The Phenomenon That is ALDUB

Alden Richards (left) and Maine "Yaya Dub" Mendoza (right) in their first proper onscreen date in Eat Bulaga!

In the Philippine noontime show Eat Bulaga's segment Juan for All, All for Juan a supercouple was born. AlDub is a portmanteau of the names Alden and Yaya Dub played by Alden himself and Maine Mendoza, respectively. For those not familiar with Filipino television shows, Eat Bulaga! is a noontime variety show that has been running for 36 years as of this writing. It features contests, comedy segments, and various entertainment portions. One such segment is Juan for All, All for Juan.

Before their accidental pairing became an overnight sensation, Richards has been an actor since 2010 (I wrote a review in my blog of Ilustrado where he played the lead role). He was invited to become a host in the noontime show. Mendoza on the other hand became an Internet celebrity through her Dubsmash videos where she lip syncs audio clips, thus her nickname Dubsmash Queen. She appeared in the Eat Bulaga! segment as a fictional nanny (yaya) of Lola Nidora (played by Wally Bayola). Initially she was snob who hardly smiled. On July 16, 2015 in a split-screen broadcast, Yaya Dub's demeanor changed when she saw Alden. Her smile prompted the show to pair her up with Alden.

Yaya Dub's reaction at seeing Alden in this frame started the phenomenon.

The supercouple (also known as loveteam in the Philippines) gradually gained followers. The Juan for All, All for Juan segment was coined Kalyeserye (literally street series) and is a parody of various Filipino romance television series (teleserye). Other lead characters such as Lola Nidora, Lola Tinidora (played by Jose Manalo), and Lola Tidora (Paolo Ballesteros) do live improvisational acting and are allowed to speak. Yaya Dub responds by lip-syncing audio clips or writing on paper in keeping with her character. Alden also responds similarly but is allowed to speak from time to time.

The Cinderella-like story of Yaya Dub and Alden who have not seen each other face to face before September 5, 2015, apparently became an instant hit. The loveteam's then-antagonist Lola Nidora wants AlDub to keep to traditional Filipino courtship and avoid physical contact. This however does not prevent the couple from blowing kisses and flirting onscreen---to the delight of fans. Their near encounters helped heighten the excitement of the growing number of viewers who took their enthusiasm to social media. The hand gestures and facial expressions used by the couple became popular as well, such as the pabebe wave. The kalyeserye's antics endeared the characters, especially Alden and Maine, to its viewers. Within weeks, Alden and Maine became superstars whose fandom include the young and old and people of various backgrounds. It was not surprising that AlDub became a consistent trending topic in social media. It also spurred various fan art, fan-edited photos and videos, AlDub-inspired music and games, and even became a topic in schools and universities.

What made AlDub such a hit? Was it just the Cinderella-like story of a nanny who met a handsome and famous actor? What made AlDub different from the past and the existing loveteams in the Philippines?

Let's look at the actors first. Richards was paired with other actresses in some of his lead television series roles. He was a decent lead actor in Mundo Mo'y Akin (his first show that I've seen from start to finish) but he bloomed in Ilustrado as Jose Rizal. He's an okay dancer and singer. Besides his good looks (well, okay he's gorgeous) and decent acting skills, he isn't so different from other notable Filipino actors. Perhaps his image as a good boy has also contributed to the effectiveness of the pairing. What's amusing is that he plays a fictionalized version of himself in the kalyeserye. He's still Alden but he plays the Alden who falls in love with a nanny. He's not even the typical bad boy character type that is all over popular media. He doesn't bring his character's background and story except what is already known to the public.

Let's look at the other half of AlDub. I did not know much about Mendoza prior to her appearance in Eat Bulaga! I am pretty sure however that her character fits the atmosphere the noontime show gives off to viewers. She doesn't look out of place with the comedians Bayola, Manalo and Ballesteros. Looking at her acting skills, she could easily be the female version of Mr. Bean, which is great for a fledgling like her. Mr. Bean is a tough act to follow. Not even seasoned comedians can imitate him at what he does. What's also great is that she does not need to insult people (she doesn't even need to talk) to tickle the audience. Filipinos love a good laugh and there's nothing more hilarious than making fun of oneself. Like Mr. Bean, she rarely talks and she acts using exaggerated facial expressions and hand gestures. Moreover, like the actor who played Mr. Bean (Rowan Atkinson), Mendoza has a pretty decent background. She's out of her teens and is educated (she's a college graduate).

