ANJA AGUILAR

MANILA, Philippines – Boss Vic del Rosario has a new bet for stardom – Anja Aguilar.

He believes that like Sarah Geronimo before, Anja has all the makings of a new pop superstar, and in fact, the “Little Big Star” winner has been showcasing to the max her talents (singing and acting) via various shows (like “ASAP”) and on ABS-CBN’s drama anthology “Maalaala Mo Kaya” where she has appeared eight times.

Del Rosario said, “I won’t waste my time on Anja if I don’t see a big potential in her. When it comes to singing, she’s just great! You be the judge. She’s tried and tested, even in acting.”

Anja is now 19 years old but ever since she was small, she has been honing her vocal talent through various barangay singing contests. Her efforts paid off when she won the talent search “Little Big Star” hosted by Sarah Geronimo. Another Kapamilya star, Sam Concepcion, is also a product of this talent search.

It was while Anja was enrolled at AMA Computer School that she met Boss Vic who was impressed enough of the girl that he took her under his wings (joining Sarah and Anne Curtis among others).

And now, Boss Vic has given Anja her debut album under Viva Records. The 10-track album contains compositions by Vehnee Saturno (“I Love You,” “When” and “Nasaan Ang Pangako”) and Christian Martinez (“Ako Para Sa ‘Yo,” “Di Bale Na” “Magic Of Love” and “Ako”). Also included is Anja’s FM radio hit song “To Reach You” with a minus-one. This is actually the album’s carrier single.

• • •

Celebs Go Extreme In Cebu

Some of the country’s celebrities recently spent an exciting weekend of extreme off-road action as they competed in the 2nd leg of the Vaseline Men XTERRA Triathlon Series held at the resort town of Liloan, Cebu.

Vaseline Men endorser Jericho Rosales led the parade of stars who took part in the much-anticipated event. He was joined by MYX VJ Mike Advincula, TV personalities Drew Arellano, Rovilson Fernandez, Tricia Chiongbian, Paolo Abrera, Matteo Guidicelli and Richard Gutierrez.

Other notable personalities who were there included celebrity coach Rio de la Cruz and Sen. Pia Cayetano. She participated in the XTERRA Triathlon Full and finished the swim-bike-run series. The lady solon finished 2nd in her age group category.

After Cebu, the Vaseline Men XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon Series moves to Clark, Pampanga for the Putik Pare event, a duathlon relay involving a trail run and mountain bike, on Nov. 18.

• • •

Music Downloads Made Easy

With the recent launch of online music portal MyMusicStore Philippines (mymusicstore.com.ph), acquiring legitimately the hottest songs from today’s biggest names in music is now as easy was sending a text message!

The launch was with the backing of the country’s established record labels. And to support the fight against music piracy (and your right to enjoy your favorite artists music without the guilt) leading wireless services provider Smart Communications, Inc. made it extra easy to pay for the songs that you can download from the site.

Paying for downloads via text is now possible – and exclusively available to Smart subscribers! Even without a credit card, you can easily purchase tracks using your prepaid load (or charge your download to your bill, if you’re on postpaid!).

Go to the MyMusicStore Philippines now if you want to purchase the latest songs of your favorite artists or from the catalogues of Alpha Music, EMI, GMA Records, House of Praise, Indie, Ivory, MCA, PolyEast, Sony Music, Star Revords, Universal Records, Vicor and Viva.

• • •

Tidbits: Happy b-day greetings today, April 25, go to Ms. Lulu Mendoza, David Ussery, Vir Mateo, Rea Reyes, Normelita Ocampo, Tessie Arrietta, Joey C. Recio III, Naning Tensuan, Erlinda Gamboa, Dr. Mila Jardin-Ongoco, Joel Taginhota, Norman C. Albano, Grace Lim of Metrobank Sta. Cruz Branch, and Gina Shucks…