Starstruck V – GMA-7’s reality based artista search – is more than halfway through by now with only 8 of the Final 14 left to slug it out for the Top 2 spots. Actually, they should have already been reduced to 7 last Sunday night, but the Starstruck council used their one-time power to stop the elimination after realizing that the bottom two in terms of scores and vote support – Rocco Nacino and Sarah Lahbati – are actually their personal front-runners. Thus, there is a good chance that there will be another double elimination on the evening of January 24. It might even be a triple if Ian Batherson enters the bottom three for the 3rd time and gets automatically removed from the competition.

Anyways, here are the remaining Starstruck V showbiz wannabes:

Rocco Nacino

Nina Kodaka

Ian Batherson

Sarah Lahbati

Enzo Pineda

Rox Montealegre

Steven Silva

Diva Montelaba

If you have been following the show, you will know what I mean when I point out that each of the remaining 8 have gone through roller-coaster performances, week in and week out. True, the top gunners are Rocco Nacino and Sarah Lahbati, but they have reached a plateau the past two weeks and proof of that is their entry to the bottom 2 last week. I hope they sustain their drive to win, or else, Enzo Pineda and Rox Montealegre might just nose them out when the going gets tough. Or even the surprisingly strong Steven Silva (he has never been in the bottom 3 from the start) and charming Nina Kodaka (who, depsite her oft languid stance, keeps up with the competition.)

On a personal note, I got disappointed when Piero Vergara was eliminated two sundays ago. Along with Rocco Nacino, they are the two guys I expected to fight it out for the top male spot. But as luck would have it, Piero scored high on the “out” votes of the show’s fans and supporters.

Below are the two video clips of “Monsters” – the ensemble acting challenge of the Starstruck contenders together with actress Eula Valdez, directed by Maryo J. Delos Reyes and written by (playwright and Starstruck council member) Floy Quintos:

Part 1 of 2

Part 2 of 2

videos courtesy of YouTube/tirso3rd

Starstruck V airs every Saturday (right after Pinoy Records) and Sunday (right after Kap’s Amazing Stories) nights on GMA-7. The 5- minute Starstruck Shout-Out Dailies continue twice everyday (one in the mid-afternoon during the Daytime Soaps and a second one in the evening in the middle of the Primetime Soaps.)