Her demeanor onscreen also makes her different from most of her contemporary young Filipina actresses who are afraid to look ugly. Lately there is an abundance of Filipina actresses who are prim, proper, and always beautiful it makes you think they don't want to stretch their facial muscles. The sad thing is that most of the actresses I have in mind are still young but their image as the lead female character-type of actress sealed them in a stereotype. The alternative (demure girl turned sexy actress) isn't as promising either and it's been done so many times. I guess I'm not the only one who's tired of that. I hope that because Mendoza has broken that trend, future actresses will be more versatile and colorful. The kind of actress that modern women can see themselves in---active, adventurous and outspoken. Not all women want to identify themselves with a girl-next-door type. 

I think their age is also a factor. Personally, I avoid teen loveteams like the plague because the stories you can create out of such pairing can only go so far. There's not much variety in school or teen romance, even more so in Filipino teen romance (although the trend has shifted slightly with the advent of online journals, e-books, and published young adult romances from young writers). Live action teen romance for me is supersaturated and overrated---and this from a fan of shoujo romance! (Shoujo means young girl) In particular, Filipino television series and movies (with titles from love songs) about young adult romance have become bland and predictable.

I am not a stranger to romance series myself (as already mentioned) and I've seen a lot of twists and schemes. What's funny is that AlDub has parodied some of the most common plot designs in Filipino television series such as an overpowering mother figure, forbidden love between the famous and the commoner, rich versus poor, forced marriage, convoluted plot with layers and layers of family secrets, exchange of babies (one of the protagonists), and  the most used---kidnapping.

Their first face-to-face meeting cut short by Lola Nidora's schemes.

Separately kidnapped by Lola Nidora's grandchild Duhrizz; also the couple's "first touch"

Most of the viewers have also noted the kalyeserye's use of traditional Filipino courtship, the type we would hear from grandparents whose values are strongly rooted in Catholic/Christian Spanish colonial customs. AlDub adds a different twist however. Because they are not (yet) allowed physical contact and can only communicate through split-screen in a particular segment, it's almost akin to watching a long-distance relationship drama. The Internet's role in courtship is examined through their acts while Lola Nidora reiterates that such a setting is inadequate for a serious romance.

However, those factors still cannot fully explain AlDub's popularity. What is a recipe for a hit television series in the Philippines anyway? Within my lifetime, I can recall two foreign television series that have been game changers in Filipino TV programming. The first was the Mexican telenovela Marimar which starred Thalia and Eduardo Capetillo. It was the first dubbed foreign series that became a phenomenon and started the trend of showing dubbed live action TV series. Prior to this, Philippine TV networks have already been showing dubbed series but Marimar captured viewers like never before. To date, it has two local remakes/adaptation. Meteor Garden, also a live action series, introduced Filipinos to Asian live action TV series. It is a Taiwanese drama based on the Japanese shoujo manga series Hana Yori Dango. It starred Barbie Hsu, Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Vanness Wu and Ken Chu. Since then, Philippine TV has been airing Asian TV dramas. Hopefully with the advent of Eat Bulaga's kalyeserye, the format of Filipino television series will slightly shift as well.

AlDub has already made waves in social media. One huge difference is the AlDub fandom which is also called AlDub Nation. Neutral viewers might not notice the change much, but for someone like me who has been exposed to (and is also part) of some of the biggest fandoms in anime, video games, book/movie/television series, and music the AlDub fandom is a different face of Filipino fandom. It is common among anime fandoms for example to produce a plethora of artworks and fanfiction, but I have never seen such a scale in any Filipino fandom before AlDub. A Filipino loveteam fandom's conceit are sold-out concerts and blockbuster movies, but to inspire the hip and modern Filipino artists, writers and musicians is something else. I guess a dedicated fandom (akin to other international popular media fandoms) is already one of the trends that AlDub has started in the Philippines.

So what is the magic behind Alden and Maine? It could be both the actors or the format of the kalyeserye or the obsessed fans. Or it could be a combination of everything. What is also common among Marimar, Meteor Garden and Kalyeserye is the demographics of their fans. It seems that for a show to be called a phenomenal success, its audience must be of all ages, gender, preferences and income. I for one do not follow any Filipino loveteam (not even when I was in my teens), but AlDub has caught my interest. And, no, I do not watch the kalyeserye so I can forget about important social issues or personal problems. It's new and different. It's effective entertainment and for what purpose are entertaining shows like the kalyeserye? It's for fun and just like any hobby or interest, it's not cheap to have fun.

Will AlDub (also called MaiDen) be able to keep the magic going even outside the kalyeserye? That is a development I will look forward to.

Their first studio date. Alden and Yaya Dub were still not allowed to touch and had to converse with a long table between them.

Second studio date. Lola Nidora finally allowed them to shake hands.