True to tradition, ABS-CBN brought together its brightest stars on stage to spread holiday cheer and remind everyone of the power of coming together as a family and community via the “The ABS-CBN Christmas Special 2025,” first part of which was aired on Saturday, December 13.
With the theme “Love, Joy, Hope” which is the same title as this year’s Christmas ID, the star-studded spectacle commenced with a VTR that gave us a glimpse of the past station IDs that inspired the 2025 anthem and of some of the remarkable events that had happened in the Philippines this year. It also featured six ordinary personalities whose extraordinary stories were shared in the 2025 Kapamilya Christmas ID.
Nation’s Girl Group BINI kicked off the opening number with their electrifying performance of their hit single “Shagidi” alongside Asia’s Multimedia Superstar Anne Curtis. They were followed by BGYO, who sang and danced to their very own song “Get Down (Everybody Get Down)” together with Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano.
Taking a break from the memes, Darren Espanto channeled the rapper and Pinoy pop icon in him via his powerful rendition of “Bazinga” by SB19 along with Soul Supreme KZ Tandingan. They were followed by the quartet of Ogie Alcasid, Morissette, Angeline Quinto, and Erik Santos, who impressively sang both in Korean and English while hitting the high notes of “My Universe” by Coldplay and BTS.
Fyang Smith, Maymay Entrata, and Kim Chiu made sure to keep it 100 while singing the highly popular “The Fate of Ophelia” by global pop superstar Taylor Swift.
Following a series of foreign songs, fast-rising singer-songwriter Maki then took the stage and made everyone sing along to one of his biggest hits so far, “Namumula.” And it was not just him who made us turn red with that performance because he was joined by Kapamilya heartthrobs Kyle Echarri, Donny Pangilinan, and Joshua Garcia—who were all clad in red ensembles.
Asia’s Superstar Kathryn Bernardo then emerged onstage singing Cup of Joe’s “Tingin.” James Reid, her leading man in the highly anticipated ABS-CBN Studios series “Someone, Someday” followed her afterwards, as well as their co-star Maja Salvador, who was shimmering in her décolletage-baring silver suit.
Of course, what’s a Christmas special without at least a Yuletide hymn, right? The trio of OPM legends Martin Nievera, Zsa Zsa Padilla, and Pops Fernandez took care of it as they belted out the Andy Williams classic “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
The star-studded opening set was capped off with the duo of seasoned, sought-after hosts Luis Manzano and Robi Domingo emerging onstage as they teased viewers about the next numbers everybody should watch out for.
Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez-Alcasid started the second body with her version of Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree,” wherein she didn’t just let out those high notes but also her killer dance moves.
From one Christmas song to another, Soul Diva Klarisse De Guzman led her onscreen family, fondly called “Pamilya de Guzman,” and former “Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition” housemates Esnyr Ranollo, Shuvee Etrata, Mika Salamanca, Brent Manalo, Will Ashley, Bianca De Vera, and Dustin Yu in spreading holiday cheer to everyone via their rendition of the well-loved Christmas anthem “All I Want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey.
Following a slew of song numbers, the third segment of the ABS-CBN Christmas Special 2025 was all about dancing and championing women’s empowerment, as some of the Kapamilya leading ladies dominated the stage alongside Pinay dance legends Maribeth Bichara, Geleen Eugenio, and Georcelle Dapat-Sy.
It was the three of them who commenced the disco-themed portion as they grooved to Shalamar’s "A Night to Remember.” Geleen then led Shaina Magdayao and Yassi Pressman in their “Body Dancer” showdown, as well as Maymay Entrata, Belle Mariano, Francine Diaz, and Alexa Ilacad in their “Rico Mambo” number.
As Maribeth took her turn onstage, she was joined by “What Lies Beneath” stars Janella Salvador, Charlie Dizon, and Kaila Estrada in dancing “Boogie Wonderland,” and then by Maris Racal, Jane de Leon, and Jane Oineza. who unleashed the showgirls in them via Gloria Estefan’s “Oye.” She went on to share the stage with Ivana Alawi as they danced to Jennifer Lopez’s “Waiting For Tonight.”
Kim Chiu and G-Force founder and leader Teacher Georcelle probably got millennials and Gen Zs out there on their feet with their invigorating performance of Tyla’s viral dance hit “Chanel.”
