[0:00]I felt as if kailangan kong mapunta sa love team. It'll come when it will come to you. Hindi dahil love team kayo kaya kayo popular. Not because I seek for anyone else's validation. I need my validation. Sinong love team? Ang akala ng fans ay totoo, pero for show lang naman talaga? Oh my God!
[0:34]This is Hot Takes. Unfiltered, Uncensored, Unapologetic. I am Gary Ann Lastrilla. I am Krish, and this is Kai Montinola and we'll be talking about love team culture in the Philippines. I thought yung conversation natin today is about, 'Yun nga na-mention ni Kai kanina, Love Team culture in the Philippines. And I think it's such an interesting conversation to have because love teams have created some of the most iconic moments in Filipino entertainment in the industry. Yeah. 'Di ba, 'pag may love team, there is this feeling na tinatawag natin, kung meron man tayong from other countries there who are watching na #Kilig yung pakiramdam ng Kilig. For me, yung experience na 'yun is not just a personal experience but a social experience. Of course, 'diyan nabubuo ang mga fan base. Fan bases. And yung mga love teams, ang feeling ko, one of the most yung parang number one na nagmamamanufacture nung kilig feeling na 'yun. Very interesting ang conversation. You excited na kami before ka dumating nag-usap na kami ni Gary na kinikilig kami wala pa ngang Love Team. Because the love team culture talaga is so big in the Philippines. Kayo ba, growing up, may mga ina-idolize kayong mga love teams? Mga paboritong love teams? Marami. Oh my God! Go ahead, Kai.
[2:01]Di na natin 'yun maiiwasan sa culture nating Pilipino. Yeah, yeah. Kasi I grew up watching, syempre, TV at home. And in all, in all ways form, however it's however it is, meron talagang love team. Like kahit sa show, kahit sa movie, kahit sa reality show, meron talagang nabubuong love team. So I guess growing up it's safe to say there were a few tandems that I looked up to. Kasi syempre we cannot deny, guys, nakakakilig naman talaga. So there's no shame in, you know, looking up to.
[2:56]Ano ba 'yan? Sino ba itong mga Magbigay ka, Gary. Magbigay ka. Claudine Rico? Claudine Rico. 'Di ko never heard of. Hero and Sandara. Hero and Sandara. Pero in fairness, talagang 'yan yung mga tumatak na love teams at that time. Sino naalala pa natin? Pero si Kai ba, kaya yung mga 'yan like Hero and Sandara? Kumbaga Muntik na 'kong mag-fan girl, naalala ko kasi yung mga love teams noon. Muntik ka na namang tuloy-tuloy sa usapan. Narinig mo ba sila? Naabutan pa ba ni Kai 'yung mga 'yan?
[3:28]Hindi ako masyadong familiar sa mga na-mention. Pero I am familiar of Claudine and Rico. Rico. Hanggang ngayon kasi. Yes, meron pang mga fandom na nagpo-post ng edits. Ang daming noon. Judy Ann, Wowee. Judy Ann, Wowee. Judy Ann and Rico, 'yan din. Yes, naging tandem din sila. Madalas ipasok sa isang love team ang mga rising stars. So nakikita naman natin 'yan. And actually even the fans and the industry parang 'yan din 'yung ine-expect, e. May rising stars, sino kaya ang makaka-love team niya? Bakit sa tingin mo malakas ang hatak ng love team especially here in the Philippines? Siguro in my opinion, in the Philippines kasi we're very conservative. Topics of love, topics of panliligaw is very is very um we're very open to it pero not everyone is doing it. Kasi nga in the Philippines, nahihiya tayo, we're very conservative, we we like to take our time. And um it's in our belief kasi to take things slow. So parang siguro when people look up to, 'yun nga, 'yung mga love teams, nai-inspire sila. Kaya ang bilis nilang kagatin 'yung mga 'yung mga love teams. Because they can also see themselves in those love teams. Parang, "Oh my gosh, ano ba naman ako? Pero they were able to be paired up with this person or this person. So baka possible din sa'kin mangyari."
