StarStruck (Philippine TV series)


StarStruck is a Philippine television reality talent competition show broadcast by GMA Network. Originally hosted by Dingdong Dantes and Nancy Castiglione, it premiered on October 27, 2003 on the network's Telebabad line up. Dingdong Dantes and Jennylyn Mercado currently serve as the hosts for the show's seventh season.

Format

Across the Philippines, casting tours are held in different regions, wherein hopeful contestants are screened by preliminary panels to be selected for star quality, acting talent, or humorous potential and human interest. The audition process is long, beginning with thousands of hopefuls showcasing their talents and being interviewed by the panelists.
The competition heats up when 14 hopefuls are left as the contestants for a respective season. During the finals, the finalists were eliminated one by one until three pairs remain. After two weeks, one pair will be eliminated. The remaining four advances to the Final Judgment where the winners are proclaimed.
The format gains some tweaks depending on the show's production. The fourth season is noted to have six finalists instead of the usual "final four" in determining the ultimate winners; on the other hand, the fifth season chose five finalists.
The Final Judgment will award the finalists' respective titles. There are two Ultimate Survivors— male and female–as the season concludes. Winners are determined by averaging the amassez text and online votes, plus the decision of the StarStruck Council which comprises three members. With the exception of the fourth season, the Ultimate Male Survivor and Ultimate Female Survivor titles were given once again.

Overview

After the first season of StarStruck aired in 2003, the succeeding seasons had many twist and changes, including different elimination formats and even the number of winners, and to determine the Ultimate Male Survivor and Ultimate Female Survivor titles.
In the second season, which aired in 2004, the host announced the names of safe finalists one by one, until the eliminated finalist remained on stage to take the final bow. This was a deviation from the first season where the host would call the bottom group.
Also in the second season, two changes were introduced: Pre-recognition Awardee, where the top-ranking finalist got a cash prize; and Wild Card, where an eliminated finalist was able to return to the show and compete against the remaining finalist.
The third season aired in 2005, and was dubbed "The Nationwide Invasion" as StarStruck brought the search all over the Philippines.
It also introduced a winning title called the "Ultimate Sole Survivor". The season still hailed an Ultimate Male Survivor and Ultimate Female Survivor. Of the two, the one who scored higher won the Ultimate Sole Survivor title and got an additional cash prize. The two runner-ups were called First Prince and First Princess.
In 2006, StarStrucks fourth season was dubbed "The Next Level" and had four winners for the new titles Ultimate Love Team, Ultimate Hunk and Ultimate Sweetheart titles and got an additional cash prize. Additionally, two changes were introduced: The Final 20 gave finalists an exciting twist instead of the Final 14; and Wild Card, where an eliminated the two finalists were able to return to the show and completed the Danger 8 survivors.
The fifth season of StarStruck aired in 2009, and was dubbed StarStruck V. It introduced a twist called The Factor Five, where special powers were given to the council and the viewer’s so they could save or vote out a particular finalists, and instead of the two first runner-ups, they are three, and the second runner-up called a Second Prince.
The sixth season, which aired in 2015, had two sets of Final 14: the Dream 14 and the Believe 14. From there, the show determined who among the hopefuls would be part of the new Ultimate Final 14.
The current season follows a different format from past editions. In this season, two twists were introduced. In The Second Chance Challenge, after the two hopefuls of the original The Final 14 were eliminated, from the Final Auditions of the Top 22 finalists, one male and one female were able to return to the show and complete the new set of The Ultimate Final 14. In The Last Chance Challenge, the two hopefuls who got the lowest combined scores, compete against next week’s bottom two performers for a spot in the Final 8. From this, the council will then choose two hopefuls to save to advance in the completion.
Similar to singing competitions, the finalists are in a studio. They face the judges and get instant feedback after their performances are shown to the public.
Unlike previous seasons that featured a test of artistic skill such as dancing, singing, acting, hosting, and personality development, this season focuses on the survivors' acting skills.
The survivors got through the acting test in different genres and formats: by group, by pair or individually. Each of the survivors faces the council, who are tasked to give instant feedback and scores based on the finalists' performances.
The StarStruck council of this season also has a different role from the predecessors as their voices can now be heard more frequently throughout the show.
In previous seasons, the council only gave their comments before each elimination round, and their scores remained under wraps. This season is also more transparent in terms of each finalist’s performance rating, since ranking and total scores are announced at the end of each episode. Even then, the percentage of each finalist’s score remains the same 50% from the council and 50% from the public votes.
The audience are given more options to vote for their favorite StarStruck finalist, but aside from text votes, they can also vote via Google or StarStrucks official website.
Inside StarStruck aired from Monday to Friday on the show's YouTube channel.

Hosts

;Segment hosts

Grand finalists

Season 1

The first season of StarStruck premiered on October 27, 2003. The council was formed with Joey de Leon, Joyce Bernal, and Ida Henares representing it. The show was co-hosted by Dingdong Dantes and Nancy Castiglione.
The first ever Ultimate Survivors were Jennylyn Mercado of Las Piñas as the Ultimate Female Survivor, and Mark Herras of Laguna as the Ultimate Male Survivor.

