Pinoy Idol

Pinoy Idol officially started yesterday, April 5, 2008. And based on the overwhelming support from advertisers, this early the show has got a lot of promise.

I rushed home yesterday from a band rehearsal to be able to catch up on the premiere telecast of Pinoy Idol. I watched every bit of it--didn't even put my finger on the remote to switch channels. I wasn't disappointed.



The production was actually quite good. Raymond Gutierrez worked as a good host. I felt he delivered his lines very well, and he was also great at being a shoulder to cry on for some of the Idol contestants who didn't make the cut. I can say GMA 7 actually studied the Idol rulebook quite well, even as to create local versions of Paula Abdul (in Jolina Magdangal), Randy Jackson (in Ogie Alcasid) and the ruthless Simon Cowell (who has probably met his match in Wyngard Tracy). Of course, there are still areas of improvement. One thing Raymond needs to work on is his body. He has to trim down and shed off some pounds.

I didn't like the idea that GMA 7 was not able to use the correct font and style for the text. For the local version of the Idol franchise, they could have at least used Copperplate Gothic Light for the text.

Still, the power and appeal of Idol is in its ability to make a nobody into a superstar. With 21 weeks of competition, that definitely wouldn't be impossible to accomplish.