[5:10]So I think in my opinion, kaya patok siya dito sa Pilipinas is because we love love. I love that line. We love love. We love love. We love to love. We love to love. Very aspirational, no? 'Yung tipong parang gusto ko rin 'yun mangyari sa'kin, may ganun 'di ba? When you watch something like that. I think dun din sa sinasabi ni ni Kai, from what Kai said, nagre-reflect yung love team sa, kasi love team culture nga nagre-reflect 'yun dun sa Filipino culture. You mentioned kanina 'yung panliligaw. 'Di ba parang 'yung love team nagsisimula sa ganun. Parang pag pinapanood siya ng mga tao parang Nagkakilala sila, 'yung dalawang two actors, and then eventually magiging super close friends and then eventually people are waiting for the next update if ano na ba. Sinasalamin talaga 'yung culture din natin. That's why it's deeply embedded in our culture 'tong love team culture na ito. Do you agree with the notion that love teams are still the fastest way to gain popularity? Basically, is being in a love team still the most efficient, parang shortcut, to building a fan base today? Or is that mindset already outdated? What do you think? I think it's undeniable that having a love team can really get you there, can get you a solid spot in fame and um a solid support system. Kasi 'yun 'yung gusto ng tao, e, 'yung parang, "Ah, may connection sila. Baka mai-de-develop pa. So, I'll tutok them para baka, baka meron pa, meron pang mangyayari in the future for them." That's why it's so, it's so enticing, it's so mysterious. Therefore, they they want to be a fan of those. Kumbaga there's a fantasy. Yes, exactly. And the potential. 'Yung thrill of the chase, 'yung attraction level is so exactly. Kasi fame will come at the right time. Hindi dahil love team kayo kaya kayo popular. It's a, it it must be something, it happened for a reason. So I don't think it's the fastest way but it is the most efficient way to build a foundation for people to get into. I love that. Yeah. So dun ka ngayon, 'di ba? Hindi, oo. 'Di kasi straight forward talaga siya. 'Yan ang She idealized, the most efficient way to build a solid foundation. It depends really on the two stars that is in the love team. So whether or not love team maybe or solo, it depends pa rin dun sa tao. Because everything takes work. Kailangan paghirapan din nila 'yung pairing nila. 'Yung ibinigay sa kanila opportunity. Exactly. Exactly. For Kai, we've all kind of followed your journey since the PBB days. I think it's safe to say that a lot of us here have followed your journey. And I think it's been wild to see how much you've achieved, how much you've grown in such a short span of time. Right now you're out here doing everything from singing to modeling, to acting and you're excelling at it. But looking back, coming out of PBB at that time, and I think this is important to ask because 'yung ano natin, 'yung topic natin is about love teams, 'di ba? People were really ready for you and Jaren 'di ba? So kasi ngayon, na-mention love teams. And I would say the Kairen ship was everywhere. People were expecting like a string of project for you guys together. And I would say like things shifted, things happened differently. And my question for you is, was that a big adjustment for you? Kasi may mga nagkaroon ng parang change of plans, change of direction. And were you also nervous or anxious thinking that the fans might react negatively to it? Well, kaya nga iba kasi sa loob ng bahay ni Kuya talaga. Iba talaga sa loob ng bahay ni Kuya. 'Di mo akalain 'yun pala 'yung tingin ng tao sa labas ng bahay ni Kuya. So syempre nagulat kami when we came out. But, well, since you mentioned Jaren, I guess we both kind of knew na din inside the house, because we had a task na parang we had to be paired up together.
[9:52]Tapos parang gets na namin na, "Okay, parang swak naman 'yung swak naman tayo in terms of um our abilities and what we can do." So let's explore it. So as we went outside the house, um slowly siyang slowly siyang binuil-d up 'yung Kairen. And um it was nice, it was nice, we had like a few performances for a while. And we would we would do many things together.
