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 2

It's that time of the week again! Sunday is The Voice Of The Philippines day! After the success of the first live show, we are all thrilled to see what the contestants prepared for us tonight. I must say that the first live show will be very hard act to follow since "MAJORITY" of the title contenders were on the first one. Did the second half performed better than the first one? Who completed the Top 16? Let's all find out. :)

I would like to thank everyone who have been supporting my blog! My twitter mentions have been crazy so far and a lot of requests have been asked too. I will try my best to really give some of your requests. Thanks everyone :) My blog views just reached 12000 views with my last blog posting a 1,200+ views. Awesome!

Again, I will be doing my review through a ranking category just to spice things up. This are all from my own opinion. For the worst performance of the night..

12th: Angelique Alcantara - Nobela (Team Bamboo)

BORING. Wrong song choice. Everything in that performance was wrong. There was nothing spectacular on her performance at all. Why didn't Coach Bamboo changed the song of Angelique? No offense to the Join The Club but that song was not for contest-type performance. Her voice can be compared to KZ Tandingan but what's missing is her lack of emotion and style. Everyone knows that from this point it would just be Isa and Paolo for the night on Team Bamboo.

11th: Diday Garcellano - Rumor Has It (Team Lea)

BIG. BIG. BIG SONG. If you will cover an ADELE song be sure to really do it well since people will really compare you to the original one.  She was eaten alive by that song. We were wondering if there was a technical malfunction because we can't hear her that well while she was performing. She struggled last night. She knows it that's why she started to cry when Coach Lea was about to make her decision on who to save between her and Kim.

No offense to Diday and Kim, but with their performances last night it kept me thinking that RJ deserved a slot if he performed tonight!

 

10th: Tristhan Perfecto - When I Was Your Man (Team Apl)

Tristhan started strong with his performance. It was cool until the middle part where he struggled. I was wrooonggggg....... That will haunt him for a couple of days. It was just after his performance where Coach Apl defended Tristhan that he voice wasn't really perfect at that time. I just wished that Tristhan changed that part where he will not suffer since he knows that his voice isn't that well at that time. I must say, that part of the song was the MAKE OR BREAK point of his performance & sad to say, he failed to deliver that part. Overall, he still did well. Rest your voice Stan! I believe that you will  be performing with Bruno Mars soon!! :)

 

9th: Klarisse De Guzman - Beggin' (Team Sarah)

Wrong song choice again. Yes, I know that people want to see the other side of Klarisse but that song did not bring out anything good in her. It was plain and simple. I would have opted to see her perform more upbeat songs like Domino or any song by Jessie J, just to be different. Beggin' was performed by Phillip Phillips on American Idol where he performed it as an acoustic version. 

But, despite of that somehow disappointing number, we all know that Klarisse will be saved last night, no matter what happens. Sarah will definitely save Klarisse, for all obvious reasons. She's great but I think Sarah has a female contender already in Morissette Amon which I think has more chance of winning this competition compared to Klarisse. 

8th: Kimpoy Mainit - Hallelujah (Team Lea)

I did not like his version of this song. It was just too much of everything that the song needed. He over sang it. It was too theatrical. He also struggled on the middle portion of the song. This was not how I expected Kim to deliver come live shows, he did well on his performance with Taw and he also did great last night with his duet with Janice Javier. I really felt that none of Kim and Diday deserved to move forward to the next round. I hope he will be able to give us a better performance come next week.

 

 7th: Isa Fabregas - You Got A Friend (Team Bamboo)

This will all be good comments from now on. Haha. Isa really did great last night! She sounded classy! It was like were were all watching her perform on a bar. It's really good! This is how you pick a song. You pick a song that will bring out the best in you. Where you can shine and stand out among the rest. I was having doubts with Isa before since I for me, her vocal range might limit her to only a number of songs but she made the necessary arrangements and really made it her own!

 

6th: Yuki Ito - A Song For You (Team Sarah)

I did not like the arrangement of the song, but who cares? His voice is really incredible! I can consider his voice one of the best voices for this season! He gave his all! His voice quality is crazy good! The control, depth, texture and all! We lost a great talent!!! What a waste. :( He deserves to be in this competition! SAYANG!!!!!

 

5th: Paolo Onesa - You Give Me Something (Team Bamboo)

He has really something to show! Paolo gave a very good interpretation of the James Morrison song. I thought he will still be that shy and awkward while performing but he definitely improved last night. He just needs more confidence and take the risk of hitting those high notes much longer. He can do it, he should give it a try. I believe we will be seeing Paolo for a long time in this competition! 

