Many artists became the talk of the year on 2018. Most of these celebrities made some noise after they won numerous awards and recognition, some became viral and broke the internet, while others made successful comebacks.
Regardless of the reason, they are all winners as they managed to get everyone’s attention. Let’s look back at the local showbiz scene’s biggest winners of 2018.
READ: The Biggest Losers of 2018: 12 Pinoy Celebrities Who Fell Short in Hitting their Marks
18. Iyah Mina and Juliana Parizcova Segovia
Iyah Mina
Transgender comedienne Iyah Mina surprised everyone after she was hailed as “Best Actress” at the 2018 Cinema One Original Awards. She became the first transgender woman to win Best Actress in Philippine Cinema for her breakout performance in the LGBT comedy drama “Mamu; and a Mother Too” which follows the story of a middle-aged transgender who finds herself becoming surrogate mother to her growing transgender niece.
Juliana Parizcova Segovia
After being the 1st Miss Q & A Hall Of Famer, Juliana Parizcova Segovia was crowned as the very first winner of It’s Showtime’s hit segment ‘Miss Q&A’ As predicted by numerous fans of the segment, Juliana Parizcova Segovia was crowned Miss Q & A Grand Winner at the Resorts World Manila in Pasay City back on June 30, 2018.
17. Kyline Alcantara
One of 2018’s breakout stars, former Kapamilya turned Kapuso Kyline Alcantara won the hearts of everyone after her performance in the GMA drama ‘Kambal, Karibal‘, making her known as “La Nueva Kontrabida” and garnering her multiple recognition including Best Drama Supporting Actress from the 32nd PMPC Star Awards for Television, Most Promising Female Star For TV from the 2018 Alta Media Icon Awards, and Favorite Kontrabida from the RAWR Awards 2018.
It is no doubt that she became the most searched Filipina celebrity in the Philippines on 2018, according to Google Trends.
16. Richard Gutierrez
One of the most bankable stars of the rival Kapuso network, Richard Gutierrez transferred to ABS-CBN back in 2017. Last year, he signed an exclusive two-year contract with the network.
And last December, he starred in the much-awaited fantasy comedy “Fantastica” together with Vice Ganda and Dingdong Dantes. He was announced to star in an upcoming teleserye with Bea Alonzo, tentatively titled ‘Iron Heart‘ under Star Creatives.
15. JM de Guzman
JM de Guzman makes a comeback on 2018 through the afternoon drama ‘Precious Hearts Romances Presents: Araw Gabi‘ where he was paired with Barbie Imperial.
Their love team, known as Juanbie, proved to be popular among fans. He also had his big screen comeback last year through the indie romance film “Kung Paano Siya Nawala” under TBA Studios.
14. Yam Concepcion and Sam Milby
Yam Concepcion & Sam Milby broke the internet due to the popularity of their ABS-CBN drama ‘Halik‘. Yam Concepcion plays Jade Flores-Bartolome, the ambitious ex-wife of Jericho Rosales‘ character in the said Primetime show, who ended up betraying her husband and having an affair with Sam Milby’s Ace Corpuz who is married to Yen Santos‘ character.
Their salacious and scandalous story in the series became viral on social media and were later turned into hit memes, causing ‘Halik‘ to become one of the most-talked about television shows in 2018.
13. Tony Labrusca and Angel Aquino
Tony Labrusca & Angel Aquino, also known as TonGel, broke the internet after the trailer for their iWant original erotic romance flick “Glorious” became viral on social media, earning millions of views in a matter of hours.
Not even a Vice Ganda nor Kathniel movie got this so much buzz, making the two actors a household name overnight. Netizens will never forget Tony Labrusca‘s talented tongue since then.
12. CarGel
2018 marked the much-awaited reunion of former sweethearts Carlo Aquino and Angelica Panganiban, also known as CarGel.
Their reunion movie, “Exes Baggage” under the direction of Dan Villegas, is one of 2018’s highest grossing films after earning 355 million pesos worldwide, proving their team-up’s undying popularity.
11. Moira Dela Torre
Singer-songwriter Moira Dela Torre became one of the biggest artists in the local music scene after winning the Wishclusive Contemporary Folk Performance of the Year, Wishclusive Viral Videos of the Year, and Wishclusive Elite Circle—Bronze Award in the 3rd Wish 107.5 FM Music Awards. Her singles ‘You Are My Sunshine‘, ‘Tagpuan‘ and ‘Kahit Maputi Na Ang Buhok Ko‘ also became hits after being picked to be the theme song for box-office hits “Meet Me In St. Gallen“, “Kasal” and “The Hows Of Us” respectively.
10. MayWard
Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber is one of the most-awarded love team of 2018- they won the Advertisers Most Admired Love team of the COMGUILD Academe’s Choice Awards , and the Love Team of the Year from the LionhearTV RAWR Awards 2018.
They also starred in the horror fantasy drama ‘La Luna Sangre‘.
9. Eddie Garcia
Veteran actor Eddie Garcia had a great 2018 after starring in multiple films and receiving recognition for his work. He won two Best Actor awards last year: one for his QCinema film entry “Hintayan Ng Langit” and the other, for his Cinemalaya horror thriller “ML“. He also received the Special Jury Prize for his MMFF 2018 entry “Rainbow’s Sunset“.
