The “Baes” of Eat Bulaga are fast becominga mainstay on local television. Apart from their regular appearances on GMA-7 noontime variety show, their teen-oriented show Trops continues to dominate ratings months after its premiere last October.
Collectively, the Baes now have over one million followers on Instagram.
The Baes – Kenneth Medrano, MiggyTolentino, Joel Palencia, Tommy Peñaflor, Jon Timmons, and Kim Last – were once just known as back-up dancers on Eat Bulaga. Now, they are making their mark in showbiz as a renowned boy group and as individual artists. They are clearly living their showbiz dreams.
But for the Baes, showbiz is not just about popularity. Their main goal is to become role models of the youth.
“We owe it to those who supported us from the start to be the best that we can be,” said Kim.
Wanting to be role models isn’t just lip service. Their showbiz success is proof in itself that they are worthy to be emulated by today’s youth.
Kenneth, the Cebuano grand winner of Eat Bulaga’s “That’s My Bae” in 2015, wanted to be part of showbiz since he was young.
Entering the industry was not easy for him.
Just like Kenneth, Miggy is a simple teen “napatambay-tambaylangsalabasngbahaykasamangmgakaibiganko” before entering showbiz. He went to many auditions prior to becoming part of Eat Bulaga’s “That My Bae” contest.
Fellow Bae Tommywas a call center agent before joining showbiz.
Clearly, they’ve gone a long way.
One of the most important lessons they’ve learned , Joel said, is from Trops co-star Irma Adlawan, who told them that there is no point in resting on their laurels. “Sabi ni tita Irma, ‘Mga anak, huwag ninyong iisipin na lagi kayong magaling. Kung magaling ka, wala ka nang patutunguhan. Pero kung iniisip ko na hindi ako magaling, marami akong natutunan, marami pa akong mapupuntahan.”