ABS-CBN’s newest singing-reality competition “Search for Idol Philippines” premiered strongly last Sunday (April 21) as it set the record for the fastest ABS-CBN show to gain 100,000 subscribers on YouTube and topped the weekend programming.

With only an episode in and in less than 18 hours after the pilot episode aired, the show already achieved a major milestone on YouTube as it reached the said number of subscribers and will soon receive the Silver Creator Award from YouTube.

It further proved its online prowess as the performance of idol hopeful Angie Kristine became the number one trending video on YouTube as it garnered 1.8 million views only a day after it was uploaded. The four audition clips have reached a total of 6 million views on YouTube in just 24 hours.

The show also made waves on Twitter as the official hashtag #IdolPhilippines and related trending topics #IdolPHRegineV, #IdolPHJudgeVice, #IdolPHJudgeMoira, #IdolPHJudgeJames, and even the names of the idol hopefuls secured spots in the list of trending topics.

Netizens, meanwhile, were quick to share their excitement on social media and posted praises for the judges and the contestants.

“I think the reason why James and Moira were judges is because singers now have evolved so much. The genres are all different. It’s no longer ‘birit lang nang birit,’” @Markie54439830 tweeted.

“I wanna congratulate ABS-CBN and the entire crew and staff for a very successful pilot episode! Kudos to the director and the cinematographers for the upgrade in terms of shots and angles,” YouTube user Alcey Sassy commented.

“We watched last night and I think we want more kaya excited na kami sa mga next episode. We're so proud of bumbum James that’s why we’re here until the destined ‘Idol Philippines’ hopeful wins,” said Facebook user Nikki Alexis.

Meanwhile, more households nationwide tuned it to the show’s premiere as it scored a national TV rating of 30.6%, or 17.4-points higher compared to “Studio 7” that only registered 13.2%, according to data from Kantar Media.

This coming weekend, the judges will sift through more idol hopefuls to determine who deserves to head to Idol City and pursue their dreams. Who among them will make the cut?

Tune in to the idol hopefuls’ journey on “Search for the Idol Philippines” on ABS-CBN. For updates, follow @abscbnpr on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit www.abscbnpr.com.