[10:28]And gusto gusto ng tao, kinagat 'yun ng tao. And siguro for me, since since he was a friend of mine, it wasn't so hard for me to adjust. Syempre because I also like what I'm doing. And it shows. And it shows that you love what you're doing. I love what I'm doing and I would never complain for um being asked to do something I want to do. Because this is my job. So hindi naman ako magrereklamo, "Ayoko. Ayoko kasi friends lang kami. Hindi." No, kasi um I never closed my doors naman. You know, we will do the job and I'm make sure to do my job. So there is nothing, there is nothing negative about um building nothing onto possibly something. So since napag-uusapan na rin natin, Kai, nagkaroon ba personally ng pressure for you to keep the ball rolling, knowing na maraming nagshi-ship sa'yo? Honestly, siguro hindi naman pressure. But I felt as if, "Baka kailangan ko mapunta sa love team. Baka baka ito talaga 'yung kailangan kong gawin muna." Kasi coming inside PBB, I already had the thought of, "I wouldn't want to be in a love team. Or I don't I don't want to be shipped inside the house." But nung lumabas ako and when I got to when I got to learn about like the industry and how it really works, parang na-realize ko kung ba't gusto din ng tao 'yung mga love teams. So hindi naman hindi naman siya ano, it's not in a bad way naman 'yung pagiging part of a love team. It's not negative at all. In fact, I saw it as a privilege to work with somebody, and as talented as Jaren naman, ang galing-galing niyang kumanta, galing niyang mag-perform. So why not? 'Di ba? And I I I came into that because I knew that I could share um good performances with him and nagugustuhan ng tao. So I guess that's all that matters. Very well said, Kai. Very well said. Um since alam naman natin na in the industry not only just being a part of a love team, pero as a celebrity, maraming comments ang fans. Maraming suggestions, recommendations. For you, how do you stay authentic to yourself given all of this um requests, kumbaga whether it would be request na, "Sana mag-stay ka na lang sa love team. Sana ito 'yung maka-partner mo." 'Yung mga ganyang kind of things na kino-comment ng mga fans. I am so lucky to be able to say this right now. I think I was really nakilala ko na talaga 'yung sarili ko before I entered Kuya's House.
[13:30]Um I grew up writing a lot. I grew up reflecting on myself a lot. And kasi I grew up din with a lot of parang experiences na parang ba't ganito, ba't ganyan? So syempre happiness is a choice. So I couldn't just stay sad and miserable my whole life without, you know, I can't expect someone to save me. I can't expect someone to help me with what I'm going through. I need to make an effort in order to understand myself. So I guess I'm very lucky enough to say that I am I was aware na of ano 'yung gusto ko, what I want, what I want to be at the young age of 17. Pero syempre, 'di ko naman sobrang kilala 'yung sarili ko pa kaya ako pumunta sa PBB.
[14:27]And um now that I'm outside PBB, now that I face many comments, many many suggestions and recommendations, siguro um I humbly say this. Siguro it's easy for me na to filter and sort out the things I should keep to myself and the things that I should take personally because, you know, people will always have an opinion, not everyone will like you. And having that acceptance made it easier for me along the way to accept people's opinions about me. And ano naman e. So what? Like, at least I know myself. And here you are provoking somebody else's um choices in life. And you know, I always just say na sana ginagawa nila 'to sa sarili nila instead of other people. But then again, what would, you know, what would my development be kung walang bashers, kung walang mga opinions?
[15:47]I think it also will help us be aware of ourselves. Kumbaga 'yun nakikita nilang Kai ngayon, Gary, na sinasabi natin very ano si Kai, very authentic siya. Yes. Kumbaga kilala niya 'yung sarili niya pero 'yung sinasabi ni Kai na it took work to get here. Kumbaga she worked on herself and it's work that is worth it. Yes. Ako naman I love how self-secured ba? I love how secured Kai is sa sarili niya. Naalala tuloy ako. Kasi nakita ko lang online. Kahit pala ang Mount Fuji may bad reviews sa Google. Sabi ko, "Oo nga." Oh my God! Oo nga, 'di ba? Mount Fuji 'yun. All of these places nilalagay nila, 'di ba? Na kahit Mount Fuji or kahit, let's say, a certain place in Korea or a certain place in Europe. Makikita mo sa ano, sa Google 'pag sinearch mo may negative comments pa rin na sinasabi ang mga tao. Kahit gaano kaganda ang isang bagay. Hindi five star rating, Mount Fuji na 'yun. Oo nga, 'di ba?
