The Voice Of The Philippines FINALE

All good things come to an end. It feels like attending a graduation. You will see all those who made it to the end and just feel really proud on how far they have been. The journey of Mitoy, Klarisse, Myk and Janice will all come to an end. Who will be the FIRST winner of The Voice Of The Philippines? 

 I only have good words for this show. This is probably the BEST SINGING COMPETITION we've had in the Philippines. From the hosts, the set, the coaches and the contestants, this show has really put a very high bar if ever there will be another singing competition that our country will have. I had always thought Pinoy Pop Superstar and Philippine Idol have good formats but The Voice in general has probably the best format for a singing cometition in the world. 

Our FIRST GRAND WINNER OF THE VOICE OF THE PHILIPPINES IS............ MITOY YONTING! All of us probably saw this coming, right? Or predicted that Mitoy will probably be in the finale. From his blind audition, we knew he will go far. His crazy limitless range is something that made him be loved by the Filipinos. It might be something that we always hear here in our country but he has something special that sets him apart from the others. His emotional connection on any song he sings. 

 

The exact time when Mitoy's name was announced!

 

I am just lost for words for this final article regarding the voice, I have seen my Idol Thor who inspired me to go back to singing after quite some time, the show itself inspired me to dream big again and I do hope I can make it someday. To all the members and fans of #TeamApl, #TeamSarah, #TeamBamboo/#KampKawayan and #TeamLea, congratulations to all of us!

 

The finale happened a day before my birthday and I would just like to share that I had the blessing to meet some of the contestants. They are all very nice!:)

I felt like a contestant already. :) haha! I wish I could have a photo with Janice Javier, she is really my winner among the four of them. I know we will be seeing more from her. May she have a fruitful career ahead. I would like to also take this chance to congratulate everyone who made this show possible. You guys made history!

Congratulations to our Coaches as well. Will we see them again for Season 2?

Congrats to the winning coach! Coach Lea Salonga!:) 

Will there be changes? Who will replace who?

Writing for The Voice has been a blast for me! Thank you to everyone who shared their opinions, whether you agreed or not, I am still very thankful!:) See you next season!:)

God Bless us all!

All photos are from my phone. :)

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Of The Philippines: Top 8 Performance&Results Night

I am sorry for the late post for this review. I needed some time to rest and really get all my bearings back. It's been a hard for me(If you know what I mean). 

There will be only one artist from each team that will represent his/her coach in the finale next week. Did we really see great battles? Who represented each team? If we will be basing in on the poll that I posted on my past article, with 312 votes, here are the winners for each team: Team Apl - Thor, Team Lea - Radha, Team Sarah - Morissette and Myk for Team Bamboo. Were they right? Let us all find out.

I was blessed enough to watch the show live again. Thanks to the Thorifficallies for the ticket. :) They're really nice! The show started with Coach Apl performing his new single Balikbayan. His performance really pumped up the crowd and prepared them for much awaited battles.

It was Team Lea who got to perform first. If you weren't really following the show, you might thought that it was Radha and Mitoy who are fighting in the finale. Haha. Two of the most seasoned, experienced and best singers we have in the competition are fighting for that one last spot. 

Mitoy Yonting was the first to perform and he chose the song Power Of Love. My reaction after knowing that he'd be singing this one? HOLY S#IT. Perfect song choice at the perfect time! He will shine more because of this song! This song requires a lot of control and power but we all know Mitoy have them! He really gave a very good performance, in my opinion this is one of his best performances. We might always hear him really belt out the high notes but for me, although its still the same high hitting notes for Mitoy, this one is more precise and really well prepared. It sounded really good and smooth!

 

Mitoy Yonting - Power Of Love

If I was really amazed with Mitoy, I was at first really disappointed with the song choice of Radha, Let It Be? Really? I thought the song won't be the perfect choice and I was almost sure Mitoy will get it if she will just do the same version of the original song. I WAS 1000000% WRONG. That was probably one of the best versions I've ever heard!!! People on the Newport Theater gave her a standing ovation! Who knew that a simple song like Let It Be can have a version where you can feel empowered and really blessed? It was powerful, amazing and the things that she can do with her vocals are just really outstanding! She killed it. She nailed the song. Her performance for me was WORLD CLASS! I totally forgot Mitoy's performance after she sang! 

 

Radha Cuadrado - Let It Be

RESULTS: *I predicted Radha to win this battle.

Coach Lea gave Radha 55% and 45% for Mitoy. But it was the public votes who really spelled the difference. Mitoy really has the support of the voting public. He dominated Radha by getting 63.78% of the votes and 36.22% for Radha. 

