The Voice PHL Finalists Completed!

And so it was that the finalist from each of the four teams of the Voice of the Philippines was selected by the coaches and the voting public in an emotional semi-final last night: Mitoy Yonting, Myk Perez, Klarisse de Guzman and Janice Javier.

Bidding the competition goodbye were Radha, Paolo Onesa, Morisette Amon and Thor Dulay. At this point of the competition, though, there are no real losers anymore; and even the outgoing contestants would have already won not only public attention and adulation but, more importantly, recording contracts.

To the coaches, what can I say but… Bravo!!! Finalists Yonting and Javier had stood out right from the Blind Auditions; but everyone else barring Radha sounded raw and not worth a second look.

But last night, there were no more middling singers; and each one would have made a worthy finalist. It was all down to the loyalties and public support that each singer built over the weeks leading to last night.

“ So on to the final this coming weekend; and it will take a brave man to come out with a fearless forecast. If the Google searches that lead to this site are any indication, however, then it will have to be Mitoy Yonting. The old man has been giving me spectacular traffic since Lea Salonga first turned around for him. ”

The impending clash between two heavyweight divas – Radha and Javier – which I had been salivating for, unfortunately, failed to materialise after Yonting raked in the votes to overturn the points Lea Salonga had given in favour of Radha.

For the record, Salonga had scored it 55-45 and was the only coach whose vote went opposite to that of the public. This meant that the public vote was significantly in favour of Yonting for the 10-point gap to be overcome.

In so doing, Salonga set the tone for each of the coaches, who each also left it to the public to decide; albeit, scoring 55-45 and a 10-point differential is hardly leaving it to the public. A 10-point lead is not exactly close; and especially since it was the semis.

By his own standards, Yonting held back on the high notes, which was remarkable because ‘Power of Love’ is a high-pitched song. In so doing, he actually sounded better; which, I suppose, is testament to the efficacy of Salonga’s ‘just because you could doesn’t mean you should’ philosophy.

I still think Radha is the better technical singer; but she is also not blessed with a charismatic personality. I did not think her choice of the Beatles’ ‘Let It Be’ did her any favours. She began way too low and even at times sounded off-key. She ended with a flourish but failed to remove the impression of having under-sung.

But, perhaps, the best-fought battle of the night was that between Klarisse de Guzman and Morisette Amon. Although the likes of Yonting, Radha and Javier have taken the limelight, beneath the radar has been the spectacular development of these two young ladies; and not only in a musical sense but also personality-wise.

Each delivered technically superior interpretations of ‘To Love Somebody’ and ‘Who You Are.’ Far superior, it can be argued, than most of the other competitors.

That I scored it in favour of de Guzman is only because she showed more versatility and showcased the range of her talents. She was subtle and seductive with the low notes; spectacular reaching up; and even controlled her falsettos well.

Sarah G and the voting public apparently saw this as well and voted her into the final. What remains remarkable despite her elimination is that Amon is no more than 17 years old and, thus, her potential is frightening to even contemplate. The young lady is going places!

Thor Dulay had been consistent all throughout the competition; but, perhaps, could have done with a better song choice than the ‘Sound of Music’s ‘Climb Every Mountain. I have said it before. Dulay does better with the middle and higher notes; but tends to sound flat and even off-key with the lower ones. This was again evident last night.

In contrast, Janice Javier did a deliciously inventive interpretation of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine.’ Javier had blown hot and cold throughout the competition; but last night was by a mile her most spectacular performance. In retrospect, it was an easy decision for apl.de.ap and the voting public to slip her through to the finals.

Of my four choices, I only slipped with Paolo Onesa. There was little to choose from between him and Myk Perez music-wise; but I thought Perez looked awkward moving around the stage without his guitar. All the moving around, I thought, did not do his vocals any favours; and, indeed, I thought I might have heard some pitch problems.

In contrast, Onesa not only sounded but also looked good; and I rather suspected that, with the on-going situation in Zamboanga, he might have nicked he sympathy vote. Apparently, I underestimated Perez’s fan base. To be fair, I do not mind him being in the final.

So on to the final this coming weekend; and it will take a brave man to come out with a fearless forecast. If the Google searches that lead to this site are any indication, however, then it will have to be Mitoy Yonting. The old man has been giving me spectacular traffic since Lea Salonga first turned around for him.

Acknowledgment: Photos from video on http://www.iwantv.com.ph/.

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