[16:44]Was there a moment na na-feel mo na kailangan mong patunayan ang sarili mo? Like you have to prove yourself as an individual. Yes, we seek validation from other people. It's human nature.
[17:01]However, kahit na 'yun man 'yung nafi-feel ko, lagi kong iniisip, lagi kong nilalagay sa isip ko na my mindset shouldn't be like that.
[17:16]It should be you need to out-perform yourself. Not because I seek for anyone else's validation.
[17:27]But I need my validation. Because as someone who loves their job, as someone who likes what they're doing, who loves what they're doing, um I want to excel pa on the things that I do. Siguro pressure dahil I I push myself more. But never never the pressure from somebody else. Because that's where it starts to go downhill when you do fixated on the fact that you need to please and to feel validated by a certain person or baka 'yung tao man. Dito natin nakikita na ganito pala, ito pala 'yung mga perspective niya on these things. And it's very um inspiring. It's actually very inspiring to hear somebody na nagkukuwento siya from her own experiences. And sa age ni Kai. Ooh, so young and yet so kumbaga 'yung wisdom nag-uuma-apaw already. So I love that. And gusto ko 'yung sinabi ni ni Kai kanina na um 'yung instead of ma-fixate ka sa other people dapat sa sarili mo ikaw naka-focus. Kasi sometimes if you're always comparing and looking at other people's experiences and achievements, nagiging negative tuloy 'yung experience mo for yourself, 'di ba, Gary, na parang instead of nage-enjoy ka sa journey mo. Exactly. When you're supposed to be celebrating your successes also. You end up comparing it to somebody else's, I don't know, page 54 kung nagsisimula ka pa lang, 'di ba? Given this, do you think Kai, being in a love team can limit an artist's growth? Again, this depends on the artist. Because if you let your love team revolve around your artistry, then people will see you just for your love team. Unless you make the effort to actually show your individuality as an artist. Then you can say that um hindi ka nakukulong sa love team. I'm not, I'm not super like knowledgeable about all the love teams in the Philippines. But I grew up, um I grew up to specific love teams that I think were very much just within each other. Does that make any sense?
[20:07]Like, yeah, yeah. They were paired up together for everything. And that's what I grew up watching. And 'yun lang. 'Yun lang. 'Yun din kasi 'yung epekto ng ganun e. If syempre if you go out with this person sa lahat ng events mo, may ganun talaga na epekto sa tao na whether you like it or not, makakabit talaga 'yung pangalan niyo sa isa't isa. Kumbaga ang dating, hindi na nag-e-exist 'yung isa without the other because they're always together in anything and everything. Exactly. And whether that's in your control or not, if that's the case, um people will really see it like that. And in my opinion, I don't think love teams will hinder any sort of self-growth. Kasi I am I for one um um engaging in love teams and partnerships with um other artists.
[21:12]However, I don't think I've lost my sense of self. I think I'm still Kai. I still still do the things I want to do as on my own. And it depends on the artist talaga kung ano 'yung choice nila sa pagla-love team nila. We have a statement here. Ang sabi, "Dahil sa love teams, may expectation na dapat totoo ang chemistry. Is that true?" Naniniwala ka ba doon na dapat magkaroon ng something real ang magka-love team to feel more authentic. No. I don't think it's necessary to be in a love team is to fall in love and have actual chemistry.
[22:46]You can have chemistry as friends. I think it really depends on the artist again. Then that's their decision. Yeah, that's your decision and if anyone stopping you because it's their opinion like, "Oh my God, you shouldn't do that. You should do that." It doesn't matter, it's your choice. And there's nothing wrong with thinking. Pero nga, professional standpoint. Siguro um whether there's chemistry or not, you're gonna have to make it work. I like to keep uh, I like to keep things real as much as possible. So um hindi ako hindi man ako mapa, hindi naman ako mapa-fan service if that makes any sense. Although gusto talaga ng tao ng ganun. From time to time I kind of tease them with a few few lines here and there. But I don't do it out of like the whole love team thing. It's also more of just a friendly banter. And if because we're being friendly and you guys like it, parang it's a win-win, no? So Hot take. Chemistry can be real without it being romantic. That's my hot take. Very I agree. Actually, nasa husay din 'yun ng artista talaga. Dito mo makikita e na 'yung husay nila sa pag-arte. Pero you know, to defend naman 'yung mga may meron talaga silang, you know, something bukod dun sa pagiging love team nila. Amm, aminin naman natin, nakikita rin natin talaga 'yun sa work nila 'di ba? 'Yung sa mga may may dalang kilig na. May something na iba. Yes, may spark ang mga mata, 'yung mga tingin. Kasi minsan organically it can happen.
