Jovit Baldivino was an unknown before he joined the talent contest Pilipinas Got Talent. Appearing before its judges showed nothing special—until he opened his mouth and sang American rock band Journey's "Faithfully." Since then, the 16-year-old has risen to become PGT's first winner, pocketing P2 million in cash and gaining national fame.
His inspiration in singing successfully was Journey lead singer Arnel Pineda, who was discovered in the video website YouTube singing Journey hits. Jovit, in an earlier interview, expressed his desire to meet and sing with his idol.
In The Buzz yesterday, June 20, 2010, Jovit's wish came true.
Interviewing him was KC Concepcion and Kris Aquino. KC noted that Jovit looked tired in his recent TV appearances. "Kaya mo pa ba ang showbiz?" asked KC.
The shy boy could only look starstruck and answered softly, "Medyo po."
When asked if he was already experiencing intrigue, he admitted with a whisper, "Sinabi po nila na hindi raw po ako mahirap."
Kris volunteered to defend Jovit by saying, "I heard about that, na sino pa ba magpe-pretend na mahirap ka? To gain sympathy, pinalabas na mahirap para maawa raw ang masa. As judges [Kris is a PGT judge] kasi, we were not given their bios. As much as possible, gusto ng staff na wala kaming biases.
"Noong in-interview ka namin the very first time, e, doon, binulong na magtanong. That was just an audition. Ako na po magde-defend sa kanya in telling all na, in the audition, when there were two thousand of you na pinagdaanan namin, e, ang galing naman ng foresight mo na nakaimbento ka na ng ganoong kuwento. So, iyon, masakit."
Besides that, there was also a rumor that Jovit was getting proud after his newfound fame. Is this ture?
"Hindi po," he said. "Hindi ko po gagawin iyon."
Kris once again agreed with Jovit's answer by adding, "I saw na when he won, everybody embraced him. That means, iyong mga nakasama niya sa PGT na kakumpitensya niya, e, natuwa para sa kanya, e."
DUET WITH HIS IDOL. Since Jovit can rock to the music of Journey, comparisons between him and the band's lead singer Arnel Pineda became a good subject among fans. Jovit admitted, however, that Arnel paved the way for him to pursue his dreams in singing. As a gift to Jovit, Arnel was suddenly called on stage to congratulate Jovit.
"Dream daw ni Jovit na maka-duet ka!" said Kris amidst loud cheers by the audience who welcomed Arnel.
"Mangyayari iyan!" smiled the rocker.
Jovit stared at his idol who was standing a few inches from him. When asked what he wanted to tell Arnel, he calmly said, "Nagpapasalamat po ako talaga. Kasi po kung hindi po dahil sa kanya, wala din po ako ngayon dito."
After much loud prodding from the audience, Jovit and Arnel finally sang a chorus together. Their voices blended well and it ended with Jovit wide-eyed and watery. With a fond look, Arnel placed his arm around the aspiring singer and smiled.
"Matagal ko na po talagang pangarap na makasama po siya," Jovit silently said.
Arnel advised his fan Jovit: "Sana huwag kang magbisyo, sigarilyo, o inom. Take care of your body and once nasira yan, that's it. The opportunities na dumarating sa iyo, mahalin mo. Buti ka pa, at 16 nakuha mo ang fame mo. Ako it took me 25 years. Ang dami mong supporters. They're big and they got your back."