I hope we get to see Radha on TV again and probably hear her release a new album again. My only concern for Mitoy is, I know he has like 60% chance of winning among the other finalists but I am still looking on what genre Mitoy's music apply. Will be he the new Jukebox King? :)

I think from this point on, we all know who will be the person to beat come the finale. :]

TEAM LEA's Finalist: Mitoy Yonting performing "BULAG"

Kamp Kawayan's up next. People tend to say that its the talent vs looks scenario on Team Bamboo but I beg to disagree. They are both extremely talented BUT Filipino voters really look for the Face first before the Voice. Myk is miles better than Paolo. Paolo's good, but for me it's really Myk who is the better among the two.

Myk Perez chose the song "Baby I Love Your Way" and it was surprisingly good since he did not have his guitar with him. Might not be the perfect Top 8 song choice for him but he gave the song justice. What I like about Myk is we know what kind of artist he is. He has his own style, any song that he performs, you know that it's Myk who's singing. It's quite impressive that he knows what he wants on a young age. The girls might love Paolo more than Myk, but I think Coach Sarah likes Myk more than Paolo. Haha. :)

This was a case of wrong song choice for Paolo. He could have beaten Myk if he chose a much more competitive song. Elesi is a great song but it's not a top 8 song in my opinion. The song choice caused his elimination. I knew he will need to double his effort in order to beat Myk but sadly he failed and I think Coach Bamboo knew that Myk was really the guy for him.

RESULTS: *I predicted Myk Perez to win this battle.

Coach Bamboo gave 55% to Myk and 45% to Paolo. It was expected that Paolo Onesa will win the public votes by a mile but it was very surprising that Paolo only beat Myk by 3%. Paolo got a 51.92% and 48.98% for Myk. Finally, 1/2. Myk moves to the finale!

I am sure Paolo Onesa will be on ASAP. He made the Zamboagenos really proud and and we really wish that the war will soon end there. Heads up, Paolo! (from Paolo. Haha) 

Myk's original song Fix You is my favorite. Great lyrics. Great music. He is really talented!

TEAM BAMBOO's Finalist: Myk Perez performing "Fix You"

Probably the most talked about battle are the singers from Team Sarah. Coach Sarah will really have a hard time on picking who she wants to represent her team. Will it be her younger version Morissette or her former competitor Klarisse? Morissette performed the song "Who You Are" and I really think she killed it. She was the first artist to give me chills last Sunday. My only comment from her performance was it lacked emotion for me. She has no problem with her voice, she clearly has the advantage with Klarisse but it just felt that something was missing even though it was already that great.

Klarisse was the biggest surprise of the night. She blew me away! I wasn't expect that at all. This is how you do it! She clearly knew when is the right time to pull a surprise! I am lost for words. Klarisse won the night. In my opinion, experience spelled the difference between Klarisse and Morissette.

RESULTS: *I predicted Morissette to win. 1/3. :\ haha.

Coach Sarah did the right thing by giving Klarisse 55% and 45% to Morissette. This was also one of the biggest surprise of the night. We all thought they will have a very close fight in the public votes but the performance of Klarisse really gave the edge. She got a very high 63.39% while Morissette got 36.61%. 

Morissette might have failed to win it again, first on Star Factor and now on TVOP  but I believe she made her mark in the industry already. She is now famous and making it big will just be a matter of time. She will be a big artist. :) Another artist who deserves to be on ABS-CBN. She is also very beautiful. :) Hoping for the best for Morissette.

Last but definitely not the least.... My team.. Team Apl. If Team Lea has Mitoy and Radha, Coach Apl have Mighty Thor and Great Janice. Two of the most soulful and equally experienced singers battling it out for that one last spot. If you're a frequent reader of my blog, you know who I'm rooting for. I am for Mighty Thor from Day1. I will be forever a Thor fan. Thor chose the song "Climb Every Mountain". After knowing that he will be singing that song the words I came out from my mouth was, "IT'S OVER". Hands down, best song choice among the eight of them. It's just a matter of delivery.

(Others might not agree but this is how I really feel) I felt his performance. BUT. I hated the arrangement of the song. I thought he could have been better if he somehow went with Guy Sebastian's version of that song. See his version on Australian Idol. I think the simple arrangement could have worked for him. He has the voice, and he really deserved to be in the finale!

This is his song. I knew it from the start. But I knew he gave his all. I'm contented with that. He gave his best. 