[24:41]Yes. 'Di ba, mafa-fall ka talaga dun sa ka-love team mo. It definitely helps talaga. Kapag if it's real, syempre makikita talaga 'yan through the screen kasi it's totoo na nga 'di ba? And the good professionals to totoo pa 'yung feelings. If pagsabayin 'yun, syempre makikita talaga 'yun ng tao. So, it's Pero 'yun nga 'yung sinabi ni Kai kanina na doesn't necessarily mean romantic feelings. Pweding friendship. Before love teams were such a strong formula for success. I think even now na kumbaga sinasabi naman talaga dapat pagka gusto mo talagang mag-boom, pasok ka sa love team. That is one step. I'm not saying that is all of the steps involved. Um but now with digital platforms changing how people connect with artists. Do you think love teams still hold the same power or are we moving toward a more individual driven industry? I think we're getting there. I believe that we're getting there. Because ang dami ko kasing nakikita at nao-obserb na sinasabi ng mga tao na um okay lang 'yan. Um it's better naman that the artists can explore to other artists din. Pero kagad na kagad pa rin 'yung mga love team.
[26:05]Na was already established. So parang I feel like uh this generation and the following generations are getting to that. I don't to I don't think it's totaly gone na. There really is that um culture pa din and that parang parang controlling na dapat sila lang talaga. Dapat multi-projects sila lang. Yeah. Dapat sila lang talaga for this and this and this. And I I I get where that passion is coming from. However, I think we're slowly we're slowly understanding that that's not how real people work in real life. That's not how that's not a real relationship. And I think the people, people nowadays are starting to realize um how beautiful reality is as well. And I think I'm seeing that in films na nga e. Na parang suddenly the two main characters don't end up together anymore. Kumbaga people or the viewers are starting to be accepting of fresh takes na hindi lang one formula. And also ako naman I believe, 'no? Na kahit naman halimbawa itong love team na 'to nag-start sila in a in one project, it doesn't mean naman na if hindi sila magkasama sa second project or project for project, that means 'yung magic mawawala na. Because if you really have it then kahit kanino ka pa i-pair and then when you reunite together, the magic would still be there. Yeah. To conclude, Kai, with that being said, do you think love teams are still necessary to succeed in the showbiz industry today? Um simple question, simple answer. No. Um I think it's just the culture that we grew up to. That's why we think it is necessary.
[28:04]However, um if 'di pa 'to nasasabi, ako na magsasalabi. Hindi siya necessary. Yes, it is efficient but it is not necessary. I don't think it's a bad thing though. I don't think it's a There's no shame in being in a love team. There's no shame in supporting a love team. We love love as Filipinos. I think that is a very hitik na hitik 'yung sagot ni Kai for that question. Oo, totoo naman 'di ba? Marami naman ding celebrities na talagang very successful sa career nila kahit naman walang love team. And I think huge shoutout to the fans as well because 'yung support nila sa love team 'di ba? You guys make this work. You guys make this work. So we've arrived at the end of this episode. Kaya naman, meron tayong one for the road. Oh my God! Sinong love team, ang akala ng fans ay totoo pero for show lang naman talaga?
[29:05]Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!
[29:15]I'll be honest, wala akong alam. Parang lahat ng mga love teams na kilala ko, sila. Wait, is that a confirmation? Is that a confirmation, guys? Straight from Kai Montinola.
[30:04]What did I say? What did I say? Well, that's for them to find out. That's for you guys to find out. I love it. Sobrang tapang ni Kai sa ating episode. Napaka-eloquent niya. Oh my God! Ang ganda ng mga sinabi niya. Ang ganda ng mga sinabi niya. You're so articulate. You guys be happy. Magsaya kayo dahil totoo!
