“Ang hiling ay pag-asa kung may pananalampataya.”

This is the message that Team Vice Ganda, Karylle, and Ryan Bang wanted to share to the madlang people through their Magpasikat 2024 performance.

The three Kapamilya noontime show hosts opened the annual celebrity competition of It’s Showtime on Monday, October 21, by sharing their personal stories of hope.

Karylle performed an original song that she composed for her late father, Dr. Modesto Tatlonghari, as she portrayed an angel descending from the sky.

“Sana marinig niya ‘yung kantang ginawa ko para sa kaniya,” Karylle said.

Ryan, who has always been open about his family situation, shared how he used to lose hope that his wish of having a simple dinner with his parents would ever come true. To his surprise, he got his wish when they were able to share a meal together with his fiancée, Paola Huyong.

“Ngayon naniniwala ako sa hope. Noong bata ako, ‘di ako naniniwala,” Ryan said, recalling his memorable time with his parents and Paola. “Sobrang saya ko nakita ko si Mommy na tumatawa sa joke ng Daddy ko. Natupad ‘yung hinihingi ko kay Lord na simpleng dinner. Nakakita ako na may posisibilidad pala na may pag-asa yung dating hope ko.”

Vice, the Unkabogable Star, recalled the challenges she went through in the past months and shared how she still manages to find hope beyond doubt and fear.

“Ang hope ko na sana ‘pag naulit ‘yan, sana hindi ako sumuko. Kung susuko man ako, susuko ako sa Diyos, susuko ako sa Kaniya,” Vice shared. “Sana katulad ng lagi niyang ginagawa, ipanalo Niya ako, ipanalo Niya tayo.”

She then performed an interpretative dance as a barrage of voices saying all the negative comments he had been receiving played in the background. Alongside this, in contrast, played Katy Perry’s song “Rise”.

For the second half of their performance, the team surprised the viewers with a production number featuring Vice and the globally recognized OPM boy group SB19.

During the interview, Vice revealed how the group helped the team, especially in choosing what song they would be performing. She also announced that the group actually restructured the lyrics of their song “Liham” to suit the theme of their performance.

Double gold Olympic gold medalist Carlos Yulo also had a special stage with his story of hope and his dreams of achieving his goal. Awra Briguela also shared her hope of making things right after her incident last year.

Aside from the personal stories of the known personalities, the team also included stories of ordinary families. This made it more heartfelt and relatable, emphasizing that everyone had their own story of hope to tell.

One of the highlights of the performance was the story of two children whose dream of meeting their Mom who has been working abroad for the past six years.

“It was such a beautiful reminder of hope,” Anne Curtis commented.

What inspired Team Vice, Karylle and Ryan to come up with such a heartfelt concept?

“Noong time na kailangan mag-isip ng concept, hindi kami makapagusap-usap kasi si Karylle was grieving,” Vice recalled. “Kausap ko yung team, sabi ko, ano ba ‘yung kailangan natin ngayon?”

Reaching 15 years is no mean feat, and Vice felt that what they should offer should go beyond simple entertainment and laughs.

“15th year is a milestone. Who would've ever thought na mag-15 years tayo?” he said. “Parang sa puntong ito dapat ‘yung binibigay natin, ‘yung tina-try natin, is something that has internal value. ‘Yung may kabuluhan na siya.”

Looking back at all the challenges they had to overcome together, it seemed apt that they highlight the concept of hope.

“Yung hope ‘yung kailangan natin araw-araw. Let’s just keep on hoping,” Vice remarked. “Kumapit lang tayo sa pag-asa… Sa mga bagay na hindi na natin alam, let’s keep on hoping.”

READ: ‘It’s Showtime’ hosts describe the show as their ‘life’ and ‘home’

Director Rory Quintos, one of this year’s hurados, commended the group by opening the highly-anticipated anniversary special performances with a bang.

“The word is bongga. Ni-level up niyo ng todo. To start with, it was a really good theme,” the director said. “The way it was told, it was really good.”

Actress Alice Dixson also expressed, “Everybody can relate to what it feels. Thank you for showing your human side. You guys are gonna be hard to beat.”