By Kirsten Cabuenos
From the weekly “spotlight”, the final eight singers advanced to the Huling Tapatan stage. The latest season of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” is wrapping up its stage on Saturday (Sept. 18) on “It's Showtime” to determine its Grand Winner. Compared to the past "Tawag ng Tanghalan" format, this fifth season runs the shortest.
Hailing from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, the final eight contenders Reiven Umali, Froilan Cedilla, Psalm Manalo, Gem Christian, Adrian Manibale, Anthony Castillo, Lorraine Galvez, and Aixia Mallary, nervously introduced their stories in a virtual media conference held last Sept. 13.
Ranging from gospel songs to country songs like “This Too Shall Pass” by Yolanda Adams and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. The eight contenders gave a glimpse of their song picks for their final grand stage by singing a line.
The eight finalists will fill the stage with powerful notes for three rounds to be crowned as the winner of “Tawag ng Tanghalan: Ikalimang Taon” on “It’s Showtime”. The grand winner gets to receive P1 million pesos, a brand new house and lot worth P2.3 million pesos brought by Camella, a recording deal with ABS-CBN Music, a management contract under Star Magic's Polaris, and a trophy cup designed by Toym Imao.
Judges singer Karylle & Nyoy Volante and composer Louie Ocampo revealed to have personal favorites but clarified that it will not weigh in with their decisions. "Judges have to be fair and solely evaluate based on the grand final stage performance", Volante explained.
When asked how judges determine the winner. The judges emphasize the delivery, personality, and passion in music. The scores for the final round will be based on the Hurados votes that are equal to 50 percent and the remaining 50 percent from Public votes.
Embodying akin dreams and vision, the contenders grew closer and attached throughout the show. But only one will win the competition.
Witness the Grand Finale of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” on “It’s Showtime” this coming Saturday (Sept. 18) through free and digital boxes of Kapamilya TV channel, A2Z Channel 11, or via free live streaming on Kapamilya Online Live Channel on YouTube and Facebook page, and on on-demand streaming, iWantTV app or iWantTFC available both on iOS and Android. Viewers outside of the Philippines can also catch it on The Filipino Channel on cable and IPTV.