Forgive me for being a little behind the times; but I hardly ever watch the local TV stations. And so, thus, my introduction to this heretofore burgeoning talent was, earlier tonight, a bit on the rude side...
Channel-hopping, I caught the voting segment of Pilipinas Got Talent on Studio 23. A cultural group from Cagayan de Oro, a ventriloquist from Las Piñas and singers from Cebu and Davao all pleaded with the television audience to text in votes that would qualify them for the finals.
And then, the two gentlemen masters of ceremony called in this impish-looking lad who they said was from Batangas, a 16-year old by the name of Jovit Baldivino. Salamat, daw, sa lahat ng mga sumusuporta sa kanya. And most especially to his fan club, the Jovinatics baga iyon...
Then, one of the two gentlemen hosts proceeded to encourage him to appeal for votes from the audience. “Sabihin mo sa kanila kung bakit dapat sila bumoto sa ‘yo!”
The little man, without batting an eyelash, replied, “Hindî ko po alam...!!!”
Nadaleh mo, I said in my head to the emcee. Dakdak ka ng dakdak, eh...
Truth be told, my ethnicity immediately went into a state of confusion. Should I, as a native born-and-bred Batangueño, slither under the chair and die of unbearable shame because of that utterly mindless rejoinder? Or should I applaud the bravado and cheer “That’s the spirit, mah boy!!!”
I suppose kapeng barako really runs true in my veins, because I saw the show through even if my thumb itched to press on the change-channel button of the remote. The lad breezed through to the finals, but I still did not really know what talent he possessed that had the whole auditorium shrieking.
But of course, there’s Youtube...
Ayun naman pala... All that angas was just for the stage. I was soon to discover as I watched the mini-docu preceding his performance of “Faithfully” that the lad comes from a really humble background and is really shy and pleasantly down-to-earth and unaffected.
“Ang pangarap ko pô ay makatapos ng pag-aaral,” he told the panel of judges. “Ok lang pô kahit matalo ako dito; basta maipakita ko lamang kung ano meron tayong mga Pilipino.” The last remark had Ai-ai de las Alas tearful.
Naive that he was, the boy was inevitably and absolutely clueless that he would unceremoniously put an end to Kris Aquino’s play at drama. “Alam ko rin kung paano ‘pag may dinadala,” Kris emoted, “nakarating sa akin na may sakit raw ang iyong ama...”
“Ah, magaling na pô,” Jovit told Kris with a smile. Kayâ baga!!!
A second Youtube video had me guffawing loudly in front of my PC. Asked by one of the emcees if he still got nervous performing in front of large crowds, Jovit replied, “Mabilis pô ang tibok ng pusô... Dagasang-dagasâ...!!!”
That was on national television, mind; and while the remark went unnoticed, will any of you dare tell me that those two coño kid emcees understood what he meant? Dagasang-dagasâ.... Ahahahaha!!!
The boy can sing, that much I can say. In parts, he tended to do what Simon Cowell calls shout the song instead of sing; but nothing a few lessons won’t correct.
Unlike Arnel Pineda, who has copycat-ed Steve Perry’s voice so as not to alienate Journey’s loyal following, Jovit sang “Faithfully” with a voice that was distinctly lower and turned husky when he tried to reach for the higher notes. That huskiness was not only sexy; it had rocker written all over it!
Kris Aquino was correct in saying that Jovit is something of a male Charice Pempengco. So small and yet so much power in those little lungs...
With that elfin face and humble background, Ellen DeGeneres is gonna have one more Pinoy artist guesting sooner than you can imagine!
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