READ: Urban + Rural Homes: ABS-CBN reigns nationwide television ratings for 2018
8. Jessica Soho and Jeff Canoy
Jessica Soho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6yN1wg2OIM
Jessica Soho won the RAWR Awards 2018 Favorite Female News Personality last November 14, 2018. She was also honored as the Philippines’ Best News or Current Affairs Presenter at the first Asian Academy Creative Awards last year, with her top-rating magazine program “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” receiving recognition as the country’s Best Infotainment Programme.
Jeff Canoy
After being with the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs Team for nearly a decade, Jeff Canoy became one of the most recognized journalist last year after the multiple honors he received.
He won first prize in the English Essay category of the prestigious Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature 2018, was named the 2018 Marshall McLuhan fellow by the Embassy of Canada and the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, received an honorable mention award from the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) for Excellence in Explanatory Reporting, bagged a Gold World Medal at the New York Festivals for his Marawi documentary with fellow journalist Chiara Zambrano, won the 2018 Golden Dove Award for Best TV Public Service Program for his show ‘Red Alert‘, and took home the Male News Personality of the Year from the RAWR Awards 2018.
7. TNT Boys
Filipino boy band TNT Boys composed of Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids Keifer Sanchez, Mackie Empuerto, and Francis Concepcion won the second season television contest program ‘Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids‘ and became the first Filipino act to perform in the four franchise of the talent show Little Big Shots in the countries of Philippines, USA, UK and Australia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4tuZGohOJY
They also broke a record and became the country’s youngest sold out performers after their first major concert back in on November 30, 2018, entitled Listen : The Big Shot Concert held at the Araneta Coliseum.
6. Sarah Geronimo and KZ Tandingan
Sarah Geronimo
In 2018, Popstar princess Sarah G. was included at Spotify’s “Amplify: Women of the World” global playlist featuring her song ‘Tayo’in celebration of the Women’s Month, making her the only OPM artist in the playlist alongside Rihanna, Dua Lipa, and CL among others.
She also had her sold-out 15th anniversary concert called “This Is Me” stylized as “This 15 Me” at the Araneta Coliseum. She also starred in the remake of the 2014 South Korean film “Miss Granny“, with the role earning her a nomination for “Best Actress” at the RAWR Awards 2018 and Inside Showbiz Awards.
The film was also a critical and commercial success, earning 135 million pesos at the box-office. In addition to that, Sarah G. received multiple awards last year, including the Golden Panther Awards 2018 Best Philippine Artist, Big Apple Music Awards Most Popular BAMA Artist and two more awards at the 2018 MYX Music Awards.
KZ Tandingan
KZ Tandingan rose to international fame after joining ‘Singer 2018‘, a popular singing competition aired on HBS, China’s second biggest television network. In 2018, KZ, Kyla, Yeng Constantino, and Angeline Quinto (collectively known as the DIVAS) had their second major concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on December 15, 2018 with Boyz II Men titled Boyz II Men with DIVAS.
5. Regine Velasquez
Regine Velasquez-Alcasid‘s transfer from GMA Network to ABS-CBN became the most talked about network transfer of the year.
Regine made the switch and signed a contract with ABS-CBN after being a Kapuso for 20 solid years. Despite some initial controversies, the decision to switch networks proved to be more beneficial for her as she was signed to serve as a judge on ABS-CBN’s revival of the Idol franchise series, ‘Idol Philippines‘, in addition to being a regular host/performer in ‘ASAP Natin ‘To‘ and an upcoming weekly musical sitcom with her husband Ogie Alcasid.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7jnvU3Rxqw
4. Vice Ganda
“Its Showtime” host and comedian Vice Ganda became the Most Followed Filipino account according to Twitter Philippines on 2018 with 11.5 million followers.
The Unkabogable comedian’s winning streak in the MMFF also continued last year as their fantasy comedy film “Fantastica” became the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival’s highest grossing entry.
3. KathNiel
Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla‘s horror fantasy drama ‘La Luna Sangre‘ became one of the top rated shows in local television last year with their final episode on March 2, 2018 garnering 40.2% rating according to Kantar Media.
On top of that, their film, “The Hows Of Us“, is currently the record-holder of the highest grossing Filipino film of all time, earning more than 800 million pesos worldwide – a first in Philippine history.
2. Kris Aquino
The Queen of All Media may have been the center of many controversies last year, but she remains to be one of 2018’s biggest winners after being part of the critically acclaimed and financially successful romcom “Crazy Rich Asians“- a breakthrough in Hollywood cinema as it featured an all Asian cast.
She also launched Life Kit, a handful of affordable beauty products thru Ever Bilena in addition to her many endorsements.
1. Catriona Gray
Before the year ended, Catriona Gray brought another achievement for the country to be proud of after being crowned as Miss Universe 2018 on December 17, 2018 held at IMPACT Arena, Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi Province, Thailand.
Catriona quenched the country’s thirst for the crown and gave Filipino fans some silver lining after becoming the fourth Filipina to be crowned Miss Universe after Gloria Diaz in 1969, Margarita Moran in 1973 and Pia Wurtzbach in 2015.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5UF2pvilMw
Talk about plot twist before the year ended, right?
