December 11, 2006- Results Night

Mau Marcelo is the First Philippine Idol! Congrats Mau! You deserve it. Your fans made it possible for you to win. View Photos of the First Philippine Idol Results Night and blog entry Mau Marcelo, A Philippine Idol Cinderella Story.

December 10, 2006- Big 3 at the Big Dome

Weekends for the past three months revolved around watching the live shows of Philippine Idol in SM Megacinema 3. I think my husband is finally relieved it will be over tonight. He had to endure 12 agonizing weeks accompanying me to the Philippine Idol Theater. My husband is not a very patient man when it comes to waiting time before the shows or grabbing parking space just to watch Philippine Idol. Tickets were getting more and more difficult to get even if we had reserved tickets . Tickets to the Finale of Philippine Idol Top 3 Finalists were even more difficult. Just as I predicted, we had no tickets. Fortunately, our faces are so known to the Philippine Idol staff . We got patron seats and were seated close to the stage once again. Thanks Evelyn Joseph. Orange, blue and yellow themed cheering fans filled the Big Dome. In the beginning, the audio sounded horrible that I could barely hear the judges. I don’t know how it sounded on TV.

During the interview with DJ MO Twister who was seated two rows in front of us, I caught my husband’s white hair glistening on the TV monitor. Unsure that it was my husband, I pushed his shoulder to see if his head would bob onscreen. Haha, it was really him. You can view the gleaming white head of my husband in this Youtube video (thanks pinoy.rickey.org)

I felt that the performance wasn’t really that fantastic tonight with the exception of Jan Nieto. Who do I think will win? Even if I am rooting for Gian, I think the first Philippine Idol might be Jan Nieto. Why? First, he had the loudest and most organized fan base inside the Big Dome. Second, he stood out among the 3 finalists in at least 2 categories . Third, he has a strong voting bloc. I don’t really mind anymore who will finally hold the title of Philippine Idol. Gian lacked the enthusiasm and the drive. He was like the usual Gian. Predictable. The audience went wild after Mau’s last song. During the commercial break, Mau broke down in tears. Later on she told the crowd that she was touched with the song’s lyrics.

DJ Mo Twister predicts Jan Nieto will win Philippine Idol. The three finalists are excellent singers and performers. Tonight, I will watch the results at the Big Dome. They said tonight is the most exciting show of the Philippine Idol season. A lot of nervous fans are eagerly awaiting the fate of their Idol. I hope to make it in time after our 10th Worldwide Candle Lighting Event today.

Just read Jove Francisco’s recap as he wrote a lot of details that I am too lazy to blog about.

View Philippine Idol Finale Photos

Pow Fans

Enlarge
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A meeting of Philippine Idol bloggers just before we went inside the theater. Jove Francisco (to my right), a popular Philippine Idol Blogger and ABC reporter told me that Philippine Idol bloggers built up Philippine Idol’s popularity. Maybe it’s true that bloggers contributed to the popularity of Philippine Idol. I remember when I first blogged about Philippine Idol. There were not many readers reading my Philippine Idol entries compared to recent entries. I notice that commercial breaks are getting longer indicating that there are more advertisers. The presence of celebrity guest in tonight’s show compared to the past show a vote of confidence for the Philippine Idol shows.

Tonight’s Big Band Night was such a refreshing change. Philippine Idol felt so alive and exciting. The top 4 Philippine Idol finalists sang songs from the Big Band Era. The elegance of the production design and the songs made me want to dance with my husband. I am such a sucker for old standard music. It might seem boring to the younger crowd but it’s soothing and relaxing. Big bands makes all music sound great.

Gian measured up to the international standards of Big Band music. He was meant to sing this kind of music. I am not too confident if Mau can warm up to western audiences during the competition of a “World Idol”.

Who will be Philippine Idol’s Top 3? My prediction is:

For me, it’s Gian, Mau and Jan. I grabbed another photo opportunity with my Top 3 choices because it’s getting harder and harder to squeeze in a a photo with them. Realistically, all four remaining finalists are vulnerable tonight. Talent vs. Popularity remains a controversial issue in this type of singing contest. And we all know a talented singer is not necessarily a popular choice which is pretty much how politics work in the Philippines. But it’s possible to have both , right?

View Big Band Night photos——————————-
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What touched me was her good-bye speech that made me tear and everyone else in the audience: (thanks Jove for the transcript)

Pow Chavez: (before the announcement)
“Gusto ko lang magpasalamat sa lahat ng taong tumanggap sa akin, ah, iyun pong dalhin nyo ako sa stage na ito malaki na pong karangalan sa akin!”

