ASAP (TV program)
ASAP is a Philippine television variety show broadcast by ABS-CBN and Kapamilya Channel. Originally hosted by Martin Nievera, Pops Fernandez, Ariel Rivera and Dayanara Torres, it premiered on February 5, 1995, on the network's Sunday noontime line up replacing Sa Linggo nAPO Sila. Nievera, Zsa Zsa Padilla, Gary Valenciano, Sarah Geronimo, Erik Santos, Darren Espanto, Kim Chiu, Enchong Dee, Ogie Alcasid, Regine Velasquez, Robi Domingo, Edward Barber, Alexa Ilacad, Donny Pangilinan, Belle Mariano, and Janine Gutierrez currently serve as the hosts. It is the longest-running Sunday noontime variety show on Philippine television.
History
''ASAP'' first decade (1995–2003)
When Sa Linggo nAPO Sila became Sang Linggo nAPO Sila to replace Eat Bulaga!, a TV show was conceptualized by Deo Endrinal with a group of production people from the displaced APO show in January 1995 as a "concert party" on Sundays. Martin Nievera accidentally joined the group while on break from taping his eponymous talk show. He gave the show the title acronym ASAP which stood for All-Star Sunday Afternoon Party. The production group decided to bring him and Pops Fernandez, along with Ariel Rivera and Dayanara Torres as main hosts for the show. The cast of Pare Ko became co-hosts for the show to attract younger audiences. In 1996, the show's line-up of co-hosts and performers evolved as it included different young stars from ABS-CBN's Talent Center. The show also celebrated its first anniversary as it finally wrested the top spot away from its closest rival GMA Supershow. The show became victorious in 1997 as they celebrated their 2nd anniversary from the Araneta Coliseum, as their erstwhile institutional rival show GMA Supershow folded up; Supershow was replaced by SOP.The show originally had its own theme song, Hot na Hot sa ASAP in 1995. During the show's second anniversary, another theme song was released entitled Better Than Ever, to replace the original theme. Initial broadcast commenced on February 5, 1995, at the Delta Theatre in Quezon Avenue. In 1997, they transferred to Studio 3 of the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Quezon City, sharing space with Sang Linggo nAPO Sila. However, it suffered a setback on May 10, 1998, when one of the main hosts, Martin Nievera resigned from the show because of marital issues with co-host Pops Fernandez and also to focus on his eponymous late night talk show. Dayanara Torres later on left the show to pursue a career in Hollywood. Richard Gomez and Zsa Zsa Padilla became regular hosts from that time on as replacements to Nievera and Torres.
On February 7, 1999, the show celebrated its 4th anniversary via a simultaneous broadcast from the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay and the University of St. La Salle Coliseum in Bacolod City to usher the second season of the MBA. Magandang Tanghali Bayan main hosts Randy Santiago, John Estrada and Willie Revillame helped out in hosting ASAP from Bacolod while the main hosts were in Cuneta Astrodome. In the same year, the show celebrated the finales of its top-rating soaps Mula sa Puso and Esperanza through a grand production number.
In 2001, the producers added the tagline "The Only One" to the show's title to emphasize itself as unique amidst the rise of shows duplicating its concept. On March 11 of the same year, the show created new sensations out of "The Hunks", a new group composed of long-time Kapamilya heartthrobs Piolo Pascual, Diether Ocampo, Jericho Rosales, Carlos Agassi and Bernard Palanca. Their phenomenal success as a group made noise around Philippine entertainment circles as they stormed their way through various appearances within ABS-CBN shows and concerts abroad. ASAP rival show SOP even got wind of the group's popularity by creating a parody group, "Da HungHunks".
In April of the same year, Martin Nievera officially returned to ASAP after three years of hiatus a main host due to his marital issues with Fernandez.
In 2002, the show lost former co-host and occasional guest Rico Yan to pancreatitis, while Jolina Magdangal left ASAP and transferred to GMA Network to join SOP, along with Marvin Agustin who would later transfer in 2006. It also became the go-to show for the premieres of ABS-CBN Summer and Christmas station IDs by that period until 2015, when TV Patrol and It's Showtime changed venue. The show also introduced daring segments such as Rated R and Clash Dance.
In April of the same year, Richard Gomez left the show when his contract with ABS-CBN expired and moved to rival network GMA.
