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SOMETIME IN THE MID-2000s, Michael V. and his wife Carol were enjoying an afternoon at Shangri-La Plaza Mall when they chanced upon a performance by Up Dharma Down, at the time a fairly new band with the surprise indie hit “Oo.”
Michael V. already knew of the band, having had fellow comedian Rex Navarrette introduce their music to him. From the escalator, however, it was vocalist Armi Millare who caught the eye of Bitoy (as Michael V. is called). Unlike most other people though, it was not Armi’s soaring vocals that piqued his interest.
“The first thing that went in my head was, ‘Parang kamukha ko siya’,” Michael V. tells GMA News Online. “Sabi ko, pagka ako nag-disguise at nag-suot ng wig, parang kaya ko gayahin si Armi.”
Fast-forward to March 2019 and Michael V releases “Uh-Oh,” a music parody of the UDD’s “Oo,” on Bubble Gang. Dressed as vintage Armi with the familiar green headband on his head, Michael V played a chef lamenting over dishes she couldn’t cook because her restaurant did not have…a stove.
It’s not the first time UDD inspired Bitoy, as Michael V is called — in 2016, he turned a later UDD single “Tadhana” into “Tadyakan” — but the staggering eight million views of “Uh Oh” on YouTube and Facebook was at another level.
Michael V. says the “Uh-Oh” idea all came together when he heard his daughter singing “Oo” at home.
“Bigla ko lang na-blurt out yung line: ‘Kung walang kalan’. Katunog eh,” he says, adding he was probably in the bathroom when the light bulb moment happened.
Writing the lyrics came easy to him. It’s the scenario — the narrative for the song — that is hardest to figure out. “’Kung walang kalan’. Tapos naisip ko, what if you were in a restaurant, you’re a chef and a lot of people are waiting for the food tapos wala kang kalan?”
Some of his genius bits take a while before they become fully formed, like how the first germ an idea happened that afternoon at the mall, only to turn into a viral sketch a decade later.
“Hindi ko alam it would take that long,” Michael V. says.
“Michael V. is a genius,” read a comment by a netizen on the YouTube page of “Uh-Oh.” It’s accompanied by other similar plaudits: “He is legendary” and “I nominate Michael V for the National Artist Award. He deserves it.”
Anybody familiar with Michael V’s body of work will nod in agreement, and perhaps remember a sketch that had them slapping their thighs in laughter.
MICHAEL V. BEGAN HIS CAREER RAPPING ON EAT BULAGA, WHERE HE WOULD END UP BECOMING A CO-HOST. "FUNNY HOW LIFE FINDS A WAY," HE SAYS.
BEETHOVEN DEL VALLE BUNAGAN has been in showbiz for nearly 30 years. He first burst into the scene as the rapper behind “Maganda ang Piliin,” a response to Andrew E.’s incredibly popular rap song “Humanap Ka Ng Pangit.”
Through a college classmate, Michael V. joined a rap competition on Eat Bulaga, where he was partnered with Lady Dianne, who had her own early ‘90s rap hit “Sa-Sa-Saddam.”
When Lady Dianne submitted her demo to record label OctoArts, she mistakenly sent Michael V.’s tape along with hers. The executives of OctoArts liked his demo as well, they took him into their fold.
For Bitoy, even that modest success was something worth celebrating.
“The fact na naka-pasok ako sa industry, magandang measure of success ‘yon,” he says.
“Hindi mo naman kailangang ganung kataas…at the moment, kung ano ‘yung nakikita mong success, i-celebrate mo. You can always hope for something [more], pero kung hindi dumating, that doesn’t mean you’re not successful.”
But while he is appreciative of each little victory, part of him always dreamed about reaching taller and taller heights.
“Libre lang naman ang mag-imagine. Everybody has a dream to be where I am right now, particularly myself,” he jokes, adding that his real dream from Day One was to become a total entertainer.
As early as Grade 4, he knew he wanted to entertain people.
His first big role was in a school play, where he was supposed to play an old man. “I could have done it any other way, but I decided to break the mold. Ginawa ko ‘yung what I think an old funny man should be. Eh kinagat ng audience,” he says.
The same opportunity came in college — he played another old man for a play, and once again, playing it for laughs worked like magic.
