Ahron Villena looks back on winning MTB’s “TV Idol: Ur D’ Man” in 2004

Campus girls of the early 2000s sure got crazy about Ahron Villena, winner of the “TV Idol: Ur D Man” segment in the Kapamilya noontime show "MTB Ang Saya-Saya."

He was 17 then. Now, at 35, Ahron looks back on his earliest days in showbiz in an episode of Hotspot with DJ Jhai Ho. He said acting was never his dream, although as a teenager he often received the usual “pwedeng mag-artista” remarks from their family friends.

In college, a schoolmate-practicum trainee at ABS-CBN suggested he audition for Star Circle Quest. But he wasn’t yet in tune with his potential. When he heard about “TV Idol,” he decided to join just for the prize money to add to his school allowance. He lined up at the ABS-CBN audience entrance to audition for “TV Idol”’s Batch 4, with no backing of talent scouts. He got in but was unfortunately eliminated after making it to the Top 10. Yes, he lost first before winning.

The segment continued with another batch of hopefuls while Ahron went back to school as the newest campus heartthrob. A month later, he received a call for a wildcard edition featuring the runner-ups from Batch 1 to 5. “Sabi ko, ‘Sasali ba ako ulit?’ Noong una hesitant ako. Pero sabi ko, ‘Sige na nga, baka mamaya may chance pa.’”

Out of the 7 wildcard contenders, three were chosen to join the likes of AJ Dee and JE Sison. Ahron, Kiko Matos, and Mark Cortez were all wildcard contenders. The finalists went through an intense selection process on national TV until the Top 5 remained.

“Mahaba ‘yung run. Every week, ‘yung exposure-wise talaga that time maganda. Bawat labas mo, kilala ka ng tao, which is nakakataba ng puso. Kumbaga contestant ka palang naman, eh. Hindi ko kino-consider na artista ako nu’ng time na ‘yun. Nakikita ka sa TV pero contest ‘yung sinalihan mo, hindi ka celebrity,” he said.

Admittedly, he thought the crowd favorite and more popular AJ Dee would win in the competition. But he did. “No’ng tinawag ‘yung name ko, sobra akong naiyak… Sobra akong nagulat. Of course, thankful ako sa mga nag-support sa akin, family, friends, mga nag-vote, sa management ng ABS-CBN, sa mga judges,” he reminisced.

The Top 5 finalists were then formed into a group. As DJ Jhai puts it, Ahron, AJ, Kiko, Mark, and JE were the Hashtags of their generation.

Ahron was last seen in a teleserye via Love In 40 Days with Loisa Andalio and Ronnie Alonte.