Jessica Sanchez and Phillip Phillips earned the Top 2 spot in the “American Idol” Season 11 finals night next week!

Jessica, the 16-year-old Filipino-Mexican-American singer from San Diego, California will be up against Phillip Phillips, a 21-year-old guitar playing rocker from Leesburg, Georgia.

Next week finale will be an interesting battle as Phillips could become the fifth guitar-playing male contestant in a row to win on ” American Idol” (David Cook, Kris Allen, Lee DeWyze and Scotty McCreery won on Seasons 7, 8, 9 and 10 respectively) while Jessica could become the youngest “American Idol” winner with Asian and Latino roots.

American Idol Season 11 airs on Fox on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8/7c. Ryan Seacrest hosts the show, while Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez were the panel of judges. Interscope Records Chairman Jimmy Iovine, a songwriter and producer, serves as an in-house mentor to work with the contestant on a weekly basis.

Eliminated
Joshua Ledet (May 17, 2012)
Hollie Cavanagh (May 10, 2012)
Skylar Laine (May 3, 2012)
Elise Testone (April 26, 2012)
Colton Dixon (April 19, 2012)
DeAndre Brackensick (April 5, 2012)
Heejun Han (March 29, 2012)
Erika Van Pelt (March 22, 2012)
Shannon Magrane (March 15, 2012)
Jermaine Jones (Disqualified due to ‘criminal records‘-March 15, 2012)
Jeremy Rosado (March 8, 2012)

Looks like everyone is indeed excited next week. Even Mexican superstar Thalia praised Jessica Sanchez’s performance through Twitter! Last week, her husband Tommy Mottola too emailed his good friend Jimmy Iovine and said that he’d be in attendance at Jessica’s first concert. Wow, that’s big! Tommy Mottola is big in music world as he was the man behind the careers of music divas such as Diana Ross, Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.

Cheers,

Photo credit: American Idol and Thalia’s Twitter Account

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are officially engaged!

“Yes, it’s confirmed. It is a promise for the future and their kids are very happy. There’s no date set at this time,” Pitt’s spokeswoman Cynthia Pett-Dante told the press.

“There’s no date set at this time,” the statement added.

Pitt and Jolie have been a couple since 2005 and have six children together – Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Knox and Vivienne.

Reports say that all six kids were in attendance when 48 year old Pitt presents the 16-carat ring he co-designed with jeweler Robert Procop to 36 year old Jolie.

In connection with the good news, Brad and Angie together with their kids also went to Galapagos Island on April 23 to celebrate their engagement.

Congratulations to the newly engaged couple!!!

Cheers,

Photo credits: Google Images

Actor George Clooney, his father Nick and other activists were arrested during a protest outside the Sudan Embassy in Washington D.C. on March 16, 2012, Friday morning.

Reports say that Clooney was leading a protest in front of the Sudan Embassy when he was arrested by the uniformed division of the U.S. Secret Service for a misdemeanor offense.

But fans don’t get to worry as Clooney didn’t stay long from jail when he bailed out for $100 after 2 p.m.

Cheers,

Photo credit: Famous People Search

Below is the list of Top 10 Yahoo! searches for 2011 that captivated the thoughts and enthusiasm of the internet community:

TOP 10 SEARCHES
1. iPhone
2. Casey Anthony
3. Kim Kardashian
4. Katy Perry
5. Jennifer Lopez
6. Lindsay Lohan
7. “American Idol”
8. Jennifer Aniston
9. Japan Earthquake
10. Osama bin Laden

TOP NEWS STORIES
1. Casey Anthony Trial
2. Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
3. Royal Wedding
4. Death of Osama bin Laden
5. Unemployment
6. Arizona Shooting
7. Death of Amy Winehouse
8. Arab Spring
9. Libya/Death of Moammar Gadhafi
10. Occupy Wall Street

HEROIC ACTS
1. Gabrielle Giffords
2. Navy SEAL Team Six
3. U.S. and Japan’s Women’s Soccer
4. Red Cross Volunteers
5. Lara Logan
6. Dakota Meyer
7. Fukushima 50
8. Mohamed Bouazizi
9. Texas Volunteer Firefighters
10. John Feal (9/11)

