The Voice Of The Philippines: Top16 Part2

Disclaimer: While writing this article, I've been raping the repeat button on Myk Perez's performance last night. :)

I was blessed enough to got tickets to finally watch The Voice Of The Philippines live. The energy of the crowd was decent although far from the likes of the audiences from Ellen and Oprah but we'll get there! The stage was amazing!

This review will probably one of my best works since I've personally heard them all sing and it gave me a better view of what's happening live and how it differs from watching at home. I must say that the contestants really sound much better live although there is not much of a big deal but I really give respect to those who can really sing live smoothly.:)

Who completed the Final 8? Let's start.

#TeamApl was the first one to perform. Janice Javier will be up against the young and very talented Jessica Reynoso. This one was the hardest battle for me last night since they are really different from each other. Janice having this Rocker Chiq style and Jessica who's more likely to follow the footsteps of Whitney Houston and Beyonce.

Janice Javier was the first to perform and she sang Chain Of Fools. Her version of the song was great, her big voice was really commanding the stage. I enjoyed her performance and it seemed like she did too. This was one of her better performance since I thought her version of I Believe I Can Fly was her best performance to date. 

The biggest surprise of the night: We all thought Coach Apl will really give a close score for this two but I was also surprised when Coach Apl gave Janice 65% and 35% to Jessica. No disrespect to Janice but they are both good, I just did not expect that blowout score from Coach Apl.

Public's decision: 30.88%

Paolo's decision:  50% 

In my opinion, last night was Jessica's best performance in this show. It was heartfelt, and very well controlled performance. I honestly don't know why Coach gave her a low score, I was expecting more like 49-51 score for both of them. Just imagine, at 16 she's already like this? By 18 she's ready to conquer the world! I know she will go places. I just know it.

Coach Apl's decision: 35%

Public's decision: 60.02% (blowout score from the public! This was really interesting!)

Paolo's decision: 50%

 

And that's it for Team Apl! It will be the Soulful singer Thor Dulay up against Powerhouse vocalist Janice Javier for the final slot on Team Apl.

Team Sarah was the next to perform and before this show, Mommy Eva will be up against Klarisse De Guzman. I wanted Mommy Eva to really win this round but I was almost sure that Sarah will really give Klarisse a higher score(no disrespect, Klarisse is a good singer too) and the public will also vote for Klarisse. This is a big challenge for Mommy Eva as her back is up against the wall.

Mommy Eva did a very emotional performance last night, and I thought that somehow affected her performance. She was really feeling the song very well and that's good, I just thought she should have held back a bit and that would be a better performance. 

Coach Sarah's decision: 45%

Public's decision: 31.09%

Paolo's decision: 45%

Klarisse De Guzman was up next to perform. By now, everyone's kind of expecting that she'd be winning this battle because of her talent and her extra deep connection with Coach Sarah and I think she delivered last night. She actually did nothing special on that song but she provided the right amount of emotion the song really asked for. She was spot on and gave a very good rendition of the song I Can't Make You Love Me.

Coach Sarah's decision: 55%

Public's decision: 68.91%

Paolo's decision: 55%

Sarah will have an all female battle to know who will represent Team Sarah on the finale. Morissette Amon who's voice is just limitless and Klarisse who's experience might give her an edge against her opponent.

Team Bamboo is the next to perform and I will really say this, I've been really hard on Team Bamboo the past weeks, but THIS IS DEFINITELY THE BEST SINGERS COACH BAMBOO HAD IN HIS TEAM! Myk Perez and Isa Fabregas were both amazing last night!!

Isa was the first to perform and I was expecting this to be a blowout win for Myk, but she changed my mind after she started to sing! I instantly became a fan of her! Forgot what to call her style but I sense a bossa and jazz genre all combined on her voice. :) I look forward on her covers soon!

Coach Bamboo's decision: 45%

Public's decision: 33.87%

Paolo's decision: 48%

 

MYK PEREZ. BEST PERFORMANCE OF THE NIGHT. He's ready to do an album! I almost forgot that he was a contestant because everyone on the Newport Theater was singing and jamming with him. Easily the best performance :) I will definitely buy this on iTunes!

His voice might sound-like Coach Bamboo but what differs is he has a more pop feel and the audience seems to also like it!

Coach Bamboo's decision: 55%

Public's decision: 66.13%

Paolo's decision: 52%

This will be very interesting for Team Bamboo. All male final two! Myk Perez will be up against Paolo Onesa. 

