Fresh off the record-breaking success of Taya, the gritty urban erotic-thriller that premiered on the country’s new no. 1 streaming platform Vivamax on August 27, garnering the all-time highest number of single day views, it looks like its three hot female stars, led by new top sex kitten AJ Raval and newcomers Angeli Khang and Jela Cuenca, are primed to become this generation’s new crush. 


Viva, whose star-building prowess is the stuff of local entertainment legend, sees the emergence of what may well be a worthy successor to the Viva Hot Babes. And so they dub these three young and gorgeous girls their new VMX CRUSH—VIVA’S MAXIMUM CRUSH! 


Aj Raval, Jela Cuenca, Angeli Khang

Get first dibs on this sizzling new trio before they get really big: 


Jela Cuenca, 23, signed up with Viva just this year. She hails from Negros Oriental. She was doing various modeling gigs and making the rounds in the local pageant scene until she was discovered in a photo shoot. “It’s always been my dream to become an artista,” Jela says. Dreams do become real. 




Angeli Khang, a half-Korean cutie who just turned 20 last August, got to play a pivotal role in the climax of Taya (no spoilers here, you’d have to see it to be blown away!). She was into cosplay and modeling before showbiz knocked on her door. Although Taya is her first acting assignment, she is already learning a lot about the craft. “I think that being an actor gives you the best excuse to never stop learning or growing. There’s always a new role to prepare for, always new things to learn and to understand.”




And then we have AJ Raval, who Taya director Roman Perez Jr. declares as the new queen of sexy films, and for good reason—since she was introduced in Paglaki Ko, Gusto Ko Maging Pornstar, AJ has show she is the kind of actress who will go all out in every role she plays, so much so that her Vivamax starrers practically dominate the top 10 in the streaming platform. 


Is AJ the new Pantasya ng Bayan? You bet she is! But she is humble enough not to let the title get to her head. “Hindi ko naman po nafi-feel na ako ang pantasya ng bayan,” she says. Funny thing is, when she signed up with Viva she had imagined she would be an action star like her father, ‘90s action icon Jeric Raval. “But life has a different path for me, and so far, everything is doing fine.” But who knows?




 AJ also counts singing in her checklist of talents.  “In fact, I already recorded a song along with my brother, under Viva Records,” she says.  Could this be the cue for VMX Crush to start recording a single and heat up the local music scene? With our new maximum crushes, the possibilities are endless!


VMX Crush—Viva’s Maximum Crush— a Vivamax Original going beyond the platform and ready to take over the scene!




Photographers: Jerico Montemayor & Jogz De Jesus
Make-up artist: Rhina Montemayor
Hair stylist: Christian Bojo
Styling: J-em Sta Ana