The Voice PH Finale Review

The Voice PH Finale (TOP 4) 

September 30, 2013

REVIEW

The Top 4

1.    Team Sarah – Klarisse

On Saturday, she chose a song (The Climb) to show her strengths: kulot and falsetto. But, the song is a little bit shabby. It was a big hit 3 years ago, but people got tired of that song already. And at the same time, the song was too young to be a classic. But it highlighted her singing technique. Meanwhile, her Sunday’s performance with Sarah and Sena (Your Song) was just superb. Excellent blending among the three. It was such a treat. I even replayed it in my recorder actually. It is something that is not just competition-worthy, but also concert-worthy… something you’d be willing pay to watch. Her next song, Open Arms, is another shabby song, but nevertheless a familiar sound. Her birits were not her best in this song though. But her performance was enough to earn her a spot in the Top 2.

2.    Team Bamboo – Myk

Myk’s traditional formula since the blind is to sing upbeat Jason Mrazish type of song with Bamboo tone. His Saturday’s Give Me Love performance deviated from his formula. And it worked! It’s not upbeat, yet I love it. One can feel his emotions with his number.

                           

His Sunday’s performance was another deviation, with Myk and Bamboo singing Morning Rose. Again, this was such a cool and chill number. Like Paolo’s ELESI, it was really entertaining. Honestly, I never heard that Morning Rose before, but I really enjoyed this number, such that I’m going to download later the original arrangement of this song to compare. Finally, Myk sang a Michael Buble - again another deviation from his signature Myk upbeat sound.

Clearly, Myk was trying to deviate from his proven formula. For the Saturday number, it worked. But I guess for the Sunday’s numbers, it didn’t. The songs were not finale competition songs. Ok, Bamboo is really differentiating his artist from the other 3 birit contestants. But I think people miss the signature Myk sound (that Jason Mrazish vibe) that made him reach the Top 4. Myk should know that this is not the time to experiment on a new formula. Thus he paid the price. He was the last placer among the 4.

Also, note that among the 4, it was only Myk who did not win the public votes in the Top 8 show. So the Paolo votes might not have necessarily translated to Myk votes, I suppose.

3.    Team Apl – Janice

Learning from her past mistakes, Janice sang familiar songs at the finale, starting with The Greatest Love of All last Saturday. Well, it wasn’t her best I think. The kulot wasn’t as good as Klarrise’s. The growl was not too full. But of course, she hit the high notes, as always. And last Sunday, it was a surprise. An unexpected mash up on an OPM and an Apl dance hit Time of Your Life with Apl and Lolita. She danced and “beat boxed.” This really came as a surprise, with Janice deviating from her usual high pitch competition songs. And due to this surprise factor, the public liked it… so much! Janice's song and dance number gave a magnitude 7 earthquake at the RWM.  

Finally, yet another indication of Janice’s learning, her unexpected final song was another pop dance hit, We Found Love in a Hopeless Place, which I also like. Janice’s surprises paid off. She gambled and she won. From being the iTunes consistent last placer, she managed to rank higher than Myk.  She should have done this earlier because at this point, no matter how well she sings, she will not gain significant number of new followers. The public already have their favorites which are cast in stone. The artists were just singing for the undecided, or for the followers of those who were evicted last week (if they don’t remain in their teams).

4.    Team Lea - Mitoy

Don’t forget, this guy is a club performer, and as such he surely knows what it takes to get a standing ovation from the crowd: singing high birit karaoke songs that we are all familiar of. He started with a rock version of Anak. Sunday was a fun performance. That Total Eclipse of the Heart, which is the King of Karaoke Songs, was just totally fun and entertaining, due to Vice Ganda. And that surprising kiss was a climax to the comedic act.

Total Eclipse of the Heart - The King of Karaoke Songs
such that people even managed to map its lyrics into a flowchart

Finally, he sang Leaving on a Jet Plane. Mitoy was consistent with his formula since Day 1. Karaoke birit songs. He never deviated from it. Among the Top 4 or even Top 8, he’s the one that showed least variety. He knows his formula will win him votes. And that just happened.  

