New year, new aspirations and goals to attain! And for “ASAP,” which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this 2025, it aims to be “unstoppable” and be better, bigger, and stronger than ever through exhibiting “more power, more passion, and more powerful performance from the country’s premiere artists.” 

So, what better way to fulfill it than to begin the brand-new year strong through the slew of remarkable and world-class production numbers by its talented up-and-rising, seasoned, and veteran stars for its January 5 opening salvo, right?

The kilig was indeed strong as “Pinoy Big Brother Gen 11” alumni-turned-onscreen tandems JM Ibarra and Fyang Smith, a.k.a. “JMFyang,” and Kai Montinola and Jarren Garcia, a.k.a. “KaiRen,” commenced the first-ever episode of the all-star Sunday party with their respective duets of “Miss Miss” by Rob Deniel. 

Ardent shippers of MayWard were surely delighted upon the sight of Maymay Entrata holding on to the arms of Edward Barber as they emerged onstage together with Robi Domingo and Janine Gutierrez as they greeted the audiences with a “Happy New Year!” and welcomed us to the first-ever episode of “ASAP” in 2025. 

Following the kilig performance of JMFyang and KaiRen, the rest of the all-star Kapamilya artists, who were clad in various shades of mocha mousse – color of the year—also made everyone sing along to their renditions of some of the greatest OPM hits of 2024. Among the songs included in the set were Over October’s “Ikot” sung by Gary Valenciano and Yeng Constantino, Dionela and JayR’s “sining” sung by Martin Nievera and Darren Espanto, BINI’s “Pantropiko” sung by Zsa Zsa Padilla and KZ Tandingan, Cup of Joe’s “Tingin” sung by Ogie Alcasid and Angeline Quinto, and Maki’s “Dilaw” sung by Regine Velasquez-Alcasid and Erik Santos. 

They joined Erik and Regine onstage as they concluded the opening number and went on to have a little reminiscence on the highlights of the year that had gone by. They also extended their well-wishes to everyone and expressed their desire for more projects, gigs, and shows this year for each one of them.

TJ Monterde gave us a glimpse of his upcoming three-day sold-out concerts by serenading us with his chart-topping, well-loved songs “Tulad Mo” and “Palagi,” while also imparting how his wife KZ inspired him to write those songs.

It may not be summer yet, but Kim Chiu already set the “ASAP” stage on fire as she ferociously danced to Tyla’s “PUSH 2 START” in her two-piece gold ensemble that showed off her sexy and fit physique.

From one femme fatale to a group of women with powerful voices, ASAP Divas Klarisse de Guzman, Marielle Montellano, Lyka Estrella, and Jona astonished us with their rendition of classic hits “What Kind of Fool Am I” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” Both songs were revived many years ago by the Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, who performed her rendition of Southborder’s “Wherever You Are” as her way of inviting everyone to watch her highly anticipated concert, “Reset.”

Concert King Martin Nievera, along with New Gen male champions Reiven Umali, JM Yosures, Khimo Gumatay, and JM Dela Cerna, then took the stage and impressed us with their version of Michael Bublé’s “Feeling Good.” 

KZ once again proved why she’s the Asia’s Soul Supreme through her exhilarating performance of her very own single “Labo.” It was followed by ASAP OPM Champions’ Angeline Quinto, Erik Santos, and Yeng Constantino’s soulful rendition of SB19’s “Mapa,” which is the official soundtrack of the blockbuster hit 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival entry “And The Breadwinner Is…”

After a string of song numbers, “PBB Gen 11” alumnae Jas Dudley-Scales and Kolette Madelo showcased their impressive dancing chops alongside Ken San Jose, Alexa Ilacad, and AC Bonifacio as they did the “The Sticky Dance.”

ASAP Rockoustic Heartthrobs Kobie Brown, Luke Alford, Kice, Blackburn, Anthony Meneses, and Jarren Garcia then made a lot of hearts flutter as they serenaded us with Teeth’s “Prinsesa.” Fans of Jarren were surely delighted and thrilled upon his announcement that he’s going to have his first-ever album launch next month!

Asia’s Phoenix Morisette Amon let her Bisaya roots shine in her first-ever live performance of her newest and first-ever Bisaya song entitled “Ihilak Lang Na” (or “Iiyak Mo Lang ‘Yan” in Tagalog), which truly tugged at the heartstrings, especially of those who speak or understand the language. 

Of course, every episode of the all-star Sunday party wouldn’t be complete without “The Greatest Showdown,” in which Kapamilya homegrown singers Yeng, Darren, KZ, Angeline, and Erik, along with OPM legends Gary, Martin, Zsa Zsa, Ogie, and Regine, performed a special mash-up of classic movie and theater soundtracks “Defying Gravity” and “Go The Distance.”The #ASAPStartStrong episode capped off with the ASAP stars thanking everyone for making the show trend in multiple topics on X, as well as sharing a traditional toast of champagne to ring in the promising new year!