Team Lea will have Radha Tinsay and Kimpoy Mainit battle it out for the last slot for the Final 2. In my opinion, everyone else knew that Radha will win this one. I think even Kimpoy knows it to himself. That's why I think it brought out the best in Kimpoy. Why? No pressure. He can do whatever he wants on that song. He can adlib and give it some style and he successfully did it. He gave a good performance!

Coach Lea's decision: 40%

Public's decision: 34.50%

Paolo's decision: 35%

I salute Ms. Radha for giving us a laid back and much more simpler performance last night. She have showed everyone how powerful her voice can be and last night she gave us something new. Might not be the way others wanted it, but I respected her decision to somehow hold back last night. Nevertheless, her performance was still one of the best! Talk about PRO PRO PRO. She's way too ready for this show! I cannot wait to see her concerts!

Coach Lea's decision: 60%

Public's decision: 65.50%

Paolo's decision: 65%

Coach Lea will parade two of the best singers in the whole competition! Radha Tinsay will be up against Mitoy Yonting.

Another great decision from the public!Can't wait for next week! I hope I can watch live again. Haha. :) I will do another blog featuring our Top 8 soon!:) 

Credits: TheVoiceABSCBN for the videos!

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Of The Philippines: Live Shows 1

This is how you do it! I gotta give it to The Voice Of The Philippines team for giving us a world-class set, music and performance! I was surprised to see the set! They did it!! From all the constructive criticisms they received from the blind auditions to the battle rounds, I'm pretty sure everyone's all contented with what they saw! Credits to the team!

I would like to congratulate the whole team for their collective efforts! I wish I could watch live! :) Great opening number too! I must say, the coaches really did their job as mentors! Who made it and who got booted out? Let's find out! 

I will do my review a little different, I will rank the 12 performances and explain whether they deserve what happened to them last night. I will start with the worst performance of the night:

(This is just my own opinion. Chill :) )

12: Corazon Dela Cruz - Nosi Balasi (Team Apl)

No doubt the worst performance of the night. She was struggling vocally and I can personally feel her nervousness. I get that Cora is really a rocker type of a singer but I would have liked to see her other side. She was always doing her signature kick then head bang move but that's it. Nothing new about her performance. She really performed bad last night. If ever she performed better, she was also unfortunate enough to be matched-up against Thor and Jessica who are two of the strongest members of #TeamApl. 

11. Talia Reyes - You Oughta Know (Team Bamboo)

This is hard since after Cora, I really thought all of them did quite good last night. :| I chose Talia because in that performance, I did not felt the desire to last in the competition. I know you need to perform but I felt that she lacked something; in my opinion her song doesn't have a big moment where she will really shine. But, in the good point, she really has a good tone. Original. Unique. 

10. Junji Arias - I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing (Team Sarah)

Surprised? So am I. I was 70% sure that the other slot would be a battle for Morissette and Mommy Eva since Junji kind of made his mark early in the competition. We expected that he will be the last man standing for Sarah. I don't know what happened, it maybe the nerves or too much excitement but that was definitely his worst performance we've ever seen. Too bad that it came at this point and even made it to the expense of his elimination. I have very high respect for Mr. Junji and I hope that we see more of him in the future.

9. Lee Grane - Make You Feel My Love (Team Bamboo)

We all expected a lot from Lee Grane. Coming from that very controversial Battle Round with Dan Billano we all thought that Lee Grane will really put on a good show come Live Shows. But....... She did not.. I did not understand the majority of the words she's singing and I kind of expected she will sing another slow song. I hoped she thought of doing something different. Her popularity on the show is slowly sinking and I don't know if it's just me or Coach Bamboo's the only one believing in Lee Grane. I really hope Lee Grane does something new next time, an upbeat song or any number without her guitar?

This is very hard from this point. The remaining 8 singers did their best last night.  

8. Jessica Reynoso - I Believe (Team Apl)

She did great, it's just that I've heard the song I Believe a lot of times and it's hard not to compare her version with them. We don't have to be negative at this point, Jessica's really great. I am very impressed with Jessica, at 16? Her voice and looks will take her to places! Only comment on her is to really pick her song choice from now on, every performance is very crucial so she has to really think and pick the right song for the right time. :)

7. Darryl Shy - Danny Song (Team Lea)

I was right when I predicted that he might be the dark horse on Team Lea and even on this competition. During one of the seasons of The Voice US, Nicholas David(who I think is Darryl's counterpart there; same genre and get-up) even reached finale and made it as the runner up on that season. A lot of people really love this kind of laid back songs and I think Mr. Darryl is here to stay. He really sounds authentic and heartfelt. This was his breakthrough performance so far. People will start to know him more.

