MANILA, Philippines?For years now, the starmakers have tried to divine the identity of the lucky young female entertainer ?fated? to become ?the next Sharon Cuneta.?

Sharon has enjoyed a three-decade career as singer, actress and all-around show biz star, but can?t possibly ?reign? forever.

Occasionally, it was thought that this or that young star must fit the bill, but the putative heiress-apparent eventually lost steam and faded from view.

Then came KC Concepcion. Being Sharon?s daughter and very popular in her own right, KC looked like the real deal as far as stepping confidently and competently into the Megastar?s stellar shoes was concerned.

Her first movie with Richard Gutierrez was a big hit, and that seemed to affirm her ?right? to claim Sharon?s mantle.

Box-office success

Unfortunately, their follow-up movie reportedly failed to do as well, so that (temporarily) impeded KC?s upward ascendancy. At around the same time, Sarah Geronimo chalked up her own hit film with John Lloyd Cruz ? and their follow-up movie, which is still showing, turned out to be an even bigger success at the box office.

Of course, KC has her legions of fans, and Sarah also has many diehard advocates, and all of them will root for their personal fave. But, for less partisan and more objective observers, the time has come to ask: ?Is Sarah the new Sharon??

Naturally, KC?s supporters would answer in the clear negative, and in a sense they would be right, since KC is Sharon?s very own daughter and, by rights, should succeed her.

But stellar evaluations go by box-office grosses in these parts, so the two knockout punches of Sarah?s starrers cannot be pooh-poohed away.

TV factor

What about the TV factor? Both KC and Sarah have chalked up successes on the small screen, so they appear to be evenly matched thus far.

And what about talent? Initially, Sarah had the better singing voice, but too much wear and tear (bad birit technique, accepting too many shows and gigs) has made her a rather strident singer. For her part, KC is less vocally gifted but has taken better care of her vocal instrument.

She?s also a better dancer than Sarah. And she?s a more effective show host than Sarah, who tends to simply read her spiels ?obediently.?

Another major consideration is acting talent, and KC has more of that, as well. She can still clearly act circles around Sarah, who tries to get by with sheer energy, youthfulness, ingenue likability and kookiness.

Could Sarah be a more dependable hitmaker than KC because she?s younger?

Different backstories

And what about Sarah and KC?s different ?backstories?? KC was born with a silver spoon on her mouth, while Sarah had to work hard (too hard, in our view) as her family?s breadwinner, since she was an adolescent. Could the mass fans relate more to Sarah because of this?

So, everything considered, what?s the verdict? If Sarah could recover her vocal quality and do better as actress and host, we?d gladly cede the competition to her.

KC, on the other hand, has to reconsider her mass appeal, work harder on her singing, get over her ?hothouse flower? and overly stylish projection?and, most importantly, choose better film projects.