EXTREME WEATHER
1. New Year Blizzards
2. Drought and Wildfires in Oklahoma
3. Spring Tornado Outbreak
4. Joplin Tornado Disaster
5. Missouri and Mississippi River Floods
6. Summer Heat Wave
7. Hurricane Irene
8. Wallow and Bastrop Fires
9. October Nor’easter
10. Late Fall Storms

END OF AN ERA
1. Space Shuttle Program
2. Oprah Winfrey
3. Borders
4. Harry Potter
5. Friendster
6. Steve Jobs
7. News of the World
8. “Kate Plus 8?
9. Elizabeth Warren
10. Iraq Withdrawal

CAUGHT?
1. Anthony Weiner
2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
3. John Edwards
4. Herman Cain
5. Silvio Berlusconi
6. Kwame Kilpatrick
7. Dominique Strauss-Kahn
8. David Wu
9. John Ensign
10. Chris Lee

OBSESSIONS
1. Charlie Sheen
2. The Rapture
3. “Friday” (Rebecca Black)
4. Mortgage Rates
5. Extreme Couponing
6. Angry Birds
7. Planking
8. “Game of Thrones”
9. Government Shutdown
10. Tiger Mom

Visit Yahoo! for the comprehensive details of the review and other top searches. You can also go to Yahoo! 2011 Year in Review.

Cheers,

Photo credit: Yahoo!

Mega offer!

Actress Sharon Cuneta has finally ended all the rumors that she will be leaving ABS-CBN, her home network for 23 years, when she signed an exclusive 5 year contract with TV5 earlier this evening, November 22 with TV5 President and CEO Ray C. Espinosa, TV5 COO and EVP Roberto Barreiro and Viva Entertainment Big Boss Vic del Rosario.

According to reports, the ‘Mega Star’ is scheduled to start working at the Kapatid Network on January 2012 for a daily show, a reality show and even movies with Studio 5 in partnership with Viva Films, including a much-awaited screen reunion with Gabby Concepcion.

Rumor has it that Sharon sealed the deal for a billion pesos from TV5. Wow, that’s freaking LOTS OF MONEY and not to mention, the biggest offer ever made by a local television to a showbiz personality!

I couldn’t blame the Mega Star if she decided to switch network. Come on guys – 1 BILLION IS 1 BILLION!  I bet you wouldn’t bat an eyelash if you were offered by a company for that  big amount of money!

Now, my 1 billion dollar questions is: Who’s the next ABS CBN star that will transfer after Sharon Cuneta?

Let us wait and see then…

Cheers,

Photo credit: Google Image

Listed below are the man-made New7Wonders of Nature in alphabetical order:

• Amazon Rainforest (located in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, France (French Guiana), Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela)
• Halong Bay (located in Vietnam)
• Iguazu/Iguaçu Falls (National Park) (located in Argentina and Brazil)
• Jeju Island (located in South Korea)
• Komodo Island (National Park) (located in Indonesia)
• Puerto Princesa Underground River (located in the Philippines)
• Table Mountain (National Park) (located in South Africa)

The New7Wonders of Nature was an initiative started in 2007 to create a list of seven natural wonders chosen by people through a global poll. It was led by Canadian-Swiss Bernard Weber and organized by the New7Wonders Foundation, a Swiss-based, government-controlled foundation. The initiative followed the New7Wonders of the World, which attracted 100 million votes from around the world. Voting continued until Nov. 11, 2011, when the list was announced.

Cheers,

Photo credit: Google Image

Philippines’ Queen of All Media and Presidential sister Kris Aquino is the newest United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees (UNCHR) Honorary Patron. The news was confirmed by the talk show host through her official Twitter account. She said:

Just finished UNHCR dinner. I accepted their appointment. I’m in excellent company. Angelina Jolie is the UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador. I’m honorary patron together w/ Luol Deng of the Chicago Bulls, Khaled Hosseini author of A Thousand Splendid Suns & Kite Runner & Yao Chen from China, super pretty actress & their twitter queen w/ 13 million followers.

According to reports, being an honorary patron is the first step to become an Ambassador of Goodwill just like Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie.

Oh well – congrats Krissy for being the newest UNCHR honorary patron. I am so impressed.

I am now excited to see you in action when you visit refugee camps around Asia (sans the glam of course) just like Angelina Jolie!