In February 2003, ASAP celebrated its 8th anniversary with another special show at the Araneta Coliseum. The anniversary show was remembered for the launch of the year-long celebration of ABS-CBN's 50th year of Philippine television. It was also by that time when a major controversy happened when Angela Velez suddenly had a wardrobe malfunction while dancing on stage.
On that same period until June 2003, the show simulcasted on ABS-CBN's sister station Studio 23.
''ASAP Mania'' (2003–2005)
In April 2003, the show was reformatted as ASAP Mania, after it lost its top-rating status to SOP Rules. Consequently, some original main hosts like Ariel Rivera and Pops Fernandez later on left the show while Martin Nievera and Zsa Zsa Padilla started hosting the show on a semi-regular basis. The biggest talent acquisitions of the show, however, were Gary Valenciano and Kuh Ledesma who joined in to replaced Rivera and Fernandez. Valenciano and Ledesma signed exclusive contracts with ABS-CBN and also shared the former's creative inputs to make the show more interesting. In addition, Valenciano also celebrated his 20th showbiz anniversary on that show earlier that year.Some ASAP segments like Star in a Million and Victim became a hit with the viewers that the ABS-CBN management decided to turn both segments into full-length shows on weekend primetime in November of that year. The move resulted in the network regaining lost audience share on weekends as both shows rated high against their rival counterparts.
In 2004, ASAP gradually regained leadership with the addition of singing champions from Viva-produced singing contests Star for a Night on IBC and Search for a Star on GMA Network and ABS-CBN's very own Star in a Million along with their runners-up.
''ASAP Fanatic (2004–2005)''
In May 2004, ASAP launched a youth-oriented spin-off, ASAP Fanatic, to serve as a venue for its new young stars to perform and interact with fans. First generation housemates and cast of Pinoy Big Brother would later join the spin-off in 2005. The show held a special advanced anniversary episode on October 10 of the same year at the Folk Arts Theater and the PhilSports Arena.''ASAP '05; use of year logos'' (2005–2009)
In 2005, the format changed to ASAP '05 and added rising TV host Toni Gonzaga and commercial model-turned singer Nikki Gil. From that year until 2009, the show's name featured the last two digits of the year.In 2006, the show absorbed talents from the displaced spin-off show ASAP Fanatic and became a three-hour show. It also launched a somewhat complicated logo resembling LED lights where the words ASAP were made out of dots connected which had been in use until 2015. Also in January of that same year, boxing legend Manny Pacquiao guested on the show.
On June 18, 2006, Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson performed for the first time on the ASAP stage following their stint on Pinoy Big Brother: Teen Edition 1. A few months later, the ASAP Pop Viewers' Choice Awards was launched where they honor the best in domestic pop culture.
In February 2007, Asia's Nightingale Lani Misalucha joined the show on a temporary basis while ex-SOP performers Karylle and Billy Crawford followed suit in 2008. The show also rolled out a grand welcome fit for royalty when it introduced then-Kapuso Primetime actress Angel Locsin as the newest Kapamilya actress in August and the following month, KC Concepcion after a long stay in Paris.
On January 27, 2008, the show was aired through different locations as the show also officially started the 55th anniversary celebrations of ABS-CBN.
The year 2009 saw milestones for the show as it launched new groups including the Kanto Boys and Sessionistas. Midway through that year, the ratings of its rival show SOP declined due to ASAP again completely regaining the credibility, prestige, and acclaim it once lost to the former. As a result, its rival show reformatted before that same year ended but the move no longer worked with the viewers. It also paid tribute to Efren Peñaflorida who was hailed as CNN Hero as well as former President Corazon Aquino in August.
