Where do the “Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast” hugots come from?
Directors Antoinette Jadaone and JP Habac both did not expect that “Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast” would become a huge success.
For Jadaone, it all started as a humble passion project in 2020 during the pandemic.
“Hindi namin in-expect na makukuha kami ng Spotify. Ano lang talaga siya, it started as a creative outlet tapos lumaki siya ng lumaki,” she tells FreebieMNL during an interview at the #ParinigMoWithSpotify event on February 9, 2023.
In a separate interview with Habac, he admits being “kabado” the first time he jumped into the podcast. Habac was not originally part of the project and joined the show in 2021.
This is the reason why he appreciates the love their podcast has been receiving despite not being an original part of it.
He says, “Honestly, sobrang kabado kami when I joined the podcast tapos di ko rin ini-expect. Honestly, hindi ko in-expect yung love na nakukuha namin ngayon from our listeners. As in sobrang thankful ko na lang talaga na I became part of ‘Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast’ kasi napalapit na rin siya sa puso ko. Naging breather na rin siya sa usual thing na ginagawa ko: pagsusulat, pagdidirek.”
Habac also appreciates how their listeners enjoy their episodes. What warms his heart are the comments from OFWs who are avid listeners of the show.
He shares, “Sa Instagram, nakakatanggap kami ng messages especially yung mga wala rito sa Pilipinas, mga nasa ibang bansa. Tapos parang feeling nila every time nakikinig sila ng podcast namin, parang feeling nila at home na uli sila. Lalo na yung mga OFW na kapag nakakapakinig sila like yung mga memz episode namin, parang napapabalik sila doon sa childhood nila, sa high school life nila. So, nakakatuwa na parang yung experiences namin personally, nakakarating at nae-experience din ng ibang tao. Sobrang saya, sobrang saya gumawa ng content sa podcast.”
The ”Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast” hugot
“Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast” has episodes where Jadaone and Habac read love problems from letter senders. They then give pieces of advice or share thoughts about these stories.
During the Q&A, FreebieMNL asked Jadaone where they get their hugots, coming from the fact that she has a happy love life with director Dan Villegas.
She shares, “I guess, di ba, sabi nila parang before you end up with a prince, you kiss a lot of frogs. So, parang yung experience before, it becomes a part of your journey. Ako kasi, writer and a filmmaker, so we’re more dramatic than most people. So, it’s really well-documented.”
The past heartbreaks allow Jadone and Habac to share what they have learned about falling in love through time.
She continues, “So, these little heartbreaks, naaalala talaga yan ng writer at hindi yan nakakalimutan ng writer. So, that’s what happens sa podcast. So, what happens is [that] we don’t rehearse, we don’t read letters in advance. We just like read the first five sentences and then parang it’s free for all.
“So, all the advice we give, mabilis siya kasi we talk to a lot of friends na ganun katanga or kami rin, naging ganun katanga. So, I guess, mga Pinoy talaga, hopeless romantics at one point in their life and then they’ve just become cynical,” she ends with a laugh.
In fact, there were times Jadaone would realize she has shared some experiences from her relationship with Villegas.
She explains, “Actually, when we do our podcast, parang nakakalimutan namin. We forget that there will be people listening to the podcast after. Kasi JP and I are really good friends outside the podcast. So, when we do the episodes, parang it feels like two friends talking. Tapos minsan, when we listen to the episode, ‘Ay, nasabi ko pala yun. Sorry naman!”
Villegas, at some point, would be shocked people know details about their relationship.
“So, when people like comment or they share their insights on the podcast, Dan would be surprised na ‘Paano mo alam yun?’ So, I guess that’s how podcasts are. It makes you feel na you’re a close friend of the creator kahit na you’re miles apart.”
“Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast” the movie soon?
Habac shares in his interview with FreebieMNL that “Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast” has been a good outlet for him to tell more stories outside filmmaking.
“Kami ni Tonet, pareho kaming writer at director. Hahanap at hahanap ka talaga ng outlet kung saan ka pwedeng makapagkwento, makapag-share ng ideas. I think yung ‘Ang Walang Kwentang Podcast,’ naging isang platform siya for both of us na makapagkwento. Kaya sobrang saya namin kapag gumagawa ng memz episode kasi parang somehow, tuluy-tuloy pa rin yung pagkwento namin, mga experiences namin. Kasi ganun din naman sa paggawa namin ng pelikula o series, mga kwento na kinukwento namin doon, somehow experiences din namin. Sa podcast, parang ibang way lang siya ng pagkukwento na mas diretso, walang Maja Salvador na magpe-play ng character namin. So, makakahanap at makakahanap talaga ng outlet kung saan magkukwento.”
But have they thought of doing a movie version of their podcast based on their letter-senders’ stories?
Habac answers, “May mga ganong ideas kami pero siyempre, kailangan ipaalam doon sa letter-sender. Pero ang dami naming natatanggap na letters na sobrang interesting na kwento. Like, for example, yung nakwento ni Tonet na na-sex niya yung kakambal ng dyowa niya. Parang totoo ba?! Hahaha! Pero yung mga ganong sobrang out of this world na kwento, parang ang ganda niyang i-explore pa. Pero like if kung mapupunta man kami sa ganong route ni Tonet, we’ll definitely ask permission.”
As for Jadaone, she and Habac have more plans for the podcast in the future.
She shares, “Mga gusto naming gawin siguro, magta-travel kami together and gagawa ng episodes out of the travel. Kasi pareho kaming mahilig mag-travel at saka kumain. So, siguro, next level na sa podcasting kasi nga yung podcast, meron na siyang video component, e. So, pwede na rin siyang panuorin.”
Banner Image Paulo Correa
