Behind-the-scenes: Seeing Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza in person

It was set to be an exhilarating day in the broadway studio, as Lola Nidora (Wally Bayola), Tinidora (Jose Manalo), Tidora (Paolo Ballesteros), and Yaya Dub (Maine Mendoza) were scheduled to meet the Dabarkads that Saturday.

It was also the week when the hit “Kalyeserye” was faulted by some for being “mababaw.” A number of people in my Facebook feed had elaborate (and often emotional) posts either defending or attacking the “Eat Bulaga” (EB) segment.

#ALDUBmeetsTVJ first official family selfie

For me, it was amusing. As a social media producer, I think the science (or maybe the magic) behind the Aldub phenomenon deserves some investigation somehow. It is not “mababaw” from the social media marketing strategy point of view at all. If NGOs and government agencies can learn to “aldubify” the social reforms they are pushing for, and make that cause appeal enough to power 12 million tweets, it would help a great deal.

The crowd goes crazy just at the mere sound of the song "God Gave Me You." The girls behind me giggled unstoppably when Alden Richards entered the studio.

Then it happened. Lola Tinidora made a grand entrance, followed by Lola Nidora. Lola Tidora was missing in action. Everybody was on his or her toes waiting for Yaya Dub to come out like some royal princess being presented to the public for the first time.

She went out dancing and stole the crowd. She dressed simply, unlike the elegant women of EB who dressed with sophistication that day. Her family was there in the front row.

The crowd has gone wild at this point. The girl beside me was such a huge fan that she kept hitting me unknowingly in her jubilation.

The EB staff started to crowd the stage blocking the live audience' view. They were serious about the logistics and could not be distracted as the audience laughed at the Lolas’ antics. The air was pumped with adrenaline. I worked my way to go nearer, journalist mode. All the studio guards were alert in case some fanatic would dare jump into the set. The EB staff next to me was holding a tape measure set to one foot. But it was not needed; Yaya and Alden shared their first handshake that day.

Amidst all the commotion, Baby Baste just wants isaw.

I fixed my gaze on Yaya Dub and Alden to see if I can spot them exchanging secret sweet glances and gestures reserved for real lovers. They both danced gamely in front of the camera, their rapport was undeniable. They made a few scripted selfies, but managed to mumble a few private words to one another here and there before switching to dub smash again. If they have real romantic feelings, it was hard to tell. But to me, there was something warm with the way they look at one another.

I'd let you judge with these photos:

The way Alden looks at Yaya. *Melts*

Small talk off camera. #Paraparaan

The live taping ended and somebody screamed, “Yaya Dub, I love you!” Maine awkwardly looked at her phone instead of smiling like she was confused. I wasn’t sure then if she was snobbish or shy. Then she came back seconds later with an EB staff. I realized she was still not allowed to speak even inside the studio and perhaps tried to find herself a spokesman. The staff said, “Magha-hi si Maine sa inyo.” She smiled without saying a thing, mesmerizing the audience. To me, it seemed like she was still figuring out how to react to her instant fame.

I left the studio tired and dumbfounded, feeling that I still have to process what just happened for it to really sink in. The formula was simple and genius at the same time-- they merged great entertainment with old-school Filipino values and made them cater to the smartphone addict generation. The wisdom of 36 years made "Eat Bulaga" a powerful force. And because "classic" is timeless and never goes out of style, I am convinced that the Aldub craze can come and go, but “Eat Bulaga” will stay.---BMS/GMA Public Affairs