WE?VE HAD IT UP TO HERE with stars? birthday shows on TV, but we were sure glad we caught ?Talentadong Pinoy? last April 11. Most weeks, we?ve been giving the show a wide berth, because it features too many weird and far-out ?talents.?

Last April 11, however, host Ryan Agoncillo?s birthday prompted the program?s think tank to come up, not with the usual predictable and fatuous birthday blast, but with a celebrity edition of the talent show, with Ryan?s friends doing the performing ?and competing.

Ryan?s best buddies really worked hard to come up with fancy, entertaining routines that showed how much they thought of him. Some acts were underwhelming, but quite a number of celebrity performances really hit the spot.

Tops on our list was starlet Valeen Montenegro?s upbeat dance number. The lovely young actress hasn?t been as visible on the entertainment scene as she should be, so it was a real treat to catch her bright, enthusiastic and dazzling dance number.

We were happy when Valeen?s performance was cited as the evening?s best, along with Rosanna Roces? frenetic debut as a hot drummer. Even better, Valeen turned out to be a winner twice over, because she made such a good impression on Ryan?s show that people were urging TV5 to make her one of its contract stars.

Unheralded

The April 11 show also introduced us to singer-comedian, Kim Idol, who had a powerful singing voice that contrasted hilariously with his ?girly? portrayal and projection. Expect this heretofore unheralded Idol to be more visible on TV5 shows, as well.

As for Ryan, he came into his own as a cut-up artist himself in the birthday show?s ?laglagan? portion, which showed him behaving ?outrageously? in some off-cam moments. Ryan shrieked when he saw himself behaving so crazily, but the ?expose? turned out to be good for him, because it went against the grain of his excessively buttoned-down image as a TV host, and proved that he could be as revealing and as fun as the rest of his loopy, ga-ga company.