Focus on the Philippines: Pakistani singer Harris Dio Smith is favourite on new television show

Plus: Pascual and Trillo tie for Best Actor at Star Awards, heart attacks kill two Filipino directors, and Jolina Magdangal’s latest album turns gold.

Harris Dio Smith. Courtesy Harris Dio Smith

I Love OPM, a recently- launched reality- TV singing competition on which foreign singers perform Philippine songs, narrowed its pool of contestants to 24 last weekend.

Among the lucky few who have advanced to the next stage of the competition are two Indian crooners and Pakistani rocker Harris Dio Smith, who previously lived in Dubai.

For his audition, Smith covered the classic hit track Beep Beep by legendary Filipino rocker Pepe Smith. The 30-year-old moved from Pakistan to the Emirates in 2006.

“I was trying to look for my destiny so I went to Dubai,” he said.

Smith flew to Manila to audition for the programme after being encouraged by Filipino friends in Dubai.

“I play with an all-Filipino band,” said Smith, who learnt to speak Tagalog from his bandmates. “I was blessed to meet these Filipino musicians who adopted me as their family.

“I’m very thankful to my ­Filipino friends – I actually owe my life to them because they really saved my life in times of despair.”

The final 24 also includes Indians Addy Raj and Sonata Stevenson.

Raj moved from New Delhi to Manila to study for a university degree.

He impressed the celebrity judging panel – Toni Gonzaga, Lani Misalucha and Martin Never – with a performance of Filipino heartthrob Daniel Padilla's Hinahanap -hanap Kita (I Yearn for You). He said he learnt to speak Tagalog by playing Padilla's songs.

Stevenson, an Indian who now lives in Philadelphia, in the United States, covered Angeline Quinto's ballad Ikaw Lamang (Only You).

She learnt to sing Tagalog songs with the help of her sister-in-law, who is a Filipino ­migrant in the US.

"Because I love my sister-in-law, I wanted to surprise her, so I studied the theme song of one of the telenovelas that she loves, Ikaw Lamang," Stevenson said.

Farid Gosn, from Dubai, and Talal Kuwailed Al Anazi, from Saudi Arabia, also auditioned for the programme.

However, they failed to get through the competition’s ­initial rounds.

Presented by Anne Curtis and Eric Nicolas, I Love OPM is broadcast worldwide, ­including in the Middle East, on The Filipino Channel.

Pascual and Trillo tie for Best Actor at Star Awards

In a rare occurrence, Piolo Pascual and Dennis Trillo tied for the Best Actor prize at the 32nd Philippine Movie Press Club Star Awards, held in Manila on Sunday.

Pascual won for his work in the film Silong, while Trillo won for the biopic Felix Manalo. The film, about the first minister of Iglesias ni Cristo (Church of Christ), also won the Best Picture trophy.

Bea Alonzo received the Best Actress award for her role in A Second Chance, beating the heavily favoured Nora Aunor, who headlined the internationally acclaimed film Taklub.

In November, Alonzo and screenwriter Vanessa Valdez flew to Dubai to promote the movie, which was screened in theatres across the Middle East.

Heneral Luna, which was the country's entry for the Best ­Foreign Language Film category at the recent Academy Awards, took home three technical awards: for editing, musical score and sound engineering.

German Moreno, the godfather of Philippine showbiz, who died in January, was honoured with a Posthumous Award for Entertainment Excellence.

Heart attacks kill two Filipino directors

Two respected Filipino television and film directors recently died from cardiac arrest.

Wenn Deramas, who ­directed several romantic-comedy blockbusters, died on February 29 at the age of 49.

His most recent film, Beauty and the Bestie, holds the record for the highest-grossing ­Filipino film of all time. On March 6, Francis Xavier Pasion also died of a heart attack. He was 38.

His acclaimed independent films include Sampaguita (2010) and Bwaya (2014). His 2008 film Jay won awards at the Berlin, Venice and Busan ­festivals.

On social media, Deramas’s and Pasion’s colleagues criticised the Philippine entertainment industry’s poor working conditions and demanded shorter working hours.

Jolina Magdangal’s latest album turns gold

Actress and pop singer Jolina Magdangal recently released her first record in seven years. Titled Back to Love, the 11-track album quickly shot to the top of local music charts and achieved gold-selling status. "I missed the feeling, the ­process [of recording an album]," she said. "Everything felt new to me."

Magdangal, 37, found fame as a musician in the 1990s, when her brand of bubblegum pop and sentimental ballads ruled the airwaves.

Her latest ­album, she says, features more of the latter.

“Many of these are sad songs, but sang in an uplifting way,” she says. “I want people to relate to the ­music.”

Magdangal says what excites her most about releasing new songs is performing them live for her fans.

She also announced a forthcoming series of shows around the country. “I love being able to chat with the people who support me,” she said.