Cheers,

Photo credit: Zimbio/Universal Records

Life imitates art.

Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr has been sentenced to 90 lashes and a year in jail for her role in “My Tehran for Sale” – a film about a young actress in Tehran whose theater work is banned by the authorities.

The controversial movie received harsh criticism in the conservative circles and had not been approved for screening in Iran and was being distributed in the country illegally.

Vafamehr was arrested in July after appearing in ‘My Tehran for Sale,’ which came under harsh criticism in conservative circles as the film was accused of painting a black picture of Iran and Iranians.

Photo credit: Here

The 27th PMPC Star Awards for Movies held Tuesday night, June 21, 2011, at the Newport Performing Arts Theater in Resorts World Manila. Unlike the other movie award-giving bodies, the PMPC Star Awards honored separate categories for mainstream and indie films in the Star Awards for Movies.

Listed below are the winners:

Movie of the Year:
Ang Tanging Ina Mo, Last Na ‘To (Star Cinema)

Digital Movie of the Year:
Sigwa (Beginnings Twenty Plus Production/Sineng Totoo Production/Star Express)

Movie Actress of the Year:
Ai-Ai delas Alas (Ang Tanging Ina Mo, Last Na ‘To)

Movie Actor of the Year:
Coco Martin (Noy)

Movie Director of the Year:
Wenn Deramas (Ang Tanging Ina Mo, Last Na ‘To)

Digital Movie Director of the Year:
Joel Lamangan (Sigwa)

Movie Supporting Actress of the Year:
Eugene Domingo (Ang Tanging Ina Mo, Last Na ‘To)

Movie Supporting Actor of the Year:
Tirso Cruz III (Sigwa)

Movie Child Performer of the Year:
Timothy Chan (Here Comes The Bride) – tied with –
Xyriel Manabat (Ang Tanging Ina Mo, Last Na ‘To)

New Movie Actress of the Year:
Carla Abellana (Shake, Rattle & Roll 12 “Punerarya”)

New Movie Actor of the Year:
Martin del Rosario (Dagim)

Movie Original Screenplay of the Year:
Jerry Gracio (Emir)

Digital Movie Screenplay of the Year:
Jerrold Tarog (Senior Year)

Movie Editor of the Year:
Marya Ignacio (Ang Tanging Ina Mo, Last Na ‘To)

Digital Movie Editor of the Year:
Bebs Gothia (Sigwa)

Movie Production Designer of the Year:
Joey Luna and Miki Hahn (Rosario)

Digital Movie Production Designer of the Year:
Edgar Martin Littaua (Sigwa)

Digital Movie Cinematographer of the Year:
Monino S. Duque (Sigwa)

Movie Musical Scorer of the Year:
Josefino Chino Toledo (Emir)

Digital Movie Musical Scorer of the Year:
Jerrold Tarog (Senior Year)

Movie Sound Engineer of the Year:
Jerrold Tarog (Shake, Rattle & Roll 12 “Punerarya”)

Digital Movie Sound Engineer of the Year:
Alfredo “Dodoy” Ongleo (Sigwa)

Movie Original Theme Song of the Year:
“Bakit Ako Naririto?” (Emir)
Composed by Gary Granada, Interpreted by Frencheska Farr

Digital Movie Original Theme Song of the Year:
“Napapagod Din Ang Puso” (Tarima)
Composed by Sherwyn Castillo, Interpreted by MJ Ringo

Ulirang Artista (Lifetime Achievement Award):
Christopher de Leon

Ulirang Alagad ng Pelikula sa Likod ng Kamera (Lifetime Achievement Award):
Mother Lily Monteverde

Male Star of the Night:
Richard Gomez

Female Star of the Night:
Toni Gonzaga

Male Face of the Night:
Xian Lim

The 27th PMPC Star Awards for Movies will be aired this coming Sunday, June 26, on ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best.

Congratulations!

Cheers,

Photo credit: Google Image

Happy 113th Independence Day to all my countrymen and to all the Filipinos living all over the world.

Our liberty will not be secured at the sword’s point… We must secure it by making ourselves worthy of it. And when the people reaches that height, God will provide a weapon, the idols will be shattered, tyranny will crumble like a house of cards, and liberty will shine out like the first dawn. ~ Dr. Jose Rizal

Cheers,

Photo credit: Here