And of course, the Vice Ganda appearance helped him get even more votes. But the biggest question is why did Team Lea choose Vice Ganda? I understand Sarah’s Sena and Apl’s Lolita. But why Vice Ganda? He’s not a singer and this is The Voice (as emphasized by Mitoy). Oh I forgot, Vice is a singer. He even had a concert which just happens to be the record holder for the highest ticket sales at Araneta. He did a movie as well, which happens to be Philippines' top grosser of all time. Got it? Case closed!

Well, the four coaches did very well also. Their performances clearly show why they were chosen as the coaches of The Voice PH. Just watch the replay to see for yourself.

The Voice PH Top 2

And the Top 2 are… Mitoy and Klarisse!

Janice was third and Myk was fourth.

1.    Klarisse

For the final song, Klarisse sang an OPM song that I wasn’t familiar of. Well, it’s a traditional singing contest song.  

2.    Mitoy

Keeping his tried and tested formula since day 1, Mitoy sang Help Me (is this the correct title?). Told you, this is the guy who showed the least variety. Well, he has a point. If his formula worked in the past, why change?  If that has won him an Eat Bulaga title, why change? If that has earned him followers in the clubs, why change?

Well the final 2 already had a solid following at this point. They were just singing to get the votes of Myk and Janice. Unfortunately, votes were reset to 0, thus iTunes downloads no longer counted. Klarisse was the biggest loser for this news, as she is iTunes' Number 2.  

And then Toni announced the winner… and it is MITOY!

So what happened?

Sabi sa Twitter, Kakao Talk daw kasi gamit pang vote ng mga popsters! Haha.

Myk and Klarisse were consistently in iTunes' Top 2. Yet Myk placed last, and Klarisse did not beat Mitoy. Well, I guess my earlier theory is right. The voting public is excited and fully supportive of Mitoy. They will spend to vote him. But they will not spend to download his music. As for Myk’s followers, they don’t care about the competition. They will download Myk’s song because they want to hear him over and over again in their playlists. As for Klarisse, votes were reset to 0, thus no iTunes downloads were counted. OR this is another theory… the iTunes download might just really be a neglibible number, as people would rather download their songs on Piratebay or buy them at Metrowalk and Makati Cinema Square. Only ABS-CBN knows as we don't have the absolute numbers.

I asked my Mom who she was rooting for. She said she’s for Mitoy. If she had 1 vote to spare, she would have surely given it to Mitoy. But note that although my mom watches The Voice regularly, I never saw her buy a CD nor saw her watch a concert. I guess this applied to the rest of the voters. Pinoys are just so in love with biriteros, to see them do their stunt in a contest such as this. Thus they win big. Review your history: Erik Santos, Jovit Baldevino, Roel Manlangit, Jonalyn Viray, Frenchy Dy, Angeline Quinto, and of course Regine V.   Season 2 wannabes, you know what it takes to win the crown, ok?  Random thought: If Lea Salonga were not a part of TVOP, Radha’s and Paolo’s songs will probably end up in her playlist. BUT I’m wondering if Mitoy’s Bulag will get there as well?

Anyway, I may not be a Mitoy fan. But with the sound of his BULAG single, his songs are not really marketed for me. I'm sure he will be the next April Boy Regino. And, I am also sure that TVOP is making history. The artists (like Myk, Paolo, Klarisse, and maybe Darryl, Morissette and Radha) will be the face of the music industry. As I mentioned in my previous blog, the winner gets an MCA-Universal contract due to its global partnership with The Voice, while Star Records is not contractually prohibited to make a profit out of the rest. The Voice Season 1 is such an overwhelming success. The TVOP artists will surely be dominating the airwaves and ASAP stage soon enough, most specially Team Bamboo's artists due to their uniqueness and musicality. Season 1 of any contest is always the most successful. Can’t wait to get copies of the albums of Paolo, Myk and Klarisse. And maybe some are also just as excited for the albums of Darryl, Morissette and maybe Radha. 

Another thing, I said before that The Voice PH should be renamed to The Voice of Sarah G, because this show will crown the artist from the most popular coach. Luckily I was wrong. Team Sarah was just a second placer. The masa votes prevailed. At least it's about the artist, not the coach. 

So, that's all folks. Till Season 2...