I thought of the same thing with Janice when I thought her song choice was boring. Imagine is a very simple song but after I heard Joshua Ledet's on American Idol, I suddenly got nervous. She will kill this one. And I was right, it sounded like a worship song. Janice's song clearly has the better song arrangement. She made sure she will get everything she can on that song and she was successful on doing it. I will give their battle a 51-49 score. with Janice having the higher score.

RESULTS: *Predicted Thor to win.

Coach Apl was honest enough to admit that both are really good singers. It's really a matter of who did better tonight. He gave Janice - 55% and 45% for Thor. I just realized the judges gave the same scorecards tonight. This is where I was really caught by a surprise, with Janice losing a lot to Jessica last time, I actually thought Thor will don't have any problem winning this one but I think the public seemed to agree with Coach Apl. Janice got 57.85& while Thor got 42.15%. 

I am sad that my idol Thor won't make it but I am happy that he lost to a worthy opponent. Janice is really great. She is really talented as well. :) I wish her the best. I am rooting for her and Myk to win this season!:) For my Idol Thor, might not be the happy ending that we would have wanted but I believe God has a reason for everything. This is your time. This is your time. :)

TEAM APL's final artist: Janice Javier performing "Coming Home"

I can't wait for next week! Clearly Mitoy has the upper hand among all of them but I hope the remaining three will give him a very good fight. I am very blessed to have seen the show live twice and the chance to meet my idol. Dream come true. :) Thank you again to Rizza of Thorifficallies, Ms. Mai Dulay, the very nice and beautiful wife of my idol and especially to my idol Thor :D :D :D

I will never forget this time. :) Early gift for me! Turning 23 this September 30. :)

I am bad on predicting winners. Haha. Got only 1/4. :(

Who are you rooting for? Team Apl? Team Lea? Team Bamboo? or Team Sarah? :)

surveys & polls

Credits to  TheVoiceABSCBN for the videos. 

Keep the Faith.
Paolo

The Voice Of The Philippines: Top 8

surveys & polls

Can't believe we only have two weeks left for the first season! It feels just like yesterday when the show started! From thousands of people who tried and gave their best, it all boils down to 8. Eight singers proved to be the best of the best. Who will be the sole bearer for each team? Who will be the first Voice Of The Philippines Grand Winner?

I did this so that we can somehow know the contestants more, and I can give my insights regarding their strengths and weaknesses and somehow predict if what will be their chances of winning. Again, this is just me. If you don't agree, I have a comment box below and let's discuss. :)

Let's start with #TeamAPL. My team. Haha.

Coach Apl De Ap have the soulful singer Thor Dulay and the very passionate Janice Javier.

Thor Dulay had his time back in 2004, where he released his self titled debut album: Thor, but things didn't went to his favor. And now, thru this competition, he hopes to relieve his fame once again and believes that this is the right time for him to re-introduce himself to the world.

How cool would it be to see Thor at the end of the competition knowing he was the one of those who performed on the pilot episode? 

Advantages:

- Vocal expertise. He is also a voice coach. 

- Experience. He's been here. He knows what went wrong at that time, and I'm pretty sure he will definitely not let go of this chance given to him.

- Celebrity connections. Having Vice Ganda as one of his supporters will really help his campaign since people's vote will also play a big part if he wants to win in this competition.

- 4 Chair Turner. Enough said.

Disadvantages:

- When will we see his other side? From I Have Nothing - I'll Make Love to You - Narito - Lately, we still haven't heard him sing a fast and upbeat song. Not a reason for concern but people might get bored and think that that's all he has to offer. It would be very good to give a mix-up every now and then.

- Complacency. His fans might think that since Jessica murdered Janice on the public voting means that this will be a walk in the park for him but I disagree. Fans need to know that Janice is a very good and strong competitor.

Janice Javier for me is the underdog in this match up. They might be somehow equal in experience but the fans of Janice need to do much much better to let Janice be in the finale for Team Apl.

Advantages:

- Stage presence. Commanding performance level.
- Probably one of the most powerful voices in the competition.

- Coach Apl's favorite on his team? He gave a 65% score vs Jessica.

- Experience. She's been traveling to share her music to others.
- 4 Chair Turner too.

Disadvantage:

- Public vote. She might get a high score from Coach Apl but she still needs a lot of support from her fans.

PREDICTION: 70%-30% THOR WILL REPRESENT TEAM APL IN THE END.

#TeamLea's up next! I am 100% sure, everyone expected this to happen. Radha Cuadrado and Mitoy Yonting battling it out for the last spot. After we saw Radha and Mitoy picked Coach Lea, we knew they will be here for a long time. And they delivered, providing us quality and world-class performances every week. Who has the upper hand? Let's see.

