READER'S CHOICE AWARD: FEMALE STAR QUALITY
YES!, January - February 2002

Where would our stars be without the fans? As a talent manager puts it: "Anybody with the minimum of good looks and talent can enter show business, but his or her chances of becoming a star solely depend on public acceptance."

Last August 2001, YES! launched the Readers' Choice Awards, a poll it intends to be an annual tradition.

Completed ballots were sent through mail, fax, and personal delivery. Readers were allowed to photocopy ballots and send as many entries as they wished. They also had the option to vote over the Internet by logging on to www.femalenetwork.com.

"The response was overwhelming,", says YES! associate publisher Annie Santos. "We received over 100,000 votes, and the poll was participated in by almost 15,000 unique voters." Ballots came from all over the Philippines and Hong Kong!

A teenager in Cebu linked the fan site she created for Aga to the YES! Readers' Choice Awards poll in femalenetwork.com. One Filipina working in Hong Kong photo-copied ballots and asked kababayans there to write the names Aga and Charlene. A few days before the October 31 deadline, a Bacolod housewife sent 153 ballots all bearing Maricel Soriano's name because, in her words, "I am not after winning gift packs but I want my favorite actress to top this poll!"

Why do fans go to these lengths for celebrities they admire? Here we let the fans do the talking as we present the winners of the YES! Readers' Choice Awards.

"Sharon is the one and only real multi-media star. She's a hit kahit scan mo siya ilagay - recording, movies, television, even commercials. Even Nora Aunor and Vilma Santos during their prime did not reach what Sharon has so far accomplished. Dapat nga siyang tawaging Megastar.
At matagal pa siguro bago magkaroon ng isa pang tulad niya." - ROWENA

"Noong 'di pa namin siya kilala, panahon pa ng Dear Heart, parang girlnext-door siya. Iba siya sa lahat ng kasabayan niya. Nararamdaman namin na naa-appreciate niya na dinadalaw namin siya, kahit hindi niya sinasabi. Napaka-accommodating kaya mahal na mahal namin siya." - ALMERS DE LUNA, 30

"Humble saka masyadong down-to-earth. Kapag kasama namin siya, low profile. Madaling makabagayan. Super-bait at accommodating." - MAY REYES, 30, Executive Secretary