Pow Chavez: (teary goodbye)
“Baka hindi na ako makakanta (pause) di ako umiiyak (pause) ah gusto ko lang pong magpasalamat sa (pause MR C hands her a hanky) mula po sa puso ko (pause) nagpapasalamat po ako tinanggap ninyo ako at nakarating ako ganito kalayo (pause) di po ako sumasali sa mga singing contest kasi natatakot ako na baka hindi nyo ko tanggapin, isang taong kagaya ko, pero kaya po ako narito kasi po gusto ko kumanta….

Of course, we accepted her for who she is. It’s just people like old school Philippine Idol judge, Pilita Corales who insist on seeing her wear a dress. Forunately , Lea Salonga is more open minded and advised Pow that a dress doesn’t suit her. But Pow was game, she wore a dress for her movie clip (View Youtube video of her movie)
There may still be homophobics in the Philippines but when they see raw talent, they forget their homophobia like the homophobic parents of this blogger

My mom voted for Pow for all the weeks that she was competing. A huge feat for my mom given that she and my dad are majorly, majorly homophobic. Ang lungkot di ba? My parents are so homophobic but Pow somehow managed to win over my mom while I’ve been trying to get their tiny approval for years. An average of 75 votes kaya siya per week!

Pow has a strong fan base to keep her in the music industry. After every show, a crowd of adoring fans gather around her just to take photos with her. She is humble, charming and likeable to her fans taking time to thank them for their support after every photo ops. You don’t see a lot of fans hover around Miguel and Jan , the weaker performers but these two have powerful voting blocs. Pow wanted to stay in the competition while Miguel was lukewarm about his stay:

Ryan Agoncillo:
“Miguel for the past two weeks you’ve been scratching your head after results night kinakabahan ka lagi especially last night, it struck me when you said -I’m ready to go-. Gusto mo pa ba mag continue sa competition na ito, Miguel?”

Miguel Mendoza:
“Oo, if there are people who will still vote for me, okay lang, okay lang din hindi”

He tears after every results night. Maybe he is sad that the better Idol Finalists leave before him knowing they are so much better.

Haay naku. But that’s life. Life is unfair but it doesn’t have to be unfair forever. It is not the end of the road for Pow. We will be seeing more of Pow in concerts, album launching and tours.

More POWer to your future . You have a lot of fans, Pow.

To read more about Pow’s elimination, read fellow blogger and ABC insider, Jove Francisco’s entry. If you missed Pow’s performance, here is the youtube video (below) of her song in the Movie Themes portion where she sang “So Far So Good” and the YouTube video “I’ll Give my Life for you”

And this is the link to sunday’s performance, Movie Themes and Musical Night
http://www.mininova.org/tor/490308 or the YouTube Video——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

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Don’t I look tacky posing with my top 3 Philippine Idol finalists? I’m not really a showbiz person or a huge fan of any music artist except for the Idol reality TV shows. Since I’ve watched Philippine Idol from the start, I might as well see how far these talented singers go. They can’t be called Idols if fans don’t pose with them. The photos will speak for itself. My husband and daughters are rooting for Pow because she has such sweet vocals that shows clarity and wide projection. I love Pow, Mau and Gian. I ‘ll just see how they perform in the next 5 weeks. I need to sleep.

(Photos from left to right: Posing with Gian, Mau and Pow)

Youtube Videos of the performance (Thanks to starmometer.com)
-Pow singing “Love Moves in Mysterious Ways”

- View Youtube Video of Miguel’s performance
- View Youtube Video of Mau’s performance
- View Youtube Video of Ken’s performance
- View Youtube video of Jan’s Performance
- View Youtube video of Gian’s Performance
(View the Photos and My Review of Philippine Idol Radio Night)
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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

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Since it’s my daugher’s semestral break the past two weeks, I dragged them with me. Knowing they could be a snob to Philippine showbiz, I assured them that they will be entertained. Anyway, I know there are other bloggers who watch it live. One of my favorite Philippine Idol blogger is an ABC reporter, Jove Francisco because he reveals juicy insider tibdbits. Although I hear some gossip inside the studio , I keep mum about it.

