Pinoy Idol

For Associated Broadcasting Company's former Idol franchise, see Philippine Idol.

Pinoy Idol was a Philippine interactive reality-based singing competition created and developed by FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment which aired on GMA Network. The program originated from Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which seeks to discover the best singer or "idol" in the country through a series of nationwide auditions and live performances, which is determined by public voting through SMS. The show "replaced" Philippine Idol, the first Idol franchise in the Philippines broadcast by the Associated Broadcasting Company in 2006.

The show is hosted by Raymond Gutierrez, with Ogie Alcasid (singer, songwriter, and record producer), Jolina Magdangal (singer and actress), and Wyngard Tracy (retired talent manager) as judges.^[3][4] Danny Tan is the show's musical director. The show debuted on April 5, 2008.^[5]

Gretchen Espina, daughter of Biliran governor Rogelio J. Espina, defeated two other contenders in the show's Finale to become the first Pinoy Idol. Although she is technically the second winner of an Idol franchise in the Philippines, GMA promoted Pinoy Idol as "the first Idol competition in the Philippines" and does not recognize Philippine Idol and its winner Mau Marcelo.^[6]

GMA Network has reportedly decided not to produce a second season for 2009, and instead focus on another self-produced singing competition.^[7]

Transition from Philippine Idol

ABC had previously announced during an episode of Philippine Idol and a report on ABC's late night news show Sentro that they would produce a second season of the show. However, rumors began to spread that Philippine Idol would not be having its second season in 2007 as planned, while major station GMA Network was planning to acquire the Idol franchise.^[8][9] Sources claimed that ABC incurred heavy losses in the previous season, primarily because of the low number of advertisement slots despite being a widely followed show.^[8] ABC asserted that it was still under negotiation with FremantleMedia about the second season and had earmarked Asian Idol as its "big launch", although there was a possibility that GMA was negotiating about Idol as well since the network already had local versions of Celebrity Duets and Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?--both FremantleMedia franchises.^[9][10]

After several negotiations, FremantleMedia had officially decided to move and to have the second season aired on GMA Network, which premiered on April 5, 2008. FremantleMedia's representative Geraldine Bravo said that it is "very fortunate" to find a new partner, while GMA Network's Senior Vice President for Entertainment Wilma Galvante added that both parties have agreed that the network "has the experience, the resources, and the people to mount talent-search programs".^[11]

ABC was reportedly sore about the deal, saying through its senior vice president for Corporate Affairs Terra Daffon that ABC was willing to buy only Idol with no other packages attached, but FremantleMedia has apparently found a better deal with GMA, "a giant" compared to their network which they described as a "Jack trying to climb the beanstalk". ABC was also saddened by rumors that GMA would relaunch the show instead of recognizing the first season and therefore not acknowledging Mau Marcelo as the first Philippine Idol. Daffon commented that GMA's move to acquire FremantleMedia programs was a complete turnaround from its previous vow not to "buy" any foreign franchise, and that it seemed set in battling rival ABS-CBN anew as the latter has franchises from Endemol.^[12] Galvante, meanwhile, countered that she will not back down from what she said that GMA will not "copy" foreign franchises completely, without making adjustments to entertain local viewers,^[12] which was different from her own statement over a year before that the GMA network did not need to "buy" a foreign franchise to put up their own talent searches.^[13]

Reports also said that GMA would treat Pinoy Idol as a completely different show, without referring to Philippine Idol as its "first season" and not recognizing Mau Marcelo as the "first winner".^[11]

Season 1

Auditions

Auditions for Pinoy Idol were held in the following cities: Cagayan de Oro, Batangas City, Iloilo City, Cebu City, Davao City, Pasay, Dagupan, and Angeles.^[14] Auditions in Naga were canceled for unknown reasons.^[15] During the Pasay auditions, Ida Henares, head of the GMA Artist Center (the talent arm of GMA Network), took over Magdangal's seat in the judges' panel as the latter was in the United States at the time.^[16][17] Out of thousands of aspirants, 179 passed through the next round of eliminations.^[18]

Theater rounds

The 179 audition passers gathered in Manila for the theater rounds in Cinema 6 of SM City North EDSA. The first round saw the hopefuls divided into groups of 10 and they each performed their pieces in front of the judges. Ninety contestants were chosen for the second round. In the second round, the ninety aspirants formed pairs and each pair had duets to perform together; they were judged separately. Half of the ninety were virtually cut. The final forty-five each performed a song of their choice for a final time in front of the judges. Afterwards, they were divided into three groups of fifteen. One group was eliminated, bringing the number down to thirty.

On April 2008, the judges re-examined the performances of the final thirty survivors, starting from their audition pieces down to their final ones in the theater round. Then, in the GMA Network Center, the judges announced the fates of the thirty. It is from this final group that the Top 24 were chosen.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics song "Ready to Fly" by Amy Pearson was used extensively throughout the audition and theatre phases of the competition.