Radha Cuadrado

The former Kulay member wants to get another shot in the music industry. She had three albums under her band's name and this will be a very good chance for her to redeem what was once her world.

Advantages:

- She has been singing since she was 15. Talk about all the experiences she have under her belt. 

- People still recognize her. Hence, resulting to a sure people's choice come text votes.

- She doesn't need to do anything extra-special. Her voice does all the magic.

Disadvantages:

- People might think, she had her time to shine. Give chance to others.

- She is way too good in this competition. (I know this is a compliment but I still decided to put it in the disadvantage part)

Mitoy Yonting. People might recognize Mitoy since he was also performing as a comedian and people noticed him thru his video on Bulagaan where he surprisingly belted out Alone effortlessly. 

Advantages:

- Wide wide voice range. His range is limitless!

- Comedic approach. Filipinos love that.

- True blue performer.
- We missed this kind of performers. They are the perfect combination of attitude + talent.

Disadvantages:

- Will people buy his music? That's the question that I have. Radha's voice is more marketable in my opinion. I am still trying to figure out what kind of album can Mitoy give us.

PREDICTION: 52%-48% Too close to call but I think: RADHA TINSAY WILL REPRESENT TEAM LEA IN THE FINALE.

Coach Sarah team is up next and I think the Popsters wanted this battle to happen. Two different artists but both have connections with their Idol. Morrisette Amon will be going up against Klarisse De Guzman. This will be very interesting for Team Sarah.

Morissette Amon

She looks like Coach Sarah, but in my opinion she sounds better than Coach Sarah when Sarah was on the same age with her. Morissette sings like a pro even if she is still young. She was also a former contestant of Talentadong Pinoy and finished runner up on Star Factor. Both shows aired on TV5.

Advantages:

- Ka-look-alike charm. She will definitely have the votes from Sarah's millions of fanbase!

- Impeccable voice range and quality.

- She knows the best songs for her. 

- The next Sarah Geronimo?

Disadvantages:

- Can she handle the pressure of this competition? Or her youth will get the best of her?

- People might always compare her to Sarah.

Klarisse De Guzman

Sarah's former competitor on Star For A Night. She might not have the widest and highest range but her soulful voice and deep connection to every song she sings will be her main weapons.

Advantages:

- Coach Sarah's vote. 

- The voting public seems to be in her favor. I don't know why but Klarisse really has a strong following even just after her blind audition. :)
- 4 Chair Turner.

Disadvantage:

- We need to see more personality from her. Morissette shines even if she's not singing. Klarisse needs to step it up more.

- People are somehow questioning Coach Sarah's decision in keeping her around. Although I think Klarisse deserves it.

PREDICTION: 60%-40% MORISSETTE AMON WILL REPRESENT TEAM SARAH IN THE FINALE.

Last but definitely not the least, Coach Bamboo's Kamp Kawayan! Acoustic heartthrob Myk Perez will be battling against the soulful heartthrob Paolo Onesa. Who will be the last man standing for Team Bamboo?

I honestly had doubts with his team at first but after the Live Shows, I was contented on his picks. He did the right decisions at the right time! Kudos Coach!

Myk Perez

Myk's the guy for Coach Bamboo. Myk picked the right coach for him. Bamboo brought out the best in him. I am 100% sure this guy will soon provide countless hits! His version of Chasing Pavements has been getting crazy good reviews and even stayed at the #1 spot on iTunes!

Advantages:

- Better musicality than Paolo. Much more options for him to play.

- Confidence

- Stage presence.
- 4 chair turner

Disadvantages:

- His style is too comparable to his coach. He should be able to do his own style.

Paolo Onesa

Who knew this very shy guy from Mindanao will capture the hearts of everyone? After people criticized Coach Bamboo for picking him instead of the Cordovales duo, he proved to us why he deserved to stay. Week after week he continues to improve but will it be enough for him to win?

Advantages:

- Girls love him. Girls = Vote

- Marketable. His song was the first song to reach the #1 spot on iTunes!

Disadvantages:

- Nerves still shows. Pressure might bug him in the end.

- He needs to do a fast song. We want to see the other side of Paolo.

PREDICTION: 55%-45%. MYK PEREZ WILL BE THE LAST MAN STANDING FOR TEAM BAMBOO.

There you have it! That's my take on our Voice PH Top 8!

Credits to Google for the photos and also to voicePH

Keep the Faith.

Paolo