''ASAP XV/ASAP Rocks/ASAP 2012'' (2010–2015)
On January 3, 2010, the show was relaunched as ASAP XV to mark its fifteenth anniversary. Year numbers in the show title weren't adapted but instead anniversary marks was used. America's Best Dance Crew champion Jabbawockeez also became guest performers since then. During the show's special anniversary episode on February 7, 2010, a new set was introduced and an opening break bumper was instituted for the first time. Competition became a three-way battle when GMA Network and TV5 produced their own "concert party" shows, where some of their talents and staff were ASAP alumni. In October of that same year, the show celebrated the diamond anniversary of another valued advertiser of ABS-CBN which is P&G Philippines and Carol Banawa guested once again to promote her new album.On January 2, 2011, the show was launched as ASAP Rocks as a way of asserting its over-the-top but tastefully conceptualized production numbers, and the first episode for 2011 began with a short AVP emphasizing the Concert Experience format. On April 3, 2011, a new set was introduced, and for the first time in show's history, the show welcomed the Eat Bulaga! main host Vic Sotto as a special guest, performing in the show twice to promote separately the two movies that he did for ABS-CBN's film arm Star Cinema. In his December 2011 guesting, Vic was joined by some of his Eat Bulaga! co-hosts on stage to promote the MMFF entry Enteng ng Ina Mo. All of these moments were occurred before both Eat Bulaga! and ASAP being aired together on TV5 twelve years later until December 2025. The show also lost its two former co-hosts and performers AJ Perez and RJ Rosales that same year due to their respective deaths.
On January 1, 2012, the show again used year numbers after it was last used in 2009 with ASAP 2012. On January 22 of that same year, the show celebrated the Chinese New Year through a special episode taped at the Quirino Grandstand. The following month, Sarah Geronimo temporarily left the show as she was given her own primetime show, Sarah G. Live. July of that year saw the show making milestone episodes which include the 20th anniversary of Star Magic, a farewell tribute to Comedy King Dolphy Quizon in the wake of his death, and the 50th and 30th showbiz anniversaries of Vilma Santos and Martin Nievera respectively. In August of that year, the show gave support to its main host Zsa Zsa Padilla as she battled a kidney disease before returning in September. On December 16 of that year, Venezuelan heartthrob actor Fernando Carrillo guested on the show during his visit to the Philippines.
On January 6, 2013, the show again used anniversary marks to indicate the years they air on TV after it was last used in 2010 with ASAP 18 to commemorate the show's 18th anniversary.
On February 24 of that same year, the show had a controversial segment wherein actress and host Anne Curtis sung "Diamonds" by Rihanna for her birthday presentation, wearing a black high-slit dress under fake rain. The performance sparked a debate over her undergarments and later became one of the subjects of a Congressional hearing on ABS-CBN's franchise renewal seven years later. The program was later summoned by MTRCB.
ASAP's second theme song "Better than Ever" was re-used for the show's summer opening billboard from March 17 to May 26, 2013. Months later, on October 6, the show celebrated the 60th anniversary of ABS-CBN and Philippine television through a special episode held at the Marikina Sports Complex.
On January 5, 2014, the show was relaunched as ASAP 19 to commemorate the show's 19th anniversary along with a special segment paying tribute to Lea Salonga for her 35th showbiz anniversary. The show also reached its 1,000th episode on April 6 of that same year.
On January 4, 2015, the show was relaunched as ASAP 20 to commemorate the show's 20th anniversary. It launched a new, simple logo that replaced the one being used from 2006, and from that point, Piolo Pascual, Sarah Geronimo, Toni Gonzaga, and Bamboo became main hosts of the show as seen in their entire logo animation. The show unveiled its third theme song "ASAP Let's Celebrate", used during the show's 20th anniversary OBB.
Also during that time, the tide tilted in favor of ASAP once again when some mainstays from their rival shows transferred networks and started appearing in the show. Among the notable transfers were actress Iza Calzado, R&B royalties Jay-R and Kyla, and StarStruck V Ultimate Female Survivor Sarah Lahbati, who also performed regularly while showing her remarkable fierce and sizzling sexy dance moves after a bitter falling out with her former network.
In August 2015, the show faced another challenge when they got into a tough ratings battle with GMA's new Sunday variety show Sunday PinaSaya that showcased the vaudeville format. The show had to make adjustments by reducing the musical production numbers and incorporated a more variety format of games and skits. ASAP original host Martin Nievera courted controversy when he vented his ire on the show's changes via Twitter, but later clarified his reaction saying he believes these changes in the format of the show are a way to "satisfy many markets with dignity and class". Conceding to "Sunday Pinasaya"'s rising popularity, the ABS-CBN management decided to revert ASAP to its original concert party format and cut the show's running time to 2 hours to accommodate the late-night comedy gag show Banana Split Extra Scoop which was renamed to Banana Sundae in mid-November 2015. A few weeks later, Elmo Magalona, son of Philippine King of Rap Francis Magalona, switched networks and became part of the show.