Semi-finalists

The 24 semi-finalists were announced on May 17, 2008. Some of their names were changed or shortened so it would be easier for viewers to remember. Their names and short biographies were also published the day after the announcement.^[19] The semifinals, or "workshop phase," began on May 23, 2008, with the Top 12 male contestants performing first and the Top 12 female contestants performing the next day. Eliminations were on a weekly basis beginning May 25, 2008, until the Top 12 was finalized.^[20] Because of a quirk in the number of weeks and process of elimination, this stage ended a week later than expected (see Production below).

Male semi-finalists

Joselindo Pimpino Jr., also known as JJ Jr., is 17 from Bataan. He currently studies in Baguio City where his parents live. He also claims to be Pinoy Pop Superstar's youngest competitor at age 14. He auditioned in Dagupan.

1. "You to Me Are Everything" (The Real Thing)
2. "King of Wishful Thinking" (Go West)
3. "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (Stevie Wonder)
4. "When I Need You" (Leo Sayer) - Eliminated, June 15, 2008

Walton Zerrudo is 25 from Laguna. He considers standards as his forte and describes his son as his inspiration. He auditioned in Pasay.

1. "She's out of My Life" (Michael Jackson)
2. "Every Breath You Take" (The Police)
3. "Hello" (Lionel Richie) - Eliminated, June 8, 2008

Ryan "Rye" Estrada is 28 from Iloilo. He is a band vocalist and a self-confessed Robbie Williams fan. During the theater rounds, his third performance piece was dedicated to his mother. He auditioned in Iloilo.

1. "Your Love" (Alamid)
2. "Babe" (Styx) - Eliminated, June 1, 2008

Sherwin Bayangan, who goes under the name of Sherwin Marquez, is 26 from Dagupan. He currently lives with his parents in Tuguegarao. He auditioned in Dagupan.

1. "How Do You Heal a Broken Heart" (Chris Walker)
2. "The Old Songs" (Barry Manilow) - Eliminated, June 1, 2008

Paulo Dio Maghari, also known as Dio Paolo, is 24 from Bacolod. He is a call center agent and a son of a receptionist. He has sung in concerts and has even acted in a musical. He auditioned in Iloilo.

1. "Angels Brought Me Here" (Guy Sebastian) - Eliminated, May 25, 2008

Eleuterio "Elliot" Andal is 24 from Batangas. A son of a jeepney driver, he worked as a choral trainer and conductor and has won plums in several choral competitions. He was also a contestant on Pinoy Pop Superstar. He auditioned in Batangas.

1. "Sana Ay Ikaw na Nga" (Basil Valdez) - Eliminated, May 25, 2008

Female semi-finalists

Carol (Anne) Leus is 17 from Batangas, currently studying in the College of St. Benilde. In 2004, she joined and topped the Pop Star Search in Dubai, organized by The Filipino Channel. She auditioned in Pasay.

1. "I Believe In You and Me" (Whitney Houston)
2. "It Must Have Been Love" (Roxette)
3. "The Voice Within" (Christina Aguilera)
4. "I Turn to You" (Christina Aguilera) - Eliminated, June 15, 2008

Meryl (Consulta) David is 23 from the Bicol Region. She is the daughter of a former singer and a real estate broker whose achievement is finishing her course in nursing while singing in a band. She auditioned in Angeles.

1. "You Mean The World To Me" (Toni Braxton)
2. "I Feel for You" (Chaka Khan)
3. "Killing Me Softly with His Song" (Roberta Flack) - Eliminated, June 8, 2008

Regene Ong is 20 from Quezon City. She impressed the judges by singing a wide range of songs, and is equally known for her self-made vintage dresses. She auditioned in Pasay.

1. "Fever" (Elvis Presley)
2. "With Or Without You" (U2) - Eliminated, June 1, 2008

Vrenilyn "Vren" Villaflor is 17 from Quezon City. A daughter of a police officer, she joined several singing tilts as a child, including Ang Batang Kampeon and Tuklas Talino. She auditioned in Pasay.

1. "Fame" (Irene Cara)
2. "Wind Beneath My Wings" (Bette Midler) - Eliminated, June 1, 2008

Beverly "Bev" Ejercito is 18 from Davao. She is a daughter of a company driver and is proud of graduating from high school and winning pageants. She also matches her big hair with her big voice. She auditioned in Pasay.

1. "Crazy" (Patsy Cline) - Eliminated, May 25, 2008

Drizzle (Emerald) Muñiz is 28 from Quezon City. She is a professional songwriter who penned one of Sarah Geronimo's songs from the latter's album. She auditioned in Pasay.