After I uploaded my photos and wrote my entry, I visited Jove Francisco’s Philippine Idol Dance night entry and I was caught by surprise:

I also enjoyed the company of this great woman. Magkasundo kami sa comments, and it was as if, magkakilala kami kahit hindi. I know she blogs though, I read her kasi, all the time! Good thing siya nakatabi ko. (One forum guest noted na “parang galit” ako last night sa upuan ko, my seatmate can attest to the fact that I wasn’t, ang saya saya nga namin eh, hehehe)

Could that be me? I clicked the link and lo and behold, it was my Philippine Idol Photo Blog. Talk about mutual admiration society! I didn’t know he sat beside me. (see screencap below) Haha, it’s a good thing I didn’t make a fool of myself or else Jove Francisco would have blogged “…There was this crazy woman seated beside me bouncing on her seat and waving her camera all night .” I am just kidding. Of course he wouldn’t do that. I wrapped some glow sticks around my wrist that night and clapped and danced on my seat as the Idol performers crooned and cavorted onstage. You must know that as live audience and especially those that are seated right across the judges, are told to do the following:

1. Look cheerful and energetic. Don’t look bored. Frowning is a no-no.
2. Clap everytime the show goes live after commercial break.
3. Don’t talk to your seatmate. Don’t text.

That night, the ticket ladies assigned our seats right across the three judges . I didn’t want to complain because earlier, I had whined over our initial seat assignments. It wasn’t the usual center seats. They gave us side seating arrangement but changed their minds as we weaved ourselves to our assigned seats. My two daughters didn’t want to be caught live on TV and requested back seats. In an earlier episode, I didn’t know that we would get panned by an inconspicuous camera set behind the stage. Horrified, I saw myself during a replay the next day. There I was oblivious of the cameras, snapping photos while my husband had this dropped jaw look. How embarassing. Talk about another one of my misdaventure as a photo blogger Part 3! Conscious of the cameras, I resolved to take photos only during the performance and quickly tucked the camera under my shawl when the judges started their critique. My husband straightened his jaw as the cameras panned towards him.

After last night’s show, I believe that Philippine Idol ” slaughtered in the ratings” is inaccurate. Friends we thought didn’t watch Philippine Idol texted us that they caught us on TV (Click video clip) or maybe they were channel surfing?

Jove Francisco is to my right

Read my Idol Dance Night Entry, my Top 3 Philippine Idol prediction and more Philippine Idol Photos

My daughters practically enjoyed the shows and even asked to pose with Ryan and Pow.——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

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My favorites are for the girls:
IRA and MAU while for the guys, it’s GIAN and ONYX

View the behind the scenes Philippine Idol Wildcard Performance photos and if you missed watching it, here are some youtube videos

View videos of Mau, Gian, Onyx, Ken, Suey , Ramirr , Joseph and Ira , Ting, Stef and click for more youtube videos of the Philippine Idol Wildcard Performance

Edit- September 17 (Philippine Idol Wildcard Results- and the winners of the wildcard round are:

Gian, Stef, Mau and Ken

I am so disappointed that Ken Dingle won. I know it’s unfair to base his performance on this song but he didn’t do well in top 12 male performance night either. The Filipinos are not objective enough to vote for the real talent. Sometimes I think it is money (to buy text load) that can assure you of the votes. What about Onyx and Joseph who have more talent than the rest but have limited resources? I wish the judges can make a plea to the TV viewers to vote on talent and not because that contestant is from their city or town. I know it’s a long shot. American Idol had its growing pains when it first started but after 5 seasons, the voting audience has become more discriminating. Bring the true winner based on talent, star quality and that x-factor.

Anyway, watch out for my Philippine Idol entry when the top 12 sing their hearts out at the Aliw Theater in Roxas Boulevard on September 30.

More Exclusive photos of the top 12 finalists and the Wildcard Results Night at the Philippine Idol Photos WebSite
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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Technorati Tags: Philippine Idol, Philippine Idol Photos

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

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I noticed a number of ABC 5 staff swarming all over the place. Fans are holding banners of their favorite Idol contestant. Heavy muscled bouncers were stationed at the start of the queue. When the door opened at 7:30 PM, the guard disallowed me from entering because I had a digital camera. Ugh, I wanted to sneak in photos so I wasn’t about to give up my camera. I let the crowd pass before I made another attempt at another guard. Hehe

The production set was fantastic. Before the show went live, the coordinators prepared us to be wired up and enthusiastic for the event. I seemed too old to be yelling, rooting and cheering. We were told to be ready in case the cameras get panned on us .

