GMA NETWORK
HOSTS: Various Kapuso artists including Alden Richards, Julie Anne San Jose, Mark Bautista, Christian Bautista, Paolo Contis, Ruru Madrid, Kyline Alcantara, and Gabbi Garcia
FORMAT: Musical variety
PREMISE: Kapuso performers combine music and comedy in a variety show that also offers games that viewers can win from
TIME SLOT: Noontime, Sundays
WHY YOU SHOULD SEE IT
All-out sing and dance performances, comedy sketches, and now fun games, are rolled into one in GMA Network’s flagship variety program.
Kapuso artists are back on GMA Network’s All Out Sundays studio to perform for loyal viewers, after several months of working from home. Show regulars, Mark Bautista, Gabbi Garcia, Ruru Madrid, and Kyline Alcantara expressed their excitement to come back to the stage, albeit under the implementation of strict safety and physical distancing measures. “Parang may kulang pag hindi ako nagpeperform” said Alcantara in a Chika Minute report.
On its return, last Sunday, the show heated up the stage once again as it showcased new segments along with the crowd favorites. Four the Win, adopted the new normal in duets where a studio singer performs a song with another artist who either performs from home or has his performance prerecorded.
Golden Cañedo smashed the Hello, Love, Goodbye soundtrack, ‘Ikaw at Ako’, with Asia’s Romantic Balladeer, Christian Bautista, while diamond artist, Julie Anne San Jose, sizzled with Jhong Madaliday in Rico J Puno classic, ‘Magkasuyo Buong Gabi’. The Clash Season 2 grand champion, Jeremiah Tiangco, delivered a heartfelt rendition of love anthem, The Juan’s Hindi Tayo Puwede. He had segment regular, Thea Astley, to make that performance work, and they did. Aicelle Santos, on the other hand, shared ‘Ikaw Lamang’ with Garett Bolden. Aicelle shined remarkably in that duet, but Bolden’s struggle to complement her in harmony was very evident. That, as a result, made the duet sound more troubling than fun, but props should still go to Aicelle.
Gabbi Garcia and Paolo Contis, hosted the new segment, Pasa Mode, a game that engages home viewers who have a chance to take home exciting prizes. In the game, show regulars and guests, are invited to play and pass ‘parlor game’ challenges. Two pairs are to play with a home partner that will help them win the game. For its debut, the show tapped pairs, Kyline Alcantara and Rayver Cruz, and Bianca Umali and Ruru Madrid, with their respective home partners, Ysabel Ortega, and Ashley Ortega, to play the game. Frankly though, while this is new and refreshing to see in the show, it could have been replaced with another talent-showcasing segment. It’s undoubtedly just an airtime-wasting segment that should be immediately scrapped.
There were few surprises, however, most notably, the surprise appearance of the popular singing trio and former ABS-CBN artists, BuDaKhel (Bugoy Drilon, Daryl Ong, Michael Pangilinan), who were all-out in their soulful Boyz II Men medley. This marked the group’s first live guesting on a musical variety show after leaving ABS-CBN whose franchise application was denied by Congress last July.
Alden Richards, Rayver Cruz, and Julie Anne San Jose are back to hosting spiels, but strictly-observed social distancing protocols are keeping them from giving the same energy they used to deliver in the presence of a live audience. This isn’t a problem unique to AOS, to be fair, as the entire industry still grapples with the challenges presented by the new normal in live production.
With the absence of a live studio audience, the set inevitably looks bigger now. Impressive lighting is keeping the set more alive, albeit the struggle in choosing more tasteful shots that can keep unwanted items from suddenly appearing in the scene, and large vacant spaces that are more noticeable than the performance happening on stage.
ALL OUT SUNDAYS airs over GMA Network every Sunday noontime.