6. RJ Dela Fuente - I'll Stand By You (Team Lea)

Coach Lea said what I want to say for RJ, the biggest improvement of them all. He is still shy and not that comfortable at the stage but his voice got more confident and became more controlled. I was really impressed with his version of I'll Stand By You since we've known this song as the song of Carrie Underwood. He definitely did all he can do with this song. He did really really really well. It's sad to see him go but that's how life really is. We win some and we lose some. I did my part as a supporter and voted for him like crazy, I am sure this is not the last time we will be hearing from him. I just wished he stayed much longer. 

5. Radha Tinsay - River Deep Mountain High (Team Lea)

What more can I say? PRO. PRO. PRO. Over qualified. :) She is more than ASAP ready than anybody else. She's really great. I don't know what to say really, she will be as great as she is from this point so all other singers must really watch out for her. The only thing I think that might actually cause her to lose is that the people might think that she is too good for this show, that she already had her time, she should give chance to others and etc. But as what Radha said on her blind audition, Kanya Kanyang Trip yan! :)

4. Thor Dulay - Narito (Team Apl)

PARTIDA. PARTIDA. PARTIDA. Hahahaha! He looked sick but he did not sound one! True professional! I was really shouting at home when he was performing. Call me bias but he is really amazing! He is my idol way way before he entered The Voice and this is the only time that I can really support him this much! His song choice is perfect and his vocal range is just limitlesss! Sky is the limit for Thor! I cannot wait t o see him in the finale! This is his time!!!

You might ask why I did not put Thor on the top spot, it's just the others really stepped up and surprised me. Thor will still be my #1 bet for this season!

3. Myk Perez - Isn't She Lovely (Team Bamboo)

Maybe I was too harsh for Team Bamboo on my other blogs but Myk clearly changed my mind. He was amazing. Great song choice, great performance, greatness at its finest. He was on point, he knows what kind of artist he wants to be. He deserves to be with Bamboo until the end. In my opinion, Myk Perez >>> Lee Grane. I am excited for his next performance, will we see him with the guitar again? I am rooting for you buddy!

2. Eva Delos Santos - So Far Away (Team Sarah)

Biggest surprise of the night! I personally did not expect that at all! She looked like a pro! She sounded like one too! That version of So Far Away was one of the best! From the piano to her vocals, it's perfect. She might be one of the more un-appreciated talents but I really believe in her talent. Imagine how she would have sound like when she was younger! This is pure talent that we are seeing. Mommy Eva still proving to us that she still has it like everybody else! Respect :)

1. Morissette Amon - Jar of Hearts (Team Sarah)

This is how you close a show! After this performance, people are now talking about her more. She isn't just a Sarah look-a-like but she is making a name for herself. Sarah really did her part on this one, I can see that they have a connection and Sarah's styles are being learned by Morissette! Hands down, best performance of the night!

Conclusion:

This night belonged to TEAM SARAH! Other teams must really double their efforts in keeping up with her team. She still has Maki for next week! Another advantage of the members of Team Sarah is their coach has the biggest fanbase among the four of them. No doubt. This just keeps the show more exciting! Props to the music band too for playing great music!

If you will rank the performers last night, what's the arrangement of your top12? Tell me!

Credits: ITHEVOICEPH for the videos.

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Of The Philippines: The Battles Round 4

Sorry for the late upload, been experiencing bad internet connection for the past week. Good thing they were able to get it done before tonight's episode.

What did we miss last week? Did the coaches made good decisions? Will we see another surprise pick from Coach Bamboo? Let's see.

Team Bamboo opened the night for Battle Rounds. Isabella Fabregas and Angelica Prado battled out with the song "Don't Speak" of No Doubt. No doubt that this was a very great performance and a very controversial one. I think in this performance, it was Angelica who outperformed Isabella Fabregas. Another surprise pick from Coach Bamboo. I am now confused on what is his plan for his team. 

No DOUBT, his team is the weakest SO FAR. No offense to the talents he have on his team right now, they are all talented but they're not enough to battle Thor, Radha, Maki and Junji. I was really disappointed because during blind auditions, Team Bamboo was close enough to winning this competition. But after the Lee Grane controversy, it was just followed by another one. I just hope that during the last part of the battle rounds, he will be able to put up a competitive team.

