Producers of shows and events complain about the high cost of hiring entertainers these days. Clearly, inflation has caught up with them just like it has with the prices of rice and sugar.

A veteran booker of shows for private functions and events was shocked to learn the new rates when he tried to make an inquiry recently.

Take the case of Singer M, who charges a cool million pesos for just three songs. She’s an asset to her company. Sometime back, I inquired from a big network management company about the rates of certain artists, basically actors who can sing naman. I was floored when I was told that actress MS charged 500,000 pesos for three songs. The rate spiraled depending on the artist concerned.

Networks have dictated this new price range which has snowballed to similar price increases among independent talent managers. The last I inquired, even veteran singers now charge a minimum of 300,000 pesos per appearance, give or take a few songs.

No truth at all to what Jose Mari Chan said that you couldn’t make a living out of singing or entertaining.

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How do you become so great playing those gay roles? I asked Thou Reyes during a meal break backstage at Fisher Mall in Quezon City where Beautederm opened its 85th store on Oct. 15.

The versatile actor credited the many acting workshops he took under Star Magic as the root of all that honed talent.

“Name it, I took it,” he said, referring to the different types of workshops his former management offered. Thou has moved out of SM and is currently in talks with another management team.

He has just wrapped a stint on Iron Heart. An entrepreneur, Thou runs a rice dealership in San Juan. The singer-actor brought the house down with his combined rap and soul performance, where he was joined at some point by beauty queen Jessie Salvador. We in the audience were amused by his remark that he wasn’t expecting Beautederm to make his skin white, just smooth and fresh.

A big crowd turned up at the mall to purchase various beauty products by the 14-year-old company founded by Ms. Rhea Anicoche-Tan in Angeles City.

A free show played out by endorsers Ruru Madrid, Ejay Falcon, Ria Atayde, Jane Oineza, Jessie Salvador, and Thou entertained the overflow crowd.

Beautederm president Rhea A. Tan said the company hopes to open more stores around the country in the coming days. She already has more than 100 endorsers, including A-list actors.

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You’d think that ratings would drop when a series like Can’t Buy Me Love gets shown ahead of its regular TV run via Netflix or I Want TFC?

It isn’t quite true with this latest Donny Pangilinan-Belle Mariano starrer. The romantic-drama series, marking DonBelle’s first venture into ABS-CBN’s primetime, has been proving to be a winner, numbers-wise.

The series has all the trappings of a hit show: A pair of charismatic young actors, an engaging storyline (“A young man gets caught up in a deadly plot against a rich woman”), good production values, a cast of big names in guest roles.