1. "My Immortal" (Evanescence) - Eliminated, May 25, 2008

Semifinals weekly song themes

• Week 1 (May 23 & 24): Own choice of songs
• Week 2 (May 30 & 31): Hit songs from year of birth
• Week 3 (June 6 & 7): Greatest musical influences
• Week 4 (June 13 & 14): Songs for fathers

Top 12 finalists

After the eliminating the eleventh and twelfth semi-finalists from the competition, the Final 12 was formally announced on June 15, 2008. The finals, or "gala night" stage, started on June 21, 2008, with eliminations the next night. Like the semi-finals, eliminations during the finals are on a weekly basis for the first seven weeks.

In the eighth week, two finalists were cut from the competition in a single night to accommodate the final three finalists for the finale; that elimination took place on August 10, 2008. The finale shows took place on August 16 and August 17, 2008 at the SMX Convention Center.

Gretchen (Stephanie) Espina is 20 from Biliran. She is the daughter of Rogelio J. Espina, the governor of the said province. She is studying in the University of the Philippines, Diliman where she is a member of the internationally acclaimed University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors (UPSA). During the competition, she was never in the bottom group. She auditioned in Pasay accompanied by a bodyguard.

Jay Ann "Jayann" Bautista is 21 from Pampanga. She studies in the University of the Philippines, Diliman and her parents run their own businesses. She was formerly a talent of VIVA Entertainment and had released two albums (2003: JayAnne, 2006: Call Me JayAnne) under its record label. Like Espina, she was never placed in the bottom group during the competition. She auditioned in Angeles.

Ramon "Ram" Chaves III is 25 from Cagayan de Oro. He considers fatherhood as his most cherished accomplishment as his audition in Pasay coincided with his wife giving birth.

Daryl (Jett) Celis is 21 from Rizal. He is a son of an OFW, a bar owner in Japan. He auditioned in Pasay with his grandmother, whom he calls his lucky charm.

Elizalde "Kid" Camaya is 24 from Pampanga, as iterated by the program. He currently works for a BPI branch in Quezon City, to which his introductory profile refers as his residence. He says that the show is his "dream and passion." He auditioned in Pasay.

Warren Antig is 25 from Baguio City. He also goes under the nickname of "Bordado" because of his tattos. He became notorious for his decision to back out of the competition during the Theater rounds, only to change his mind in the last minute, irking judges Alcasid and Magdangal in the process and causing delays in the taping of those rounds. He auditioned in Dagupan.

Penelope Ann Matanguihan, known only as Penelope in the show, is 16 from Batangas. She is perennial singing champion who is "raring to fight for her family." She auditioned in Batangas.

Kristoffer Rei Tragico, or Toffer Rei in the show, is 23 from Marikina City. He is the son of a driver and a housewife. Despite being from Luzon, he auditioned in Iloilo.

Sue Ellen Cubing, known only as Sue Ellen, is 16 from Iloilo. She is a daughter of a pastor and beauty pageant runner-up. She and her sister, Genevieve, auditioned together in Iloilo and made it through the theater rounds, where Genevieve was among those eliminated.

Roberto "Robby" Navarro, Jr. is 28 from Pampanga. He was once part of a singing group called the Wise Guys, but made a difficult decision to go solo, which he claims is paying off. He released an eponymous solo album way back in 1999 under Sony BMG.^[21] He auditioned in Angeles.

(Angeli) Mae Flores is 18 from Marikina. She competed in the talent show Star for a Night, the same one in which Sarah Geronimo and Mau Marcelo participated. She auditioned in Angeles.

Jenifer "Jeni" Rawolle is 20 from Paco, Manila. She previously competed in Pinoy Pop Superstar. She auditioned in Pasay.

Finals weekly song themes

• Week 1 (June 21): Songs from their greatest pre-Idol performances
• Week 2 (June 28): Song dedications
• Week 3 (July 5): Songs of their lives
• Week 4 (July 12): Songs sung by Regine Velasquez
• Week 5 (July 19): Songs sung by Jaya
• Week 6 (July 26): Songs by OPM bands
• Week 7 (August 2): Songs sung by Basil Valdez
• Week 8 (August 9): Greatest Idol performances
• Week 9 (August 16): Judges' choice, favorite mentor's choice, and personal choice

Special guests

The following have become mentors for the finalists. The mentors in Weeks 4, 5, and 7 also supplanted the jury as a special guest judge, while in Week 6, several of the members, if not all members, of each mentor band appeared on stage to oversee the performance of the apprentice finalist.