Big Momma J and Lance Fabros battled it out for a slot on Team Apl's team. They sang "Don't Stop Believing". I think this is a mismatch and wrong pairing. You know who will win even if you don't watch them perform.

I couldn't say that it was a great performance since in my opinion that song wasn't really one of their genre. Maybe it was too low or high for one of them but I commend Janice Javier's stage presence. I felt her performance, she really doesn't want that night to be her last. Clearly, her hard work paid off. Lance wasn't just able to keep up with the intensity of Janice Javier. Coach Apl is really blessed and packed with a lot of talents!

The next one was in my opinion the best battle of the night. Team Lea's Darryl Shy and MJ Podolig. Their song might not be really a typical battle song but that really doesn't matter as long as they can deliver what the message of the song asked. I hope they can record a studio version of "Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka".

I can say that Mr. Daryl Shy is the dark horse on Team Lea.  You might underestimate him but I can really see that he has more to give on this competition. As for MJ Podolig, he did great but nothing spectacular. Coach Lea is really great in giving advices to her team. She is not holding back on anything, she will say anything she wants because she wants you to be better. I would love to be coached by Ms. Lea Salonga.

Last battle of the night was Team Sarah's Mommy Eva Delos Santos and Michaellen Temporada. I can consider this as an odd pairing but I was really surprised with Coach Sarah's team performance so far. Her team is for me, the team to beat in this competition. She might be an underdog during the blind auditions but she have surpassed Coach Bamboo's team in terms of giving the audience the performance they deserve. Coach Sarah continues to impress me with her song choice, mentoring and even her positive vibe that everything will turn out right. She is proving everyone why she deserves to be seating next to those 3 other judges!

Mommy Eva was just the better singer that night. :) Just sad to see a good singer leave the competition this early.

Last 2 battle rounds left! I honestly can't wait for RJ Dela Fuente, Radha and Maki Ricafort's battle. :) 

Credits to: VoicePH for the photos and TheVoiceABSCBN for the videos.

Do you agree with me? Did they made the right decisions?

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Of The Philippines: Team Sarah

It's time to get to know the members of each team. I will enumerate everyone and will probably tell who I think are the strongest members of each team. 

Let us start with Team Sarah. I am correcting myself, I honestly thought that Team Sarah was one of the weakest team but I have got to say, she also got some really good singers on her team. I am impressed that Sarah, despite being the youngest among the 4, know what she really want for her team.

Probably her strongest weapon for this season, Junji Arias will be Team Sarah's front runner for this season. Junji sang the song I'll be there for you and got a 3 chair turn. I must say, I did not expect Junji to choose Sarah in the first place, but who couldn't pick a coach who treated you like a hero after you performed? I would say this was a very smart choice for Junji too.

Junji Arias: I'll be there for you

Sarah also got a very good soulful singer in the name of Maki Ricafort. The former South Border member is now ready to make his own name. His version of Foolish Heart is probably one of the smoothest version I have ever heard. Controlled, and you can really hear that he has been doing this for a very long time. Among Team Sarah, I am rooting for Maki Ricafort.

Next one would be Morissete Amon, she was the one who looks like and sounds like just like Sarah Geronimo. Definitely has the qualities to become the next popstar. She is also one of the better singers on her team. Michaellen Temporada, a registered Nurse but now he is not in the hospital but rather in the stage fulfilling his dream. He sang the song Summertime and got a 4 chair turn from the judges. Sarah is very lucky to have this guy.

Last but not the least, I can also see Hans Dimayuga staying for a long time in this competition. Sarah was the only one who pushed her button but I was really impressed with his vocals on that song. Let's hope that he will stay consistent.

Those are my top picks for Team Sarah. Here are the rest of the team:

Team Sarah

1. Junji Arias **

2. Eva delos Santos

3. Morissette Amon **

4. Michaellen Temporada **

5. Gabriel Ramos

6. Hans Dimayuga **

7. Kathreen Castro

8. Hideyuki Ito

9. Lecelle Trinidad

10. Maki Ricafort **

11. Klarisse de Guzman

12. Rouxette Swinton

13. Dave Jonathan Lamar

Note: ** Paolo's picks

Do you have the same picks with mine? Who are the strongest singers for Team Sarah? 

Keep the Faith.

Paolo