Coach Bamboo proved to us that he was right when he chose Paolo over the Cordovales duo. Cheers Coach Bamboo!

PS: Paolo's are really great singers. Paolo Valenciano, Paolo Onesa and Paolo Valencia. Kidding.=) haha!

 

4th: Penelope Matanguihan - Ordinary People (Team Apl)

I am disappointed with her performance but I still ranked her 4th. Why am I disappointed? This song was too easy for her! In other words, no challenge, no thrill for her. She needs to test her limit, take risks, she has wide range so she can definitely play with her voice. I ranked her 4th because of her voice, it's probably one of the smoothest voices in the competition. Coach Apl can make her sing anything! Penelope, we know you're a good singer, we want more! We know you have the talent! Don't hold back!

3rd: Maki Ricafort - Without You (Team Sarah)

I'm up for a Maki-Thor-Mitoy and Myk finale! Woohoo! Maki murdered the song! He sounded like Brian Mcknight! I applaud his effort to really not sound as much as Brian Mcknight and it showed somehow. His runs and riffs are crazy good! We were all shouting at home! Coach Sarah was also on point where she said that Maki needs to show emotions while singing. Coach Lea gave a very good criticism too, sometimes when singers tend to style it too much, the lyrics of the song were suffering. I'm sure come next week, he will improve on those things. Maki all the way!

2nd: Janice Javier - I Believe I Can Fly (Team Apl)

Standing Ovation from the judges. No words needed! Janice soared high last night! Shame on me for underestimating her. She's here to win this competition! I felt that she really meant every lyric of that song! Big Momma J brought the house down! She owned the stage and really made the tv viewers and the live audience feel her fire!! Coach Apl is very lucky to have a very diverse and strong team with Thor, Janice, Jessica and Penelope!!

1st: Mitoy Yonting - Don't Stop Me Now (Team Lea)

Mitoy saved Team Lea last night! It felt like he was not a contestant but a guest performer! He totally rocked the stage and fired up the crowd! That's how you make someone understand on how you should define stage presence! He is a PRO! He made it look easy! Hitting those crazy high notes from time to time! I'm speechless as I am under his spell too! Mitoy is a total performer! Definitely the best performance of the night! Mitoy also got the highest vote percentage of 82%! Talk about total domination!

It's like he just sang and told everyone that THE SEARCH IS OVER!! I will win this competition! :)

 

 And there we have it! Klarisse and Maki completed Team Sarah. Mitoy and Kim for Team Lea. Janice and Penelope for Team Apl & Isa and Paolo for Team Bamboo! I would also like to congratulate the voters for doing a job well done! We are making the right decisions! Let's continue to vote for the best until the 2016 National Elections! Haha!

We now have our The Voice Of The Philippines Top 16!!! Who's the strongest team? Here's my take on each team.

#1. Coach Apl de Ap's #TeamApl

How can you go wrong with: Thor Dulay, Janice Javier, Penelope Matanguihan & Jessica Reynoso? This will be really challenging for the four of them to do better than the other! Another headache for Coach Apl! :)

#2. Coach Lea Salonga's #TeamLea

Headed by the two musician veterans on Radha Tinsay and Mitoy Yonting, plus the originality of Darryl Shy and Kim Mainit, Team Lea is also one of the teams to watch out. I can see Mitoy and Radha fighting for the finale spot on Team Lea but I hope Darryl and Kim will do something to surprise us!

#3. Coach Sarah Geronimo's #TeamSarah

It's Maki Ricafort versus the ladies for Team Sarah! Morissette Amon, Klarisse de Guzman & Eva Delos Santos will surely fight hard to win Coach Sarah's vote. I'm prediciting a Maki vs Morissette for the number 1 slot on Team Sarah.

#4. Coach Bamboo's #TeamBamboo #KampKawayan

I can see Myk Perez leading this team all the way but we should also watch out for Paolo Onesa, Isa Fabregas and definitely Lee Grane. This team needs to do a lot of work to somehow keep up with the intensity and talent of the other three teams!

There you have it everyone! Please tell me about who you're picks are! I have a comment section and we can discuss anything! Put your ranking too and let's see if the other readers agree on your ranking!:) Let us all interact and really discuss things out!

Credits to: The Voice Of The Philippines for the photos. ABSCBNBestProgram and ALiWAN for the videos!

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Of The Philippines: The Battles Round 3

Last night was better than last Saturday. I was impressed with the contestants who did not have that much noise during their blind auditions. But before we start, I was really happy that Sir Lord Lumibao is really sport to admit that Thor was the better man at the night of their battle.

Who got eliminated? Let's start.

