Michael V.

Michael V.
Michael V. on the set of Eat Bulaga!
Born	Beethoven Michael Del Valle Bunagan (1969-12-17) December 17, 1969 (age 51) Malate, Manila, Philippines
Other names	Michael V. Bitoy Toybits Beethoven
Occupation	Actor comedian impersonator director composer singer rapper voice artist vlogger music producer
Years active	1991–present
Musical career
Origin	Pandacan, Manila, Philippines
Genres	Pop OPM rap novelty parody
Labels	EMI OctoArts Polyeast GMA Music
Website	Michael V's Profile in GMANetwork.com
YouTube information
Channels	Michael V. #BitoyStory
Years active	2013–present
Genres	Comedy parodies motivational technology review game review travel
Subscribers	1.31 million
Total views	32 million
Associated acts	Eugene Domingo Dawn Zulueta Dingdong Dantes Arthur Solinap John Feir
show Creator Awards 100,000 subscribers 2018 1,000,000 subscribers 2020
Updated: July 2021
Musical artist

Beethoven Michael Del Valle Bunagan (born December 17, 1969), known professionally as Michael V. and also known as Bitoy, is a Filipino actor, comedian and recording artist, who appears in the GMA Network show Bubble Gang, and in his own TV show Pepito Manaloto.

Known for his literal "translations" and parodies of popular Filipino and foreign songs. Michael V. has also made original songs, such as "Sinaktan Mo ang Puso Ko"^[1] (English: "You Hurt My Heart") and "Hindi Ako Bakla"^[2] (English: "I'm Not Gay").

Early life[]

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Michael V. was born on December 17, 1969 at Clinica dela Rosa in Malate, Manila to Cesar Felix Bunagan and Melba Balonzo del Valle.^[3] His father named him after German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, upon seeing a copy of Beethoven's LP in his boss' office, not knowing that "Beethoven" is a surname.^[4]

The nickname "Bitoy" was taken from a kiddie TV character played by comedian Bentot. When Bentot, as Bitoy, guested in Iskul Bukol, then-high school student Beethoven saw it and began mimicking Bentot's voice in school. His classmates then called him "Bitoy", to which the nickname stuck to this day.^[4] He finished his secondary education in Manila Science High School. Bunagan later earned a degree in mass communications from the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila. He joined a lot of contests on TV. In one contest in Eat Bulaga!, judge Ogie Alcasid turned him down. Later, Beethoven became a co-host of Eat Bulaga! and Ogie Alcasid became one of his close friends and co-star in the long-running Bubble Gang and Tropang Trumpo.

During the popularity of Andrew E., the song "Humanap Ka ng Panget" became wildly popular, to which the then unsigned Beethoven composed a reply song entitled "Maganda Ang Piliin (Ayoko Ng Panget)". At that time, OctoArts was then inviting Beethoven's female friend and rapping partner, Dianne, to submit a demo tape. In that demo tape, Beethoven's "Maganda Ang Piliin" was accidentally included. He and Dianne got individual recording contracts. Beethoven's song and its accompanying album became a hit.

When he entered show business, he and his manager were deciding a stage name for his career as a rapper. Back then, the most popular Filipino rappers were Andrew E. and Francis Magalona so they opted for a similar stage name: "Michael V.", after Michael Jackson and Gary V., Bunagan's favorite international and local artists respectively.^[4]

Michael V.'s first feature film appearance was in Regal Films' comedy film, "Banana Split" topbilled by Joey Marquez. He eventually gained prominence when OctoArts Films started to include him in several comedians alongside: Vic Sotto, Ogie Alcasid, Francis Magalona, among others.

Television and film career[]

He has won the Asian Television Awards for Best Comedy Performance by an Actor for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006. He recently joined MariMar as the voice of the eponymous character's pet dog Fulgoso. After his voice-acting in MariMar, he played a supporting role in Codename: Asero. On August 23, 2008, Michael V, after winning Best Comedy Performance Award at the Asian Television Awards for three consecutive years—was officially informed that he will grace the front cover of Reader's Digest (RD) 5th Annual Humor Special, September issue. Making him the second Filipino whoever landed on the covers of Readers Digest next to former President Cory Aquino.^[5]

He also had a comedy movie with longtime friend Ogie Alcasid called Yaya and Angelina: The Spoiled Brat Movie^[6] produced by GMA Films and APT Productions, inspired from a segment of GMA 7's award-winning gag-show, Bubble Gang. Bitoy also hosted a game show on GMA, Hole in the Wall with Ogie Alcasid in 2009.

