Reaching for a Star:
a (sort of) encore

RICH ASUNCION

Tomorrow, the country's longest-running, original artista search will come to Bohol. Starstruck: The Next Level will kick off its nationwide tour tomorrow night at the Island City Mall with a free admission live show at the mall's carpark. The Danger Eight will be there. That would be the eight remaining finalists from whom the four winners of the competition will be chosen: Kris, Aljur, Jewel, Prince, Mart, Stef, Paolo, and Rich. Rich would be Rich Asuncion and, in a fair world, she could be Bohol's next star. That is in a fair world where people who are eligible to vote do register and elect those who deserve public office. And that is if all Boholanos rally behind her and vote at least once each day for her; once on each internet-connected computer and once on each cellphone.

Rich Asuncion is her screen name. Her real name is Richell Pacaldo Angalot, her nickname is "Achie," and she is a finalist in GMA-7's Starstruck: The Next Level.

The public may take some time to warm up to her and she does admit to not being "attractive at one glance." In fact, she was eliminated four Sundays ago for having the least votes, some 55,000+. (The highest that week got almost 150,000 votes.) This week she's back as one of the "Danger Eight," after a thrilling elimination night last Sunday where she may have half-expected to be eliminated.

Perhaps bothered by the demeaning things that detractors have said about her looks, her being a probinsyana, her accent, and the attacks on her character, her performance this past week has admittedly been below par. But in spite of this she has shown steely determination. She won't be some flash-in-the-pan celebrity who'll disappear and be forgotten next year.

Right now her Tagalog may be a bit stilted and her diction may sometimes slip but these are minor faults that a few elocution lessons can correct. Her English is better than average, though. (She was once complimented on her eloquence by Douglas Quijano.) And everything that she has said on- and offscreen has always been sensible. In fact, throughout Starstruck, she has given Boholanos every reason to be proud, keeping her integrity even when faced with a fax that ostensibly contained their scores.

This is a lady who has proven herself formidable in every challenge of the competition and has never failed to get a compliment from every judge or celebrity coach. She may not have as much spontaneity as the other contestants but she has the elegance and class to compensate, prompting one finalist to say that she should have joined the Binibining Pilipinas instead.

This is a lady who overflows with talent, who sings with more heart and soul than other contestants who may have a higher vocal range, who has a natural grace when she dances (and never loses it), and, according to Laurice Guillen, a vulnerability when she acts. Douglas Nierras has said that she grows more beautiful whenever she performs.

Thus is Rich Asuncion.

And tomorrow night she will be home. Maybe we should show her what a Boholano welcome is all about.