Kamote, Kalabaw

Watch it on YouTube The Clash is a reality TV where 60 singing contenders fight for battle to survive until one man/woman is left standing. Read more about it on Wikipedia.

It's season 2 of Protege. Season 1 looked for singing talents. This time, an artist who can act, sing, and dance. Protege 2 seems to replace the Starstruck series which had the same purpose. Who deserves to win the 12-million peso prize? Higit sa lahat, ang may karapatang manalo ay yung kayang tumabo sa takilya at humataw sa TV ratings . Hindi sapat ang ganda ng mukha, kailangang may angking kahusayan sa pagganap sa pelikula o telebisyon. Bagama't malaking tulong, pangalawa lamang ang kahusayan sa pag-awit o pag-sayaw. Sa kabilang banda, dahil lahat sila'y baguhan, hindi sapat ang kahusayan lamang. Kailangan ay may angking ningning at ganda na siyang pang-akit sa madla. Ang tao ay tumutugon at unang naaakit sa kanyang nakikita. Pangalawa, ang tao ay sunod na naaakit sa damdamin ng kanyang nakikita. Kaya naman sa larangan ng pangangalakal, upang maka-akit ka ng mamimili, ang isang visual artist ay gumagamit ng sikolohiyang panglarawan at emosyonal ( visual-emotio...

Is Color An Issue? When Jessica Sanchez was eliminated (but saved by the Judges) last week, I wondered why a great talent would lose from such competition. Does America still prefer the common white skin? A Filipino-Mexican, is Jessica's color or race a disadvantage? or Perhaps, America is just not voting wisely? Image link c/o poptower.com Oprah, Obama, Whitney, and Randy are colored Americans; so are Idol's Fantasia and Reuben. Jennifer is a Latina. Bruno Mars is Fil-Latino. Apl de Ap of Black Eyed Peas is Black-Filipino. So, maybe, Jessica's saved-elimination has nothing to do with race or color. Californians Vs Southern Americans In the Top 8, only Jessica and Deandre are from California. The rest are from Southern America. Deandre Brackensick was eliminated two weeks ago. California has a population of 37 million. Does it mean California is not voting for fellow Californians? When Deandre was eliminated, who benefited his votes? Was fellow Californian Jessi...

The top 3 contenders for Protégé battled for the the big break in the finals. The first round was a duet with their mentors. The second was a solo themed the performance of their life. Krizza's duet with Aiza was simply outstanding. Her solo rendition of a Christmas song "My Grown-Up Christmas List" made a simple melody so special. Lovely, on the other hand, in her eagerness to win, over-performed her songs both in the duet and solo. Her performances were flamed by her emotion to win rather than by the emotion called by the songs. For that reason, the songs came out differently. Lirah's solo number, in fact, came out better than that of Lovely's. Protégé was trending on Twitter during the 2-hour show. Towards the end, even the name of Krizza and Lovely showed up in the top 10 trends of Twitter. GMA Network's Protégé, I believe, is a success. It should call for a season 2 while it's hot.

The Final 5 Before The Twist Lovely performed well that night but she was eliminated. On the other hand, Nomer was too young for "Bohemian Rhapsody". It was just right if he was eliminated based on that night's performance. So, the final Five were Jensen, Lirah, So Wat, Krizza, and Kenneth. Based on the group's performance, So Wat could have been eliminated but text votes saved them. The Twist That Saved Lovely and Nomer The twist was to call back the 5 Protégés who were earlier eliminated. The five contenders battled for a second chance. As a result, Nomer and Lovely were called back. The next night was a double elimination night. The seven Protégés performed well that night except for So Wat. Kenneth and Lirah's performances were just average. So Wat was bombarded with negative remarks. The twist did not favor Kenneth and So Wat. They were eliminated that night; and there was no second chance for them. The twist favored Nomer and Lovely. They are now pa...

What they called the Big Twist saved Lovely from being eliminated. The twist called back the 5 proteges eliminated earlier. The remaining mentors had mixed opinions. Claire said it was not fair. Aiza said the ex-proteges deserved a second because of their talent, not because of the text votes. Earlier in Party Pilipinas, Lovely's duet with Jonalyn Viray was well applauded . Unfortunately, she landed in the bottom floor because of low text votes. Krizza's performance of Kamikaze's "Narda" in a new arrangement, accompanied by an orchestra, was truly a superb performance. Aiza truly knows how to groom a talent. Jensen's interpretation of "Anak" was the second best among the rest. The other proteges did just OK. Ginisa ng mga Judges ang SoWat Apparently the judges were offended by the remarks of SoWat in Inside Protege. SoWat had a hard time accepting the judges' criticisms in a positive point of view. Eula Valdez was impressed by SoWat...