Spin-off junior season

The junior season of StarStruck premiered on March 20, 2004. The council was formed with Christopher de Leon, Janice de Belen, and Aiza Seguerra representing it. The show was hosted by Jolina Magdangal.
The segment hosts are the StarStruck Graduates Mark Herras, Jennylyn Mercado, Rainier Castillo, Yasmien Kurdi, Nadine Samonte, Dion Ignacio, Christian Esteban, Katrina Halili, Tyron Perez†, Sheena Halili, Jade Lopez, Anton dela Paz, Cristine Reyes and Alvin Aragon. They serve the junior hopefuls as they go through every phase of the competition.
The junior Ultimate Survivors were Sam Bumatay of Manila as the Ultimate Female Survivor and Kurt Perez of Nueva Ecija as the Ultimate Male Survivor.

Season 2

The second season premiered on October 11, 2004. The council was formed with Joey de Leon, Christopher de Leon, and Louie Ignacio representing it. There were slight changes made in the Council; Joyce Bernal was replaced by Louie Ignacio. The show was co-hosted by Dingdong Dantes with the StarStruck Kids host, Jolina Magdangal.
The Ultimate Survivors were Ryza Cenon of Nueva Ecija as the Ultimate Female Survivor and Mike Tan of Rizal as the Ultimate Male Survivor.

Season 3

The third season premiered on December 5, 2005. The council was formed with Joey de Leon, Louie Ignacio and Lorna Tolentino representing it. The show was co-hosted by Dingdong Dantes, Jolina Magdangal, and Raymond Gutierrez.
The Ultimate Survivors were Jackie Rice of Olongapo City as the Ultimate Female Survivor and Marky Cielo of Mountain Province as the Ultimate Male Survivor, and the first ever Ultimate Sole Survivor, by Marky Cielo.

Season 4

The fourth season premiered on December 4, 2006. The council was formed with Louie Ignacio, Lorna Tolentino, and Douglas Quijano representing it. The show was co-hosted by Dingdong Dantes, Jolina Magdangal and Raymond Gutierrez.
The newest titles of Ultimate Survivors were won by Mart Escudero of Cavite and Kris Bernal of Quezon City as the Ultimate Loveteam, Aljur Abrenica of Pampanga as the Ultimate Hunk, and Jewel Mische of Bulacan as the Ultimate Sweetheart.

Season 5

The fifth season premiered on November 15, 2009. The council was formed with Lolit Solis, Floy Quintos, and Iza Calzado act as the members of the Sunshine Dizon was first reported to be part of the council in the place of Iza Calzado but had to turn down the offer due to health problems. The show was hosted by Raymond Gutierrez, Carla Abellana and Dennis Trillo. Carla Abellana replaced Jolina Magdangal for this season, while Dennis Trillo replaced Dingdong Dantes, as the latter replaced Richard Gomez, who was to run as representative of the 4th district of the Province of Leyte as host of the game show Family Feud.
Major changes happened on the show. The regular daily show became a daily update show that focused on the lives of the contestants and their activities and tests on the show. The segment hosts were StarStruck graduates Mark Herras, LJ Reyes, Arci Muñoz and Paulo Avelino. They serve as StarStruck Shoutout, who are tasked to join the hopefuls as they go through every phase of the competition. The V Mentors are from Gina Alajar, Douglas Nierras, Jai Sabas-Aracama, Barbi Chan and Abbygale Arrenas de Leon. The show featured many fives: The Factor V, The V Mentors, The V hosts, The Final V, and a 5 million dollars’ worth of prizes for the Ultimate Survivors.
The Ultimate Survivors were Sarah Lahbati of Switzerlands as the Ultimate Female Survivor and Steven Silva of Davao as the Ultimate Male Survivor.

Season 6

The sixth season premiered on September 7, 2015. The council was formed with Joey de Leon, Regine Velasquez, and Jennylyn Mercado. While serving as a host, Dingdong Dantes also sat on the council for this season.
The show was hosted by Dingdong Dantes. In March 2015, Megan Young served as co-host. The segment hosts were StarStruck graduates Mark Herras, Miguel Tanfelix, Kris Bernal and Rocco Nacino. They served as StarStruck Journey Hosts, who were tasked to join the hopefuls as they go through every phase of the competition.
The Ultimate Survivors were Klea Pineda of Caloocan City as the Ultimate Female Survivor and Migo Adecer of Mandaluyong City as the Ultimate Male Survivor.

Season 7

The seventh season premiered on June 15, 2019. The council was formed with Heart Evangelista, Cherie Gil, ans Jose Manalo. The seventh season was directed by Monti Parungao and Rommel Gacho representing it. Dingdong Dantes reprised his role as the host. In May 2019, Jennylyn Mercado served as co-host, and Kyline Alcantara served as host of Inside StarStruck, which airs from Monday to Friday on StarStrucks YouTube channel.
The latest Ultimate Survivors were Kim de Leon of Batangas as the Ultimate Male Survivor and Shayne Sava of Rizal as the Ultimate Female Survivor.

Accolades

YearAwardCategoryRecipientResultRef.
200418th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search ProgramStarStruck-
200418th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search Program HostDingdong DantesNancy Castiglione-
200418th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search ProgramStarStruck Kids-
200418th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search Program HostJolina Magdangal-
200620th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search ProgramStarStruck: The Nationwide Invasion-
200620th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search Program HostDingdong DantesJolina MagdangalRaymond Gutierrez-
2007Asian Television AwardsBest Talent Search ProgramStarStruck: The Nationwide Invasion-
200721st PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search ProgramStarStruck: The Next Level-
200721st PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search Program HostDingdong DantesJolina MagdangalRaymond Gutierrez-
201024th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Reality Talent Search ProgramStarStruck V
201630th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search Program and Best Music TV AwardStarStruck VI
201630th PMPC Star Awards for TelevisionBest Talent Search Program HostDingdong DantesMegan Young