While he didn’t plan anything, things would somehow simply fall into place. His funny old man in his school plays? They’re not far off from the characters he would play on Bubble Gang. His love for writing songs? He has recorded several albums, a number of them albums of song parodies, not unlike “Maganda ang Piliin.” He’s even found a way back into Eat Bulaga, ending up as a co-host on the program.
“Funny how life finds a way,” Michael V. says.
MICHAEL V. SAYS HIS CREATIVE THINKING IS FOREVER SWITCHED ON. "I HAVE A FOLDER [ON MY DEVICES] FOR EVERYTHING," HE SAYS.
HE REMAINS AS BUSY AS EVER, 30 years into his career. He juggles onscreen work, the slog behind-the-scenes, a constantly updated vlog, and of course being a family man. He has four kids and recently celebrated 25 years of marriage with Carol, who is also his manager. Michael V. credits her for managing his time, enabling him to do everything he has done.
Apart from being the creative director of Bubble Gang, he also created another long-running GMA comedy show — Pepito Manaloto, which premiered in 2010. He is also a writer, and at one point headwriter, for the show.
The method to his comedy is very systematic: “I have a folder [on my devices] for everything. I have to take notes every single time. It doesn’t matter kung anong oras, where we are, I just put it on there,” he says. He organizes them according to categories: Pepito Manaloto, Bubble Gang, songs, skits and bits, and looks at them when the need arises.
He describes his creative thinking as “forever switched on,” though he does get tired. There are parts of the process that he finds difficult.
“It’s in your head all of the time, but how is it going to reach your audience? That’s the hardest,” he says.
For television work especially, getting the idea to the audience often dilutes the original idea. “It involves a lot of people kasi, eh,” he says.
“Say you have an idea, and nage-gets ng mga tao. When you present it to a group of writers, they will get the idea pero iba ‘yung interpretation. And then iba rin ‘yung interpretation ng director, ng actor, ng production designer, everybody else. Kapag napanood mo — ‘Ay, hindi ito yung nasa isip ko.’”
It’s this experience that has led him to “Family History,” a movie that he wrote, directed, co-produced, and star in.
“I also wrote the song for the movie,” he smiles, betraying his pride.
It’s his feature film directorial debut. Why do it 30 years into his career? “So I can really do anything and everything that I can do,” he says. It’s complete creative control. “Gusto ko isulong yung vision ko.”
For Bitoy, directing a movie would help him become the total entertainer he always dreamed of becoming. “Seeing ’yong concept from vision to the actual product, that’s very fulfilling.”
Details about the movie is still under wraps, but it is about “a problematic relationship and how disease affects them and their relationship.” It stars Dawn Zulueta, Miguel Tanfelix, and Bianca Umali, and Paolo Contis among others.
“Family History” is categorically a family drama, but with Michael V. at the helm, comedic elements are to be expected. “Hindi ako lalabas sa movie without some semblance of comedy,” he says, adding comedy really has always been the right path for him because getting the audience to smile and getting them to laugh is part and parcel of entertainment. It is in the very fabric of his genius.
“LOCALLY, NAKA-RELY SA COMEDIAN ‘YUNG TASTE NG AUDIENCE, SO DAPAT GANDAHAN MO ANG CONTENT MO PARA TUMAAS ANG STANDARDS NILA AT SABAY-SABAY TAYONG MAG-GROW.”
MICHAEL V. IS SLOW TO ANSWER when asked if he thinks he’s a genius.
“Minsan, nagagaling ako sa sarili ko,” he says candidly. He feels that way when he’s solved a creative problem.
“Bilib ako sa ‘king sarili ko,” he adds. When his wife Carol hears this, she laughs.
“Alam niya na may nagawa akong something na alam kong mahirap gawin, medyo impossible pero nagawa ko: ‘ang galing ko. Bilib ako sa ‘king sarili ko’,” he smiles again, pleased.
Michael V. is constantly challenging not only himself, but the system he’s spent 30 years mastering.
With his mind forever switched on, taking inspiration from everywhere, and learning from where he can, Michael V has an insight into the importance of comedy in the viewers’ lives. “Locally, naka-rely sa comedian ‘yung taste ng audience, so dapat gandahan mo ang content mo para tumaas ang standards nila at sabay-sabay tayong mag-grow.”
It can be frustrating. Michael V has felt the fatigue, but he says, “If it’s entertaining people and if it’s making them smile, which is ultimately my goal, then I have no reason not to do it.”
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