Comic relief on ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’
One thing I hate about local comedians is their propensity to explain the punch line. That shows a lack of respect for the audience and totally takes the fun out of a joke. What tickles my funny bone more are situations that are meant to be serious but end up eliciting laughter.
You will find a lot of examples in "American Idol," "American's Got Talent" and the latter's local counterpart "Pilipinas Got Talent," now on its second season on ABS-CBN. It airs Saturdays and Sundays at 8:45 p.m. "AI" started the trend many years ago when the producers decided to air the auditions. That resulted in giving many otherwise untalented singers their 15 minutes of notoriety on TV.
Some, however, went beyond 15 minutes by capitalizing on their awful voices to gain fame and fortune. The best example is William Hung, whose off-key rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs" on "AI" led to a record deal and guest appearances on popular US shows. A Filipino, Renaldo Lapuz, failed in the audition but got more screen time with his novelty number, "We Are Brothers." In the 1960s, Mrs. Miller's operatic massacre of "Downtown" and other pop melodies sold lots of albums.
On "PGT" on Sunday, March 20, there were potential Hungs, Lapuzes and Millers. One hopeful looked like he was the real thing as the intro music for "Nessun Dorma" went on. But when his operatic voice tried to match Luciano Pavarotti's rendition of the classic aria from "Turandot," it was tragicomic, to say the least. He was several notes lower than his minus one and his voice cracked at some points. He got buzzed out by the judges, Kris Aquino, Ai-Ai de las Alas and Freddie Garcia. Mercifully, he stopped singing..
Another contestant thought she could make it as part of a soap but really went over the top, causing snickers from the judges and this writer.
Two guys, who were part of a band that was eliminated last year decided to audition separately as soloists. Neither passed. One of them sang "Habang may buhay," to which Ai-Ai commented, "Wala kang kabuhay-buhay."
A male singer attempted to do a duet all by himself wearing both a dress and guy's outfit. One profile showed him as a male and when he turned, he became a she. Unfortunately, this had been done before by guys with better voices. This one couldn't sing to save his life Maybe he thought his gimmick would sway the judges. As expected, he(they?) was eliminated.
Others provided comic relief in different ways. A nine-year-old boy, part of a kiddie rock group was in tears after the performance. Everyone was worried until the kid said he couldn't help but cry after seeing Ai Ai and Kris in person. "Sa TV ko lang sila nakikita," the kid continued sobbing. Freddie had to warn him jokingly that he would vote no if he didn't stop crying. The kid immediately stopped. The group passed, by the way.
Ai-Ai and Kris provided light moments by pretending to fight over a hunk who had dedicated the song "You Are So Beautiful" to Kris. He passed.
On the whole, I did not notice any outstanding performance. The only act that caught my attention was two guys manipulating puppets of Michael Jackson and a belly dancer. I agreed with the judges that the puppeteers should have worn masks so that the focus would be on the puppets. Michael and his partner got a yes from the judges.
The weakness of the talent show had to do with the variety of contestants: singers, dancers, magicians, acrobats, actors etc all aspiring for the top prize. It's kinda hard to compare a singer and a magician. The ones with an advantage are the singers who have better futures compared let's say to an acrobat. How many shows have roles for an acrobat? Last year, a singer, Jovit Baldovino won the top prize of two million pesos. I have no doubt that another singer will win this year.
Disclaimer: The views and observations of the author do not represent the position of Yahoo! Southeast Asia on the issue or topic being discussed.