In his rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody with Rachel Ann Go, Nomer sang " Goodbye everybody. I've got to go.... " Quite truly, Nomer had to go because he's been eliminated from Protégé. A life of the show Inside Protégé , TV audience will miss him. While he's hot, GMA should not let the opportunity go. The network should cast Nomer immediately for Party Pilipinas. The Curse of Goodbye Songs In Bohemian Rhapsody , Nomer sang the line "Goodbye everybody. I've got to go." From the song Lately (by Stevie Wonder), Kenneth sang the line " cause its time could mean goodbye ." As their thought projected, Nomer had to leave the competition while Kenneth, being in the bottom two, almost said goodbye as well. I have followed American Idol since season 3. One thing I've noticed that every time a contestant sings a goodbye song, his idol journey ends. I don't know why is that. Maybe it's true that what you think is what you get. Kr...

If I were GMA Network, I would cast the 10 Protégé in a Glee-like project immediately after the finals of Protégé. The project should be a funny and warm musical drama aired only once a week for one season taking either the Saturday or Sunday slot. The musical drama series should not be the typical soap with annoying, repeating plots like: Mother loses child; child looks for mother Someone is killed; somebody takes revenge Kid is kidnapped; then there's an explosion Amnesia, murder, guns, amnesia, murder, guns .... and never ending amnesia, murder, guns Are Filipino writers running out of creativity? Filipino writers should study the success of Glee. Light drama, subtle acting, with sense of humor, and simple plots made heart-warming. Let it be called "Play" Here's a suggestion. Name the musical drama series "Play" . It's about the lives of young theater actors. It's a drama on stage, backstage, and back home. Tackle ordinary day-to-da...

Sad to see Denise leaves. In this generation, she's actually the one who is current and commercial. She belongs to the music genre of today. I would miss watching her in Inside Protege. Protégé Krizza did her best again. Sad to say, she's in the bottom two. Maybe, Protege should put more weight on the judges' score over the text votes. Krizza out-shone every one tonight. Her talent is raw and natural. Jensen also did a good performance. Hard to believe she's in the bottom group. Good thing, though Krizza and Jensen were in the bottom group, they were not eliminated tonight. The difference between Krizza and Jensen is that Krizza's voice is a natural talent; Jensen's voice is learned or something like perfected with practice. What could be a good packaging for So Wat ? The judges love them but they want to see something that will give identity to the group. What about singing two songs at the same time like singing two classics of Michel Legrand with a m...

I enjoyed this weeks Gala performances compared to last week when all the Protégés, except for Nomer, were all nervous and lacked focus. Samantha Leaves Protege Samantha is the second protege to be eliminated based on text votes and judges' score. Her performance tonight was not as good as her first one. She looked like she had apprehensions about tonight's elimination that showed in her performance. Judge Louie Ocampo (composer) said, "hindi nag-jive yung kinanta niya sa kanyang character...." Samantha topped the Dagupan auditions. Her mentor was Joey Generoso of Side A. The Gala Performances Nomer sang "If I Had You" by Adam Lambert. Nomer didn't like the song but he managed to nail it. This boy is fearless. His advantage is that, being a kid, whatever song he sings, he gives it a different flavor even if he stuck to the original arrangement."So far, ikaw pa lang ang nakakuha sa akin," Cherie praised the boy. Cherrie Gil, a gu...

In this video, the 10 Proteges performed a medley of Louie Ocampo compositions at Party Pilipinas last Sunday. This was the last time that the 10 proteges performed together because that night, Rosalyn Navarro from Bicol was eliminated. Except for So Wat, all the other contestants performed exceptionally well especially Rosalyn's rendition of "Ikaw Lang Ang Mamahalin". Rosalyn could sing better singing in Tagalog. The song "Listen" wasn't a good choice for her. Ironically, she was eliminated later that night. Notice that in this video, their diction are all good. Their performances were impressive. Quite the opposite on how they did during the elimination night. There must something not right during the elimination. That they have to find out so as not to jeopardize their performances the next time.