Just when everyone assumed that the set was already over, revered Kapamilya personality Charo Santos surprised everyone when she appeared onstage and did three trending dances, like what she usually does on social media. This indeed amused everyone watching in the studio. She was subsequently joined by the rest of the performers, as they all danced to another of Taylor Swift’s viral hits titled “Opalite,” to end this portion.
As the undisputed top-rated and formidable series in primetime over the past three years, the annual ABS-CBN Christmas Special had never been complete without the “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” family partaking in it.
Taking the lead was none other than their lead star-cum-director Coco Martin, who made everyone kilig and entertained as he and his reel-to-real-life sweetheart Julia Montes sang “Grow Old With You” and “Kasama Kang Tumanda” together. Apart from their oozing natural chemistry and their lovely images together flashed onscreen, the audiences also shrieked when Coco suddenly kissed Julia on the lips, much to her and everybody’s surprise.
The Primetime King and the Prime Actress then went on to usher in the barangay party of the “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” family, which commenced with the first batch of cast members—including veteran character actors Joel Lamangan, Tommy Abuel, Ronnie Lazaro, Pen Medina, Susan Africa, Alan Paule, and Juan Rodrigo—singing “Kisapmata” by Rivermaya.
Coming in next was the group of Ronwaldo Martin, Gillian Vicencio, John Medina, Criza Taa, Nicole Luna, Geline Queri, Ghercie Soriano, and Happy Marcial, who rocked the stage with “Awit ng Kabataan.” It was followed by the thrilling “Elesi” performance of John Estrada, Cherry Pie Picache, and Christopher de Leon, whose complicated love affair on the show as Rigor, Marites, and Ramon has been making the viewers so hooked.
Jake Cuenca then led Angel Aquino, Dante Rivero, Paolo Paraiso, and Franki Russell in singing Eraserheads’ “Ligaya” while it was Baron Geisler who spearheaded the Mondragon faction comprised of Rosanna Roces, Roi Vinzon, Jay Gonzaga, and Jeri Montano in performing “Toyang.”
As his song covers went viral online recently, many were indeed hyped up as Aljur Abrenica hit the stage and began singing “Magasin.” He was then joined by Via Antonio, Perla Bautista, Aleck Bovick, and two other supporting cast members.
Tropang Tanggol was definitely there as well, with Ryan Martin, Jojit Lorenzo, Mammoth Estroso, Big Mak Andaya, and Baby Giant Baña singing and bopping to “Maniwala Ka Sana.” Since they’re composed of rappers, such as Bassilyo, Smugglaz, Kial, Mastafeat, Flict G, Jojo, and Sisa, the Batang Tondo Gang indeed impressed with their version of “Bagsakan.”
Of course, the “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo” set wouldn’t be complete without Coco partaking in it. After his kilig duet with Julia, Coco went back onstage and got the spectators amused with his version of “Mr. Suave,” that he complemented with his snazzy dance steps. He was later on joined by Maris Racal, who lit up the stage with her effervescent charm.
Their super fun and highly invigorating set concluded with the entire ensemble singing the “Hoy, hoy, hoy, hoy, hoy, hoy” part of the last song altogether, and with Coco thanking everyone who has been showing their unwavering love and support to “FPJ’s Batang Quiapo.”
Piolo Pascual, Belle Mariano, and Joshua Garcia—the stars of the blockbuster hit Star Cinema flick “Meet, Greet, and Bye”—then introduced the unkabogable number of Phenomenal Box Office Star Vice Ganda, who was indeed a vision in white as she belted out her rendition of Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory.”
Her “It’s Showtime” family then took over the stage as she did a quick costume change in order to complement their denim ensembles. Vice then called her castmates in the upcoming 2025 Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Call Me Mother” to join them in singing APO Hiking Society’s “Tuloy na Tuloy Pa Rin Ang Pasko.” Being the gregarious bunch that they’ve always been, the hosts approached the camera and struck random poses as they teased and bantered with each other.
The second part of “Love, Joy, Hope: The ABS-CBN Christmas Special 2025” will be aired this Sunday, December 14, on Kapamilya Channel, Kapamilya Online Live (KOL), iWant, and A2Z.