MARLO MORTEL: READY TO START Making Music Again!

It's been a while since we've gotten to talk to Marlo Mortel, probably during his last movie which was ages ago. It's been a rough time for him especially during the pandemic as he really had a bad case of anxiety, and I can relate because I've gone through the same. He's got better and started writing songs... and having the urge to sing again. He also got back with Star Magic 2 months ago and raring to work in shows and movies, but before all that, he's introducing a new single called aptly, READY TO START. 

Contrary to rumors, the song isn't about Marlo's personal experiences. This was actually a friend's relationship that was asked to be written into a song. But Marlo says, his friend experienced something that happens to a lot of people including him, so in a way he too can relate to it. That's when I started to also ask a few personal questions, which he gladly answered. One of which was the admission of having a girlfriend during the height of the MarNella love team, which he didn't publicize so he could protect her from rabid ones that sent death threats during that time. Here's our blog conference on video, enjoy!

Marlo is a kind man and he deserves all the success he's getting. He was also asked about working with Janella again and he was actually adamant to do that if given the chance. That's a nice premise and why not, they're very professional!

Oh by the way, the song READY TO START is produced by Polyeast Records and Marlo himself. Aside from artistic freedom, he was given by the recording company a chance to do other things creatively, which he feels was a very good arrangement when he started creating music again. Make sure you listen to his song on Spotify and other streaming platforms. The lyric video is also out so make sure you listen to it with that, so you would understand how painful love is, and how you could cherish it even more if you are in a relationship. I hope you enjoyed our talk with Marlo Mortel, and don't worry he's going to be appearing even more starting now, he promised that!

RABIYA MATEO Now Proud to be KAPUSO

Photo byStephen Capuchino and Rabiya Mateo

Rabiya Mateo just confirmed that she is now a full pledged Kapuso. She signed with GMA Network and you must be wondering , why she chose to be here. Well, we got to talk to her yesterday and yes, she's raring to tell you that she's already appearing in shows, particularly Book 2 of "Agimat ng Agila" together with almost twin vixen  actress Sanya Lopez.

Rabiya shared during the presscon a few things she learned during her shoots. She had a really different perspective in reading and learning scripts. She wants to also work with Bea Alonzo in the future, which would be good since she's also in the same network now. She told us that they started off meeting Ms. Anette Gozon during a dinner and talked about her being in GMA. She had to be careful since back then she was still in a contract with Miss Universe Philippines. She also shared how she admires Alden Richards especially in the movie Hello, Love, Goodbye and maybe Dingdong Dantes if the opportunity arrives. She also shares, they promised her that she will be honed to be an actress, they understood that she's new to the industry... it was something she was looking forward to says the sassy Ilongga. 

Currently, she's very happy with her change of career. She learned to also filter out things on social media, to also be a little thick skinned because at the end of the day, she wants to only listen to people that matters most.

Here's the rest of our interview with her:

 

Can't wait to see how she's going to appear in GMA shows from hereon, they've got a lot of plans for her and maybe, just maybe, GMA will make her dream of working with GMA's prized leading men come true. She's a pro at answering questions, I love her already!

Change the Look of Your Home with these Shopee 12.12 Big Christmas Sale Finds!

I've always been doing DIY wand crafting stuff to change the look of my room. Needless to say, the gray and white walls that I have was pretty plain, classy (of course), but I felt that it needed to get spruced up especially since it's been my background for many days over Zoom meetings and press conferences. We look silly in those virtual backgrounds so I went ahead and checked out Shopee to see what I could find.

Shopee's got everything and if you're raring to spruce up the look of your home, there are things that you can purchase in the app that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. 

Now I've seen this vendor idawallpaper.ph on the Shopee app and saw they'e got 3D Vinyl Wallpaper Foam Bricks that's both waterproof and has got lots of texture. It fits my monochrome theme in the room and would provide a different look for the walls I have in here. I was thinking to have this as a feature wall so it wouldn't look like I'm just in a plain wall when seen on meetings. Aside from that, this doesn't look cheap and it is very affordable (at 15 to 68 pesos a piece). I've also seen that they're doing a BIG MIDNIGHT SALE on the Shopee 12.12 Big Christmas Sale event, so I might actually be better off just putting this on my cart and check out 12am on that date. If I get a lot of it, I'll save a bunch without having to permanently having it as a fixture on the wall or harming the actual paint in it. It stays with an adhesive which would be apt for the time I'll have it there. I bet this would also soften sound coming from outside when I'm recording inside my room (perfect for unboxing videos!). 

You may purchase it here https://shp.ee/atnrc75 or get the Hexagonal Mirror Acrylic Wall Sticker so you have accents on it. You may get that here https://shp.ee/2s9psf5 and I hope I have given you enough suggestions so you can start doing great things for your room today.

 //shp.ee/atnrc75https://shp.ee/atnrc75

 But again, I think it would be better to just put them in your cart for the meantime and check out on 12.12 around 12am - 2am because there are tons of vouchers you can use for FREE Shipping and discounts too. Go download it today on the App Store and Google Play so you can add them on your cart now and conveniently check out on the day itself. I'm doing that right now!

 

GARY VALENCIANO Set to Perform in "riSing Together" and "Celebrate Christmas In Singapore"

The holidays are certainly here and together with that, Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano is set to perform in two international events this month. One is Gawad Kalinga USA's riSing Together, a virtual celebration of hope through world class music of Filipino artists. He will be there with the maestro Ryan Cayabyab, the Ryan Cayabyab Singers, Kiana Valenciano, AJ Rafael so they could share their voices to inspire, spread happiness through music. The other one called CCIS is an annual Christmas outreach program that aims to bring the message of peace and joy this holiday season. They used to do this 8-10 days in Orchard Road but because of restrictions, they'll be doing it differently without shortchanging in having talents like carol singers, performers spreading the message of joy, peace and love for Jesus. It's much awaited in Singapore. Last year, they have done this in social channels and had featured The Crosby Family, GENTRI among a throng of other international artists.

Gary knows CCIS shares his vision of spreading the message of hope through a global audience, they had 2.5 Million views last year and there's no way to go but up! Gary also is the first Philippine brand ambassador for US based religious app Pray.com which garnered over 1.5 Million downloads in the Philippines. Gary says "I'm very honored and excited to be part of these international events that promote unity, love and compassion, especially when you know its needed. We have so many challenges to face today but with prayer, we can still thank God for it. I pray that he continues to shower us his blessings every day."

Gary also has had miracles in his health when he had undergone a double cardiac bypass, then discovered he had kidney cancer, a knee surgery, while still battling Type 1 diabetes and other challenges. But he continues to gain victory over it, God has worked wonders for him, and for that, he is thankful!

riSing Together will be on December 11 at 4PM PST, 6PM Central and 7PM EST, that's 8AM on December 12 in the Philippines. You may register via gk-usa.org/rising-together. You may also donate via the same site to support Gawad Kaling's different projects. CCIS will have their program streamed on YouTube this coming December 19 at 8PM so make sure you're there when it happens! If you want to know more, follow Gary V's different social channels and their website garyV.com. You can also follow him on the KUMU app where he shares his music and performs too. You can also download the Pray.com app (on Google Play and App Store) and stream his music on various platforms, just search for the track "Make Us Whole Again" and feel why we're so blessed to see him perform to this day.