Most of the contestants were excellent. I got dizzy after hearing all of them. (And I’m sleepy too). Like who to choose? The great thing about watching it live is feeling the beat and the jovial mood of the audience. I think that the sound system is not up to par. I don’t know how it sounded over the TV sets but I felt that the music accompaniment seemed louder than the vocals. When Reymond Sojor sang “Tell Her About It” and the microphone stopped midway, it took a long time for the crew to get a replacement. They need to have subtstitute microphones nearby. The judges’ comments were also lame. If they think it’s a poor choice of song, they should give an idea what might work for the contestant. Their recommendation need not be a song but a genre.

To end this entry, My Top 4 choices are

Gian Magdangal – Footloose (GIAN 2339/ 1 908 5 IDOL 06). (I felt his energy as he waded his way through the audience. I almost wanted to dance if not for my husband restraining me.)

Ramirr Grepo – Bed of Roses (RAMIRR 2339/ 1 908 5 IDOL 07) (I liked that he had a wide vocal range. He has an X-factor too. Even if I don’t like rock genre , his vocal skills made up for it)

Miguel Mendoza – Highways of My Life (MIGUEL 2339/ 1 908 5 IDOL 08). (This boy is only sixteen but he has the charisma , the stage presence and beautiful vocal range. Though the song is not suitable for his age, I am quite partial to jazz)

Reymond Sojor – Tell Her About It (RAYMOND 2339/ 1 908 5 IDOL 09 ) ( I am sure he will get a lot of sympathy votes. While he had a microphone malfunction, not once did I see his face fluster . He just continued on. Since the song ws kind of upbeat, I don’t know if he can really sing well.

Though I know Onyx Culala who sang Windmills of Your Mind (GIAN 2339/ 1 908 5 IDOL 06) didn’t make a good performance, I will vote for him only because I think he can do better . He has the looks and voice potential. It was just a poor choice of song. He might not make it tonight’s TOP 4 but he still has a chance at the Wildcard round on September 16. Another contestant I will vote is Christian Masaga who sang Have I Told You Lately (CHRISTIAN 2339/ 1 908 5 IDOL 11) partly because he can sings with a passion.

I heard that text voting ends at 8:30 PM , Sunday (September 3). As we left the SM Megacinema 3, an ABC 5 staff interviewed my dear husband on what he thought of the show. I knew he’d get ambushed. My husband says “Beautiful!” Then the ABC staffer asks “Who do you think will win?”

“Gian and Ramirr“. It’s obvious these two will make it to the TOP 4. So who will you vote ? More blurry photos

Related Entries:
Wildcard Performance and Results Night
Top 4 Male Finalists
The Stage Mother of a Philippine Idol Contestant
Philippine Idol Photo Gallery——————————-
You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Technorati Tags: Philippine Idol

That stage mother in the photo must be so proud of Erika Jill Bautista . As Erika sang, the mom engaged in small talk with Ryan Agoncillo. Sometimes, she listened through the walls. Erica has an hearing impairment (35 decibels) in one ear that she has to wear a hearing aid. Inspite of her hearing impairment, she sings pretty well.

That’s why the judges called the mother inside so she could hear the good news. The look in her face is magical just like any proud mother would react to a daughter’s achievement.

Awww, she cries as the verdict is announced. She makes it to the second round. The daughter just hugs her mom as she continues to tear with joy.

There are a lot of enthusiastic stage mothers around even if their children are in their twenties . I don’t blame them. A lot of these kids are quite successful in their field. Take for instance, Leo Salonga. Her mom tagged along during Lea’s performances until her mid twenties. This working arrangement probably worked well for them. My daughters chimed in that they would be totally embarassed if my reaction would be like that. A friend admitted to all of us that she is and continues to be a “stage mother” to her only son who graduated summa cum laude. My stage mother days is now a memory that I treasure. I’m glad I devoted those growing up years in nurturing their talents. It’s really fun watching your child perform. I can sit all day just watching them sing on stage. Even if I believe that my children’s achievement belong to them, I can’t blame stage mothers. They are proud moms. We never stop being a mother.

View the video segment of this show. Thanks to Ruth for the link.

More Philippine Idol links
Philippine Idol news
Philippine Idol Photos
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You might also want to read Positive Mental Energy and Affirmations and my other blogs like Free Filipino Food Recipes, Shopping Finds, Pinoy Food Photo Blog and Techie Gadgets.

How about visiting my daughter’s ukay-ukay blog at ukaymanila.com?

Hope you can drop by! Thanks for visiting…Noemi Lardizabal-Dado.

Add me in Facebook by introducing yourself. My facebook is at facebook.com/noemidado

Technorati Tags: Philippine Idol, stage mother, Erika Jill Bautista