Mr. M reveals Alden Richards-Maine Mendoza tandem made other networks 'panic'

The phenomenal "AlDub" is a tandem that will go down in Philippine pop culture history for all the waves that it made.

And just to give an example of how far these waves reached, showbiz legend and renowned talent manager Johnny Manahan revealed that the popular love team of Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza made executives of other networks "panic."

In an interview on "The Howie Severino Podcast," Mr. M said that he personally was not pressured despite his position, but it was a different story for the executives.

"Nataranta sila ru'n sa success nila Maine, ni Alden. And panic sila. Nag-panic. 'Wala ba tayong ganyan?' Ang sagot ko, 'Mayroon kaming talent dito. Alam naming may talent pero ayaw n'yong gamitin,'" he recalled.

"Ang dami niyan. Naka-ano 'yan sa ano ko, sa notebook. At least ten, really talented people. Pero hindi pinapansin ng mga executive. So 'yun ang mistake. They didn't look closer at what we had," he added.

Mr. M also said that even back then, he'd already noticed that GMA was quicker to launch new artists and was more willing to "gamble a little and field the newbies all the time."

"The more people you field, may tatama ru'n, e. Kung ang sinalang mo lang dalawa, 50-50 'yung chance mo pero kung sampu o 20 ang sinalang mo, the odds are more... You come up with more stars," he said. "So ayun. Taranta sila kay Alden at saka si Maine."

"AlDub" was born in 2015 when Maine, who at the time was more popularly known as "Yaya Dub," freaked out over seeing Alden via split-screen interview.

The pair featured in Eat Bulaga's segment Kalyeserye. The AlDub craze peaked at "Tamang Panahon," a major concert event attended by thousands who came to watch the phenomenal love team together at the Philippine Arena. —JCB, GMA News