IT’S NICE working with Toni Gonzaga again on The Buzz. When she first joined The Buzz, inamin niyang nahirapan siya kung paano i-handle ang mga tough controversies na kinasasangkutan ng kanyang mga kasamahan sa industriya. There were times they would avoid her because they were afraid of ending up the next featured story on The Buzz. Ang iba raw ay takot makipagkuwentuhan sa kanya dahil baka sila na ang susunod na pag-uusapan sa programa. Pero iba na raw ngayon.
Sabi ni Toni, “Before, I was so hungry to get here and to be a showbiz-oriented talk show host kaya hindi ako maka-chill, hindi ako maka-relax. Now na binalik ako sa The Buzz, mas firm na ako about where I stand and mas okay na ako mag-handle ng issues and controversies.”
Toni is more confident of herself now as a host. “I think people really know me as a host. When I was starting, noong natanggap ko iyong unang recognition ko as Best Female Host, tapos nasundan pa iyon ng ibang mga recognition, noong time na iyon, my original plan was just to be a singer. Sabi ko, aawit lang ako, iyon lang ang gagawin ko. Then I realized hindi ito ang plano ni Lord, kasi I was getting recognized for my hosting. Tapos ‘pag kumakanta ako sa mga lounges, daldal ako nang daldal at napapansin ko, tuwang-tuwa ang mga guests. Iyon pala magiging host ako. Now I think of myself as a host who can sing and act.”
Kamakailan lang ay nag-release si Toni ng kanyang latest album titled Celestine under Star Records. Produced by the award-winning Jonathan Manalo, the album consists of 10 tracks with seven original songs. Toni composed two songs: “Awit ni Ginny” (Ginny being her character in Starting Over Again) and “This Love is Like”.
Sabi niya, “As long as you are still given the trust and the breaks, just give your best, maximize all the opportunities so when the time comes, you can rest and retire and tell yourself nagawa ko na ‘yung dapat kong gawin, puwede na akong magpahinga, settled ka na, wala nang kinatatakutan.”
Kaibigan, usap tayo muli!
Points of Boy
by Boy Abunda
