Boldly, the Philippine Entertainment Portal presents the list of the names and faces we believe are primed for stardom this 2024.
Before all else, however, the caveat: This is not an easy list to make and it is even less easy to rank. It had us going through hoops from start to finish. And, even after we did, we knew we did so at our own risk.
This is a country, after all, where everyone wants to be a star; where fandoms mushrooming around stars have always been passionate, partisan, and predisposed to murder in defense of their idols; and where outsiders feigning disinterest in showbiz almost always have an opinion anyway.
So, treading fearlessly yet carefully, we began with a powwow among ourselves.
Our free-wheeling deliberations were often pleasurable, occasionally contentious, and always resolved by research. We were all admittedly opinionated types who tried to leave our biases at the door. But where we did not succeed, we defended our choices with both impassioned arguments and dispassionate data.
Through seven focused sessions spread over three months, we deliberated. One of the first things we decided on was scope. We agreed to limit our ambitions to naming our best bets for movies and television, deferring our list of the best bets for music, dance, theater, and non-mainstream films for another time.
Next, we parsed our categories and criteria. We came up with: The New Generation A-listers—those who will come after Alden Richards and Gerald Anderson, Kathryn Bernardo and Liza Soberano; Rising Stars—those lined up for lead roles in romcoms and teleseryes; Love Teams: The Pairs We Ship—those who will follow in the footsteps of KathNiel, LizQuen, JaDine, and AlDub; Scene Stealers—those who surprised viewers with performances that now call for them to appear in more; The Reinventions—those who crossed over from one field to the field of acting and made a mark there, such as Herlene Budol who, from TV host and beauty queen, became an actress; and The Next Big Thing—former child stars who have transitioned to young-adult roles.
It is worth noting that PEP.ph has a 17-year history, much of it associated with YES! Magazine, which ran from April 2000 to May 2018. Over those years, both the digital and print platforms launched its bold lists, one of the favorites being The Best Bets for Stardom.
In 2024, going for the same boldness and using the same procedural care, today's staff has come up with its reading of the current entertainment landscape. But knowing that our own reading would not be enough, we sought the input of the biggest groups investing in the creation of stars in the country.
We knocked on the doors of Regal Entertainment, Viva Artists Agency, Sparkle of GMA-7, and Star Magic of ABS-CBN.
Roselle Monteverde of Regal declines to give a number of the stars the company manages, but Veronique del Rosario of Viva says 600, Joy Marcelo of Sparkle says 300 plus, and Laurenti Dyogi of Star Magic says 500. Thus, just among them, they manage over 1,400 stars, some of them already made, some of them waiting in the wings.
From our separate interviews with the four bosses of the four big groups, plus our own team's powwows, we come up with the criteria for PEP's Best Bets for 2024.
One, momentum. These faces and names showed an energetic presence through 2023, appearing on television and in movies as hosts and performers.
Two, backing. They have contracts with major talent-management groups, assuring them of projects, push, and prominence in 2024.
Three, trending. They have influence and reach in such platforms as YouTube, TikTok, X, Facebook, and Instagram.
Four, deserving. They are the PEP Editors' Choice. Being regular observers of showbiz, PEP editors see who are magnets for the spotlight.
