ayaw kong malungkot pero ayaw kong malungkot linggo, linggo. Iisa lang talaga ang mananalo, uulitin ko yan. And yun lang ang paki-usap ko, let us vote wisely. Makonsensya kayo!”

Meantime, Robby himself said he was surprised to be included at the bottom group. But when he was told he would join Sue and Daryl, he already prepared himself for the worse.

“I was confident that I wouldn’t be eliminated. Pero nang natabi ako sa dalawang favorite ng masa, si Sue and si Daryl, I kind of felt it kasi iba. Marami-rami rin akong supporters pero iba ang crowd ko talaga,” Robby sighed.

Robby also said he has no idea as to why he was eliminated. But a probable reason according to him was his tantrums and walking-out from the group which was aired at “Pinoy Idol Extra.”

“The day after it was aired I apologized to the viewers. I told them what I have learned from my experience. I’m only human who gets angry at a point in time...my wrong move probably caused my ‘Pinoy Idol’ journey but like what I said I was very tired from all of our activities and I was frustrated. I was having a rollercoaster of an emotion,” he explained.

Though saddened by the result, he is leaving “Pinoy Idol” inspired by the kind words of the judges especially Ogie Alcasid.

“Every time I hear his comments about me, I feel so honored…his song writing is so superb and idol ko talaga siya when it comes to that,” he said.

As of press time, Robby only plans to get lots of rest. After which he intimated that he would be planning for his career’s next phase.

As for Daryl, he too was surprised of the result. Like Robby he also prepared himself to be eliminated when he was called as part of the bottom group. He admitted after the show that the pressure’s on him to be a better performer and singer this coming week to prevent elimination.

The remaining “Pinoy Idol” hopefulls are Penelope, Jaynn Bautista, Gretchen Espina, Sue Ellen, Ram Chaves, Kid Camaya, Daryl Celis, Warren Antig and Toffer Rei.

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‘Kambyo’ goes to Robinsons starting today

Fresh from its successful premiere at the UP Film Institute, “Kambyo” — a film about four boys who go on a life-changing road trip together — will be screened regularly at Robinsons Galleria, Robinsons Ermita and Robinsons Metro East starting today, July 9.

That “Kambyo” was such a hit with those who trooped to the UP Film Institute is no surprise, because it is the latest offering from the team that made the acclaimed “Ang Lalaki Sa Parola” and “Ang Lihim Ni Antonio.” Digital Viva teamed up with the film outfit Beyond-the-Box to come up with another masterpiece that is sure to delight audiences. As such, it is the most anticipated gay film of the season.

Kambyo — which is directed by Jay Altarejos, the same man who helmed Parola and Antonio — is heavily favored to follow in Parola and Antonio’s footsteps, which broke box-office records when they were shown at the Robinsons theaters.

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Olivia: The golden girl
of the lounge scene

At 16, Olivia – yes, simply call her Olivia – is already making waves among many lounge scenes, and this is the very reason her admirers have dubbed her “The Golden Girl of the Lounge Scene.” She is known for her delicate soprano voice, and she performs regularly at the music lounge of several hotels in Metro Manila.

What makes her a standout in the music world is the fact that she was the first Filipino to win the “Best Performance Award” at the prestigious Kazakhstan Song Festival in 2005, and she was the youngest participant at the 2003 Philippine Metropop at barely 16. She performed the song “You’re All That I Live For,” written by well-known composer Vehnee Saturno.

And she was also the youngest to release a full-length jazz album, “@19.”

Presently, Olivia performs at the Masas and Cena open-air restaurants at Greenbelt 2, Makati City on Fridays.

Her 15-track album, “Gentle Jazz” from Ivory Records, features the following songs: “The Way You Look Tonight,” “Oh Lori,” “All Behind Us Now,” “My Cherie Amour,” “Sway,” “True Blue,” “You,” “Loving You,” “Just The Two Of Us,” “Say You Love Me,” “Laging Kapiling,” “Sweet Baby,” “Love Is The Answer,” “The Real Thing,” and “Someday We Will Find Love.”

Her playlist, among others, ranges from the best of Ella Fitzgeral, Manhattan Transfer, Natalie Cole, Swing Out Sister, Sade, Earth Wind & Fire, and of course, original Pinoy music.

Olivia is known to sing in nine languages: Chinese, Italian, French, Russian, English, Japanese, Filipino and Portuguese.

Now in her early 20s, Olivia comes from a family of artists. Her mother, Brenda Ponce Enrile Tirona, is the other half of the famed Tirona Sisters who reigned supreme in the lounge scenes during the 70s. Her grandfather, renowned Filipino baritone Alberto Tirona, UP scholar, band leader and orchestra conductor, was her first vocal coach.

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Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, July 9, go to Atty. Jessie Estaquio, PR girl Baby Joson, restaurateur Rod Ongpauco, Susan Dignadice Banaria, Cristina Ablaza, Cheryl de Leon, Ofelia Pumaren, Loretta Atienza-Lina, Cirilo Bautista, Linda Veronica dela Rea, Mark Pierre C. Tobias, Veronica Velasco-Bayota, Julius “Empoy” Marquez, Cedric Quijano, Jiego Muzni, Bong Soza, and Bam Romana...