A fresh new Kapamilya face to watch out for online has emerged as 18-year-old Cherry Mendoza of Rizal was announced as the Ultimate Bida Star in the first online talent search of Star Hunt and ABS-CBN last Tuesday (October 13).

The Rizal native got a total of 82.66% combined KTX and KUMU votes and mentors’ grade. She took home P25,000 and a chance to star in a digital project under ABS-CBN TVDG with other Star Hunt celebrities.

According to Cherry, she almost gave up her dream of becoming an artist but because of “Bida Star” she regained her confidence to continue her dream.

“I joined ‘Bida Star’ kasi I wanted to reignite my passion for acting kasi parang nawawalan na ako ng pag-asa na magiging actress ako. I have always wanted to show off my talent and skill sa acting pero parang the universe didn’t or never wanted me to continue. So I told myself na this competition will be the last chance na ibibigay ko sa sarili ko and it will decide kung tutuloy pa ako sa acting or not. Joining Bida Star is a game-changer for me,” she said.

She also did not expect to win this competition. “Hindi ko ineexpect na ako yung magiging winner kasi throughout this journey nahirapan ako and alam ko na ang dami ko pang pwedeng ibigay. I’m proud of myself kasi laging akong naging background ng buhay ko and ngayon nandito na. I have a stage for myself,” she answered.

She even added that performing virtually also proved difficult. “I was used to acting with other people in person, so doing it online was a big shock. Nahirapan ako ilabas lalo yung emotions ko kasi screen lang yung kaharap ako and walang sumasagot sa akin. Marami rin distraction kasi nasa bahay ka lang and di mo masyadong nafe-feel yung weight ng responsibility mo as an actor so madalas super chill ka lang.”

She bested Star Dreamers Eryka Lucas who got a total combined KTX and KUMU votes and mentors’ grade of 76.16%, Kenneth Co who got 66.33%, and Devine Plaza who earned 64.83%. Meanwhile, Kizzen Espinoza finished as the 5th Placer, RJ Cruz, the 6th Placer, Clari Ynes as the 7th Placer, Vanessa Robellos as the 8th Placer, and Jade Keller and Ethan Chan as the 9th and 10th Placers respectively.

The online talent show’s tagline ‘Bida Star Final Act’ became the top trending topic nationwide and received thousands of tweets from fans of the ten finalists and of Star Hunt artists Karina Bautista and Aljon Mendoza, who hosted the show.

Six weeks ago, 50 aspiring star dreamers were chosen among the thousands of teens who auditioned online. They were tested in several acting challenges and were reduced to 24 on the 3rd week and 18th on the 4th week. Votings were done by sending virtual gifts on KUMU live streams of the Bida Star Dreamers and thru voting tickets on ktx.ph. The 24 Star Dreamers were mentored by veteran actor Jojit Lorenzo and JP Habac.

For more updates on ‘Bida Star,’ follow Star Hunt on Facebook (@starhuntabscbn), Kumu (@starhuntabscbn), Twitter (@starhuntabscbn), Instagram (@starhuntabscbn), and Tiktok (@starhuntabscbn).