Entertainment, Film and TV, International, The Media

KRIS AQUINO WANTS FIRST, EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH GERPHIL FLORES AFTER “ASIA’S GOT TALENT” WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT

May 11, 2015 Pol Pinoy 6 Comments

SINGAPORE (The Adobo Chronicles) – Philippines’ “Queen of all Media” Kris Aquino wants to have her cake and eat it too.

The presidential sister and talk show host wants to be the first to interview ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ finalist Gerphil Flores — win or lose.

Flores is one of nine finalists who could be the grand winner in the mega-reality show being held in Singapore. Four Filipino acts and five others from Singapore, Japan, Thailand, China and Mongolia are competing for the title ‘Best Talent in Asia.’

“Let bygones be bygones,” Aquino said, referring to the incident in 2010 when she and fellow ‘Pilipinas Got Talent” judge Ai-Ai de las Alas, voted out Flores, then a teenager contestant in the show, because they thought the classical singer should be singing songs that the audience and her peers could relate to, like songs that Charice would sing.

Aquino left for Singapore early Monday morning and is desperately seeking to meet with Flores before Thursday’s announcement of the grand winner of the talent show. She is also reportedly trying to schedule an interview with internationally-acclaimed composer and producer David Foster who is head over heels for the talented Flores. When informed about Aquino’s attempt to schedule an interview with him, Foster said, ‘Kris Aquino who?’

Aquino plans to be in Singapore all this week to tape segments of her show, “Aquino & Abunda Tonight.”

Will she score the exclusive interview with Flores?

Government, LGBT, Same-sex Marriage

IN LUXEMBOURG, GAY MEN RULE!

May 11, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

: L-R: Luxembourg’s Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, and First Gentleman?

LUXEMBOURG CITY, Luxembourg (The Adobo Chronicles) – Luxembourg is a small European country with a population of just 550,000. It is a founding member of the European Union, NATO and the United Nations. The city of Luxembourg, which is the capital and largest city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the EU.

In June of last year, Luxembourg’s Parliament legalized same-sex marriage by a landslide vote of 56-4. The new law went into effect last January.

That is not what’s amazing about the country. Rather, it is the fact that it is now ruled by gay men. Its prime minister, Xavier Bettel, is openly gay and so is its deputy prime minister, Etienne Schneider.

Luxembourg’s gayness will even be more prominent when Bettel marries his same-sex partner, architect Gauthier Destenay, this week. The couple has been civil partners since 2010.

It hasn’t been decided how Destenay will be called.

Could it be First Gentleman? First Man? First Spouse?

Entertainment, Film and TV, International, Music

KRIS AQUINO AND AI-AI DE LAS ALAS: NO REGRETS FOR OUSTING GERPHIL FLORES IN 2010

May 11, 2015 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

Flores singing 'The Impossible Dream' during final performance in 'Asia's Got Talent.' — Flores singing ‘The Impossible Dream’ during final performance in ‘Asia’s Got Talent.’

QUEZON CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Whether or not Filipina classical singer Gerphil Flores wins in this week’s ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ finals, it is obvious that she has already achieved tremendous success and is facing a very bright future in her chosen music genre.

Flores’ accomplisment has brought back to the spotlight the local version of the reality talent competition (‘Pilipinas Got Talent’) where, in 2010, Flores, then a teenager, was ousted from the show’s finals by two of the judges, Kris Aquino and Ai-Ai de las Alas. The talk show host and comedienne both voted out Flores because they said she should be singing songs that the audience can relate to, and that the classical singer would be better off singing songs appreciated by those in the same (young) generation.

Finally, Aquino and de las Alas — in a rare show of unity — issued a joint statement in response to widespread criticism that they had no credentials for judging a talent (singing) competition.

The statement said that, as a matter of fact, they take credit for Flores’ success. “If we had voted for Flores to stay in the PGT competition, she could have won and turned professional which would have disqualified her from joining ‘Asia’s Got Talent,” Aquino and de las Alas said. “Flores should be thanking us,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, upon learning that ‘American Idol,’ and by extension, ‘Philippine Idol’ will be ending in 2016, both Aquino and de las Alas have been aggressively campaigning that they be named judges for the final year of ‘Philippine Idol.’ “It would be great to end our judging careers on a high note,” they said.

GMA television network, the home of ‘Philippine Idol’ has not returned our calls requesting for comment.