Bitoy formerly hosted a comedy-talent show called Bitoy's SHOwwwTIME, which aired from 2009–10 and also hosted Kap's Amazing Stories: Kids Edition, while original host Bong Revilla had left the show shortly for re-election as senator, but Revilla won again as Senator a week later. Bitoy also won as a Celebrity Inductee to the Eastwood City Walk Of Fame Philippines in 2009. Bitoy had his first sitcom entitled Pepito Manaloto currently airing on GMA Network.^[7]

In 2010, Bitoy became Nestle Philippines' Laki sa Gatas advocate for Bear Brand Milk. In 2010, Bitoy returned to drama via Jillian Namamasko Po! which he plays a Santa Claus which he created a doll and gives to a good little child. In 2011, Bitoy appeared in Bantatay which he returns to voice as a dog. it was his 4th GMA Telebabad after Marimar and Codename: Asero and Jillian Namamasko Po!. In 2016, he conceptualized Tsuperhero along with Caesar Cosme.^{[8][better source needed]}

In 2016, Bitoy leaves as a co-host in the longest-running variety show in the Philippines, Eat bulaga!.^[9]

In 2019, Bitoy returns to film and make also his directorial debut film Family History via GMA Pictures.^[10]

Personal life[]

Bitoy and his wife Carol have 4 children. In August 2013, Michael was hospitalized^[11] for dengue fever, according to a tweet from Ogie Alcasid. Both Alcasid and Michael solicited prayers and platelet donations^[12] over the following days, promising to update fans once the situation gets better. Michael then later tweeted that he was recovering from his previous condition, thanking his fans for support.^[13]

On July 20, 2020, Michael V. announced in a vlog that he had tested positive for COVID-19.^[14] On August 11, Michael V. announced in another vlog that he had already recovered.^[15]

Music career[]

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Discography[]

Michael V. started his showbiz career as a rapper. In 1991 he released his first single "Maganda ang Piliin" (Choose Someone Beautiful), an answer to the wildly popular hit "Humanap Ka ng Panget" (Find Someone Ugly) sung by Andrew E. The song gained heavy radio airplay and he went on to release two more albums as a rapper in 1992 and 1994.

In 1997, he released a parody album entitled "MTB: Miyusik Tagalog Bersiyon" which contained literal translations of pop music hits from the '80s and '90s. But what made the album a big success was the original single "Sinaktan Mo ang Puso Ko" (You Hurt My Heart). Written by Michael V. himself, the humorous love song gained commercial success and became the "unofficial anthem" for the heartbroken, despite its violently funny lyrics. In 1998, Bitoy released the sequel parody album "MTB: Miyusik Tagalog Bersiyon 2" where he released more original songs than the first album. In 1999, he unleashed "MEV: Miyusik English Version" where he literally translated hit OPM classics into English while his original compositions (led by the hit single "Mas Mahal na Kita Ngayon") were in Filipino.

In 2006, Michael released his studio album, The Bubble G Anthology, which is a compilation of his song parodies from the TV show Bubble Gang under GMA Records. Anthology was described as "an audio-visual venture", with songs such as Mamaw, a parody of Kamikazee's song Narda, and DJ Bumbay, a comical take at the Indian merchants that are doing business in the Philippines. Some the songs in his album, like Wag N'yo Kaming Pansinin, poked fun at his gay colleague, Diego, and Myka, a black woman who is also a regular at Bubble Gang. The album was also released partly due to bootleg recordings of his songs which came in mono and had laugh tracks interspersed throughout them, owing to being ripped from existing Bubble Gang episodes.^[16]

Albums[]

• Maganda Ang Piliin (1991)
• Joke Time (1992)
• Gusto Kong Sumigaw! (1994)
• MTB: Myusik Tagalog Bersiyon (1997)
• MEV: Music English Version (1997)
• Miyusik Tagalog Bersiyon 2 (1998)
• The Bubble G Anthology (2006)

As composer[]

Aside from his new album, he is a composer of theme songs not only for his show Bubble Gang but also in other GMA shows. One notable song he composed is "Alinlangan", sung by Jolina Magdangal for the GMA fantasy serial Super Twins. He is also notable for creating some parody songs, including "Sabog Sabog Tayo", which was released on February 20, 2009.

He also composed "Tim Song Ku" sung by Regine Velasquez for the 14th Anniversary of longest-running comedy show, Bubble Gang.

Filmography[]

Television[]

Films[]

Awards and nominations[]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (August 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

References[]

External links[]

• Michael V. at IMDb