It seems that the contestants are feeling the heat and
pressure of the competition as the first round of eliminations took place last
Saturday, September 6, on Celebrity Duets 2. First to exit was model and
actress Melanie Marquez who got the boot after receiving the lowest number of
votes from a nationwide audience.
Still in the running, however, are soccer player Phil Younghusband, chef JL Cang, beauty and wellness guru Cory Quirino, Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando, beauty title holder Carlene Aguilar, actor and comedian Joey Marquez, and fashion designer JC Buendia.
Before completely leaving the show, Melanie performed her version of Madonna's "Vogue"—the song that she chose and rehearsed prior to her elimination. The Queen of Soul Jaya joined her on-stage.
After the eliminations, it was once again time for the singing showdown. Last week saw the unfolding of a new line-up of singing superstars, each complementing the style and song choice of the celebrity contenders.
First on the concert stage was wellness guru Cory Quirino who had comedienne Nanette Inventor as her partner. Cory moved and grooved to Olivia Newton-John's ‘80s hit, "Physical," wearing a pink-and-green aerobics outfit. Nanette danced with her on-stage, but in a similarly styled blue-and-yellow costume.
After the performance, the three celebrity judges then offered their comments.
Stage director Freddie Santos told Cory, "Ikaw yung wellness, si Nanette yung fullness," he observed. "Katulad ng lahat ng mga aerobics, nangailangan ka ng konting warm-up. Just be very careful with that. Because once you get going, tuloy-tuloy ka ‘e, ganda ng ratchada mo ‘e. So, konting bwelo lang," he advised.
"You started well, actually," observed musical director Danny Tan. "Nasa tono siya. Pero bago pumasok si Nanette, medyo nag-off ng konti. So be careful na maging consistent yung pitch...[yung] intonation," he advised the wellness guru. "Bilib ako sa choreography niyo. Talagang nag-work kayo as a team."
As for Celebrity Duets Season 1 winner Tessa Prieto-Valdes: "I'm always positive!" she exclaimed "Ang cute ng combination ninyo and everything. Of course, you know me...I'm always into cinematography [so] I love the combination. I like the outfit! I'm happy that you're still in," she told Cory.
Next was designer JC Buendia who opted for a rock jig this time around. Together with rock icon, Jett Pangan of The Dawn, JC sang U2's "Pride (In The Name of Love)". And like in most of his performances, JC designed his own costume for this number.
"Ang maganda kay JC," started Danny Tan, "pag nagpe-perform siya, talagang bigay-todo—yung energy niya...Tsaka nag-e-enjoy siya sa ginagawa niya. Para sa isang taong may sakit, magaling ka," he told JC, taking notice of the celebrity contestant's raspy and hoarse voice. "Yung tiyempo lang. ‘Pag ganung may beat, kailangan talaga nasa beat ka pag kumakanta."
"Nabingi ako," criticized Direk Freddie. "Medyo sorta kinda maingay. Ang ganda pa naman kasi nung umpisa ‘e. Pero talaga nung nagka-bwelo na yung kanta, medyo whoa-okay! In the name of noise na talaga," he dead-panned.
Tessa, however, was more generous in giving praises. "This is a much better song than last week. Rock and roll, man! JC to the end! I love it!" she exclaimed.
With consistently good performances, MMDA bigwig Bayani Fernando was again a crowd favorite. This time, Bayani sang the ‘60s OPM song, "Hahabol-habol" with rapper Andrew E. In his video primer, the chairman described his and Andrew's pairing as "paraang inihaw na talong at bagoong...masarap!"
Meanwhile, Tessa exclaimed, "Galing! Getting better every week," she told the chairman. As for Freddie Santos, "Tama ka," the director said. "Malinamnam yung pagkasama. Ang ganda nung number."
"Maganda ang performance," agreed Danny Tan. "Ang comment ko lang, sana nagamit ni BF yung back-up dancers. Kailangan may interaction sa dancers," he noted.
