The past week had been a challenging one for the Pinoy
Idol hopefuls as Regine Velasquez mentored the remaining nine finalists and
sat at the judging panel alongside judges Ogie Alcasid, Jolina Magdangal, and
Wyngard Tracy. Last week, each of the Top 9 contestants had to perform a song
popularized by Asia's Songbird and interpret the pop songs using their own
style.
Guests during the Saturday performance night included the Idol hopefuls' personality development guru Olen Lim plus singers Buboy Garovillo, Wency Cornejo, and Gino Padilla.
First up on the Pinoy Idol stage was Jayann Bautista who gave a soulful rendition of "Pangarap Ko Ay Ibigin Ka." Although it was received well by the Songbird herself who commended Jayann for singing the song without a hint of the original version's style and influence, Wyngard disagreed with Regine.
"Hindi ko naramdaman yung song," he frankly told the Idol hopeful. "Wala lang sakin. Parang di ka kasali."
Ogie, on the other hand, was very vocal about his approval of Jayann's performance. "Sinulat ko ‘yang kantang yan eh. The reason why I liked it is because I didn't hear Regine. I heard Jayann in that song," he explained. "It was different...soulful...truly Jayann. Very good."
Next was Toffer Rei who did a rock-inspired take on "You Made Me Stronger." After his edgy performance, Jolina admitted that she felt frightened for the rocker as he was off-key at the beginning of the song. "Pero natutuwa talaga ako na napanindigan mo siya," she continued.
Regine also praised Toffer's performance and was surprised by the novel twist Toffer gave to the song. "Since I've sung this so many times, hindi ko akalain na pwede siya gawing rock," observed the Songbird.
Ogie also lauded the performance and thought it was as if he was "almost hearing a hit song. It was like something na naririnig ko sa radyo," he explained. "Para kang nag-David Cook dun, e," he told Toffer, referring to American Idol David Cook's interpretation of Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby" in the seventh season of the reality singing competition.
Wyngard, however, begged to differ with the rest of the judges. "Napaka-ordinaryo nung pagka-kanta mo nung song," he told Toffer. "You were trying to be different. Pero sa akin, walang effect."
Sixteen-year old Penelope sang "What Kind of Fool I Am," a song that was revealed to be very special to the Songbird herself. "Natutuwa naman ako na yung mga tips na binigay ko sa ‘yo, sinunod mo. ‘Di ka nag-oversing," said Regine. "Medyo hindi lang malinis especially at the end, medyo nag-alanganin ka na ng konti. But still I thought you did a very good performance."
Ogie, however, disagreed with Regine. "That was a very dangerous thing you did. Di mo maabot, e," he told Penelope. "I think she's too young to sing that song," he added.
But despite Ogie's disapproval, Jolina still liked the performance. "Parang di ko nakikita na dapat [tignan] kung bata pa o hindi," she said "Kasi sabi ni Ate Reg, 16 years old din siya nung kumakanta siya, okay naman, e. Para sa akin, okay ka pa rin," she nicely told the Idol hopeful.
Daryl Celis gave his rendition of "Sa Piling Mo", a song that was revealed to be a favourite of the Songbird and her theme song with real-life sweetheart Ogie Alcasid. For his ballad performance, Daryl was received with a seal of approval from all four judges.
"Maganda yung tone niya, yung boses niya," commended Regine. "Hindi na niya kailangang artehan pa. Daryl, naramdaman ko yung song. Thank you for singing it."
Jolina admitted her liking for the song, as well. "Kinilig ako. Merong mga notes na alanganin pero mas maganda yung performance mo than last week." Wyngard agreed with Jolina and said, "Definitely mas magaling ka today than last week...Simple lang yung interpretation mo. I think nandun yung sikreto ng boses mo and style mo. Mas simple mas maganda."
As for Ogie, "I agree with them. Now you're coloring your tones. Minsan sumosobra lang pero nawawala ka na sa tono [pero] nakakatuwa ka. Kahit anong gawin mo, tumitili pa rin yung fans," he laughed.
Unlike Daryl, Kid Camaya did not garner praises from the four judges with his own version of "Narito Ako." Ogie observed: "Kid, bumabalik ka na naman sa dati mo, e. Hindi mo na naman ninanamnam yung sinasabi mo. Sayang yung boses mo, Kid."
Jolina, though clearly appreciative of Kid's vocal style, admitted that the performance bored her. "Yung performance mo mismo, pipikit na lang ako, naririnig ko naman yung boses mo. [Pero] ang importante pag nasa TV ka, pag performer ka, dapat makita talaga yung performance," she advised.
Regine added, "Medyo hindi ko pa masyadong naramdaman yung song. If you feel the song more, and if you look at the audience...eye contact with the audience...siguro mas mararamdaman namin yung kanta."
Gretchen Espina's acoustic take on "Kung Maibabalik Ko Lang" was received with both praise and criticism. "Nagustuhan ko kasi feeling ko, she wasn't really trying to do anything but sing it," admitted Ogie. "I can only count one false note-just one," he praised. "It was probably one of your cleanest performances," he told Gretchen. Regine agreed with Ogie and said, "Maganda yung tone mo, maganda mo nakanta yung song."
Jolina, however, felt that a more relaxed version would be better than the groovy acoustic style that Gretchen performed. Wyngard, on the other hand, simply didn't like it. "Yung pag-interpret mo nung song, it was so obvious you don't know the story behind the song," he frankly told Gretchen. "Simple yung kanta, pinahirap mo lang eh. It was so plain."
But unlike the others, Ram Chaves has always been one to garner the judges' approval. This time, he sang "Tuwing Umuulan," a song that he practiced in front of the mirror, following the advice given to him by the Songbird during rehearsals.
Wyngard, who seemed particularly hard to please that night, praised Ram's version of the song. He narrated that Basil Valdes popularized the original version, then Regine Velasquez also gave her own version of the song. "Ngayon narinig ko Ram Chaves," he brightened.
Like Wyngard, Regine was also impressed by Ram. "What I like about Ram is that he has a very distinct voice. Alam mong siya lang yung may ganong boses," she said. "Congratulations, Ram. I'm a fan."
Another Idol finalist belonging to the top contenders that night was Warren Antig, who gave a reggae-inspired version of "Urong-Sulong." Like Ram Chaves' rock version, Warren's interpretation was also well-received by the panel.
"Parang ang ganda ng performance mo," Regine told Warren. "Nag-enjoy ako. Go Pards!" she exclaimed.
Sixteen-year-old Sue Ellen sang her version of "Dadalhin" but giving the song an R&B edge. "Yung interpretation mo, ibang-iba sa pagkakanta ko, so natutuwa ako dun," commented Regine. "It's your own style, it's R&B, that's good. Hindi lang siya masyadong malinis, halatang kinakabahan ka. But just the same, for me, I like it."
Wyngard's comment about Sue was a particular standout. "Ang cute mo. Para kang manika sa ibabaw ng cake," he lightly told Sue. Ogie encouraged her by saying, "Parang nahuli mo na, e [yung style]. I-refine mo nalang yang style mo na yan. Ituloy-tuloy mo na yan. Today okay ka."
But it looked like there won't be a next time for Sue Ellen, who was placed on the Bottom group during the results night, and was consequently eliminated from the competition.
The Top 8 contenders for next week's gala performance are: Warren Antig, Gretchen Espina, Ram Chaves, Penelope, Daryl Celis, Kid Camaya, Jayann Bautista, and Toffer Rei.
Don't miss the Pinoy Idol episodes next week as Queen of Soul Jaya serves as the guest mentor on the show. Catch the performances on Saturday and the results on Sunday on GMA-7.