• Week 4: Regine Velasquez
• Week 5: Jaya
• Week 6 (in order of performance of song): 6 Cycle Mind, Itchyworms, Pupil, Brownman Revival, Cueshé, South Border and Freestyle
• Week 7: Basil Valdez

Finale

Pinoy Idol held its Performance Night Finale on August 17, 2008 at the SMX Convention Center at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. Each of the three remaining contenders performed three songs, one personally chosen by the contestant, one by one of the judges and one by the contestant's favorite mentor. Gutierrez hosted most of the program while joining him in the sidelines were Rhian Ramos and Karylle. Each song was performed with Tan's band and the group The Opera as back-up singers, just as always. They were also joined in each of two joint performances by Basil Valdez and Regine Velasquez. The bands Freestyle, South Border, Cueshé, and Itchyworms also have performances of their own.

In an unusual instance, the judges held off their comments for each of the finalists' performances until after the last performance of the last finalist. Each of the three judges told one of the three finalists about his comments on the performances as well as those of the other judges.

The next night at the same venue, the star-studded results show was held, headlined by Bautista, Chaves, and Espina together with the rest of the Top 24, performing together with Hajji Alejandro, Jett Pangan, Luke Mejares, Verne Varga, and Duncan Ramos. The third placer was immediately announced soon after with Chaves shut out of the final two, leaving Bautista and Espina in the running for the title.

There were also performances by the bands Pupil, Callalily, and Rivermaya.

For their final performance before the announcement of the winner, Bautista and Espina each performed an original composition "To You" by resident judge Alcasid and with the University of the Philippines Concert Chorus as back-up choir.

Espina was voted as the first Pinoy Idol, although no figures were announced for all three finalists. Aside from the title, Espina received P1 million, a condominium unit, a brand new car, a recording contract with Sony BMG Music Philippines, and a television contract with GMA Network.^[22]

To date, Valdez and Cueshé were the only acts so far that have performances in both Philippine Idol grand finals shows. They, Alejandro and Mejares were also the only ones to appear in both Philippine Idol shows per se as Alejandro and Mejares appeared as guest judges in Philippine Idol.

Elimination chart

Television ratings

The first season premiered with a 26.3 percent rating on GMA Network, behind Bitoy's Funniest Videos' 32.2 percent and Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho's 30.2%. It ended with a 30 and 28 percent rating which landed at the #1 spot in August TV ratings.

Reception

Early into the development of Pinoy Idol, there was a growing petition in online forums requesting for Ignacio's exclusion as its program director primarily because of his frequent use of butterflies (whether live butterflies or having people wear butterfly wings) on every project he has directed. He commented that he would still stick to his "lucky trademark" and even taunted petitioners to direct the show and put beetles or mosquitoes on the set if that is what they want.^[24][25]

In an article published before Pinoy Idol's premiere, noted film and television critic Nestor U. Torre hoped that the lapses that occurred in Philippine Idol would be remedied in Pinoy Idol.^[26] However, once the show went underway, those hopes seem to dampen as Torre noted on the first episode alone some mediocre talent and Gutierrez not yet becoming his own as host. Torre did laud the judging styles of Alcasid and Magdangal and Tracy's emerging Simon Cowell-like demeanor.^[27] One viewer, who wrote to the Philippine Daily Inquirer about the show, was not as impressed when comparing it to Philippine Idol, complaining about Gutierrez's nasal and unnatural hosting style, Magdangal's immaturity as judge and Tracy seemingly imitating Cowell more as compared to Cayabyab.^[28]

Meanwhile, entertainment writer Jean Oli wrote that Pinoy Idol does not have that "Idol feel" despite high expectations towards GMA Network, calling it "an ordinary singing contest." She even stated that the network's previous singing contests such as Pinoy Pop Superstar and Celebrity Duets: Philippine Edition were more interesting to watch than Pinoy Idol.^[29]

In a post-mortem article written six days after the finale, Torre wrote that the entire Finals phase of the competition came out less exciting than Philippine Idol's because of several factors, namely some of the finalists were not even star-material, the entire audition process that put them in the competition in the process, and the early elimination of the better singers from the competition. He even doubts if the winners and others in the competition were really talented and versatile enough to take advantage of the strong support that they had during the competition.^[30]

Cancellation

GMA Network was initially deciding on whether to produce a second season of Pinoy Idol. GMA's Senior Vice President for Entertainment Wilma Galvante said that GMA and Fremantle were accessing "learnings" from the first season, such as the text-voting mechanisms, which she said is "different for the Philippines."^[31] Eventually, GMA reportedly decided not to renew the franchise for 2009, and instead released details on another new singing competition, Are You the Next Big Star?^[7] Meanwhile, the Associated Broadcasting Company is reportedly prepared to take over the franchise if necessary, though GMA Network still has the option to renew it.^[31] As of March 2010, there are rumors that GMA completely gave up the Fremantle franchise and therefore a second season for Pinoy Idol would not materialize.^[32]

See also

• List of programs broadcast by GMA Network

References

External links

• Pinoy Idol Official Website
• Pinoy Idol at the Internet Movie Database