The Protégés' performances on the elimination night were all good but, in general, their performances on the gala night were a lot better. Perhaps, due to the emotions na lahat sila ay kabado, they were not able to deliver perfectly the songs that their hometown fans chose for them. Their song choices were more difficult to interpret compared to the songs they did on the gala night. I expected much from their performances but was disappointed. Thanks to Nomer who did a very good job and made that night entertaining. Nomer , above the rest, rendered a good performance. He was relaxed and seemed to enjoy what he was doing. The rest of the protégés should learn from Nomer if they want to deliver a good performance. Nomer is a performer; not just a singer. And, he has the best diction of all. Jensen did well for her rendition of "Footprints in the Sand". She reflects that she really wanted to win and serious about her rehearsals.  Krizza 's performance last week wa...

The Protégés all did well on the Gala Night performing the songs of their own choice. Lahat sila magaling!. Walang tulak-kabigin. But of course, some will stand out. Krizza . Pulido ang kanyang boses that even if she doesn't have that unique timbre, hahangaan mo siya sa kanyang performance that night. Samantha Felizco . Pang concert na ang dating niya. Looks like Joey G. has already mold her for the stage. Good stage performance. Jensen Teñoso . It's a wow! performance. Puede na siya sa Party Pilipinas. Although sa Inside Protégé, Jensen doesn't show confidence. Nevertheless, she did well. Nomer Limatog, Jr . This charming boy would be popular. Puede na siyang i-helera kay Leana and Arkin sa Party Pilipinas. His performance was the most enjoyable to watch. So Wat! I'd like this group to win. They look promising though hindi pa pulido ang performance nila vocally. Kung mag click sila, a mix boy-girl band would set a trend sa music world sa Pinas. Denise Barbac...

C-Pilyo From the mentors Joey Generoso of Side A, Gloc 9, and Rey Valera, three Protégé winners will complete the Top 10 Protégés. The Top 10 will be housed in one condominium unit where they will undergo training and mentoring called Boot Camp. Denise Barbacena of Manila Wins Gloc 9 mentored the mega Manila Protégés. Denise Barbacena was chosen by the Judges despite her singing some lines out of tune, blame it to jitters, which she admitted. But among the three Protégés, Denise, being pretty, has the star potential to make it. Her voice has a good timbre; if she could only get rid of her being nervous every time she performs, she has a good edge.  Kristina Laguitan performed well. In fact, her performance was a lot better than Denise's. What Denise has that Kristina doesn't is the star potential. That doesn't mean however that Kristina cannot make a singing career. She just needs to build a star personality. She has to think and act like a wealthy star. With he...

Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Naga, and Batangas Protégés face off to secure themselves to the Top 10 Protégés. Lovely: Davao Protégé Winner The Davao Protégés are being mentored by Jaya, a rhythm & blues singer. Lovely won the face-off. Here's how they performed during the face-off. Joshua is a 12-year old boy from Davao. I like his distinct voice. There are many singers who can sing well but the quality of their voices are ordinary. Joshua's voice is just one of the few who has a unique vocal timbre. It's just like when he was singing, he doesn't move at all. Singing is one thing; performing is another. He has to give life to what he is singing. My score: 4 stars. If he can be livelier, he has a star potential. Archimedes has good vocal quality tone. He sings with emotion that one could feel it. If he could be versatile, he has a star potential. Being a balladeer this generation is not an "it" unless he is a composer. My score: 4 stars. Lovely Embu...

The battle for the big break begins Last Sunday, followers of Protégé - the newest reality TV talent search of GMA Network (GMA7) - watched the first face-off of the proteges coming from the cities of Cabanatuan, Ilo-Ilo, and Cebu.The judges, composed of Bert de Leon (TV director), Homer Flores (musician/composer), and Joey de Leon (comedian/TV host), picked the following face-off winners: Kenneth Monico (Cabanatuan), JayR's Protégé Nomer Limatag, Jr. (Cebu), Rachel Ann Go's Protégé Lirah Bermudez, (Ilo-Ilo), Janno Gibb's Protégé These three winners battled with their fellow Protégé in their respective regions. Previously, during the regional Protégé auditions, the regional judges picked the top 3 singing contenders. The top three then were groomed and trained by their respective mentors in preparation for the regional face-off. From the top 3, one emerges as a face-off winner, who will then make the national top 10 proteges. How they scored, in my opinion The ...