First one was Coach Bamboo. He paired up Paolo Onesa against the Father-Son team, Cordovales Duo. I was not that familiar with the Cordovales Duo so I predicted Paolo to take this battle but I was wrong, he was clearly outperformed by the Father-Son duo. I think why Coach Bamboo chose Paolo was he sees himself with Paolo. He said that he was like that before but he was able to adopt to the need of the industry and I think that's what he saw in Paolo. It's not like Paolo did bad on that performance. I think Bamboo still did the right choice. Paolo has a greater chance of becoming big in the industry rather than the Cordovales Duo.

This will be another controversy for Bamboo as people thought that this was hands down a Cordovales Duo win. I am puzzled on what Coach Bamboo is planning for his team.

Up next are Coach Apl's Dream Bebots. :) He paired three very beautiful girls in Penelope, Moira and Cara. I can still remember their auditions so I thought this will be an easy win for Penelope. And I was right, it might be tough to say but Cara and Moira did bad on that battle. They were struggling. Penelope was the only bright spot on this performance. Nothing to say but this was just a very easy win for Penelope. He was clearly the Dream Girl for Apl. Coach Apl clearly has the most talented team on this season. 

Penelope was the star of the night

Coach Lea's team clearly brought the house down tonight. Probably the best performance of the night. I even asked Ms. Lea Salonga if its possible to have a studio version of this one. To my surprise, she replied back! :) :) :)

Kimpoy won this battle against his good friend Taw

Taw and Kimpoy really did a very good job on the song Without You by Usher. Although they both did great, I can really see Taw staying longer on this competition. I was surprised when Coach Lea picked Kimpoy. He is good, but Taw also did good on this performance. Everyone was emotional, even Coach Sarah was somehow teary-eyed. I just hope Taw gets a shot to be in the music industry because we need someone like her. Props to Kimpoy for winning this one.

Team Sarah's Junji Arias and Dave Lamar were the last performers of the night. Upon seeing this pairing, I honestly felt bad for Dave Lamar. Come on, battling with Junji? It's like facing suicide. Dave has a chance but with that song Bohemian Rhapsody, his chances clearly went from 50 to clear zero. Dave is a good singer, it's just that he was paired with a really really great singer. Junji clearly owned him on that battle. No questions asked.

Junji and Dave rocking Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody

I am looking forward for next week! Excited to see my bets Janice Javier, RJ Dela Fuente, Radha and Maki Ricafort face their battles against equally good singers. 

Even my good twitter friend RJ Dela Fuente is excited for this battle:

Do you agree with the decisions of the Coaches?

Credits to: Ithevoiceph for the videos.

Keep the Faith.

Paolo

The Voice Of The Philippines: Team Lea

Team Lea is up next. Her team is a combination of new breeds and experienced ones. Having THE Ms. Lea Salonga as your coach is an honor and an achievement itself. She got a lot of great talents but who stood out? Here's my take on her team:

Her strongest member? No doubt. MITOY YONTING. Yes, the same Mitoy that has been singing with Chu-chay on Eat Bulaga's Bulagaan. Man, perfect range, controlled notes and he can really perform! Just give him any song and he will still give you chills! He is not only the strongest member of Team Lea but also one of the main frontrunners of this season.

Mitoy performing Alone on Eat Bulaga.

Ms. Radha came close at second place, who doesn't know Radha? We know what she can do and bring to this contest. I am really happy to see her back at the music scene again. We missed this kind of soul music! I am sure we will get to see her for a long time!

Next would be RJ Dela Fuente, his version of Get Here might not be the best but his voice definitely has something special. Ms. Lea will surely know how to mold RJ into a better balladeer. 

Juvie Pelos' version of Uwahig

Probably the most surprising audition piece by any contestant was the audition of Juvie Pelos. She sang Uwahig, a kundiman song. I hope she can deliver come battle rounds. She really has the potential. We will surely watch for her next performances.

Here are the rest of Team Lea:

Team Lea
1. Darryl Shy
2. Chien Berbana
3. Taw Muhammad
4. Radha Tinsay **
5. Mitoy Yonting **
6. Diday Garcellano
7. Juvie Pelos **
8. Marissa Saroca
9. Mel John Podolig
10. Rainier Acosta
11. Japs Mendoza
12. RJ dela Fuente **
13. Kim Mainit

** Paolo's picks

Although Ms. Lea have this talents, I still think her team is not that competitive enough. Yes, she have Mitoy and Radha but other than them and those whom I just mentioned, the others were good but not as spectacular as the others. But Ms. Lea only needs 1 to come with her until the end and that's what is important. :)

Do you agree with my top choices? 

Keep The Faith.

Paolo