Tawag Ng Tanghalan August 7 Live Blog: Semi Finals Day 1

POPCORN TIME LIVE BLOG/RECAP: It’s Semi Finals Day 1 on Tawag Ng Tanghalan August 1 episode. Five semi-finalists: John Mark Saga, Jovany Satera, Alfred Relatado, Aila Santos, and Lalainne Arana fight head to head for the title Tawag Ng Tanghalan Season 2 Quarter 1 semi-finalist who will officially make it to the Grand Finals. On this episode, semi-finalists will be singing their Audition song.

For this week, the audience and fans of each semi-finalist can vote for the semi-finalist they wish to support through texting in their votes. Just text TAWAG (name of semi-finalist) and send to 2366. There can only be one vote per Sim per day. Voting lines will be opened when all semi-finalists have finished their performances.

Tawag Ng Tanghalan August 7 performances

First semi-finalist, John Mark Saga. John Mark is theater singer from Cavite. He was a bit hesitant to audition for TNT since people told him his voice was not fit for a competition like this. Thanks to his mom, he had the courage to go for it. John won as defending champion on June 12 and became semi-finalist on June 16. His audition song was “Lay Me Down” by Sam Smith. John now takes the stage and slays every single note of the song.

A standing ovation from all the judges when he ended his last note. Vice Ganda and judge Yeng Constantino said John gave a jaw-dropping performance. Vice even said next to Sam Smith, his version was the best. Judge Billy Crawford jokingly called him “bakulaw” when it came to singing and said he was as good as international singer Sam Smith.

Second semi-finalist, Alfred Relatado. This fisherman from Davao was inspired by a contender on TNT who sang an Engelbert Humperdinck song. His friends thought his voice was like Engelbert and thought that it would be a great idea for him to join TNT. He then took a chance and tried it out singing “Wonderland.” Alfred won on June 23 and got his fifth win and became semi-finalist on June 28.

Another standing ovation from the judges. It seemed they enjoyed Alfred’s performance just like they enjoyed John’s performance. Judge Mitoy called Alfred’s voice “imported.” He said no one would expect that voice from him. He had the confidence and he did a really good job says Mitoy.

Third semi-finalist, Jovany Satera. Big things come in small packages. Jovany’s big voice is one that has captured the judges the first time on July 3. His unique dance moves on stage are what brought him to the semis as he got his fifth win on July 7. This 20-year-old singer from Davao is also a fan of Engelbert Humperdinck. Jovany sang “I Can’t Stop Loving You.” It seems the judges missed Jovany and his suave moves on stage as they danced to the beat of his performance. And yes, another standing ovation from the judges.

Judge Rey Valera is baffled by the appeal of Jovany and how he was able to perform an old song and still loved by the audience. Rey said he could have a chance at winning since he was loved by so much

Fourth semi-finalist, Aila Santos. Aila Santos is one that can be remembered easily. She belted out Mariah Carey songs and proved she had what it takes to win the competition. Aila won on July 18 and became defending champion until July 26 which gave her a total of seven wins. She’s gone a long way since a TNT staff offered her a chance to audition one night during her set. Now, this band vocalist also from Davao sang “Against All Odds” by Mariah Carey.

Judge Yeng called Aila a consistent performer. She said she loved hearing Aila sing and she always puts the judges at the edge of their seats. Something they look forward to every time she takes the stage.

Fifth semi-finalist, Lalainne Arana. Lalainne from South Cotabato auditioned three times but didn’t make it. It took her time to muster the strength to try again. When she finally decided to go for the fourth time, she auditioned and sang “Halik” by Aegis. Lalainne won as defending champion on July 27. She got her fifth win and became semi-finalist on August 1.

Judge Jaya said Lalainne proved to the judges that she deserves to be in the semi finals. Her decision to rest after she got her fifth win was a good decision. Jaya said she had the talent, the heart, and the gift. Today, she did do a good job but felt that Lalainne was a bit nervous. Nonetheless, a good performance.

Voting lines are open for all who want to show support for the semi-finalist of their choice until 6 p.m. tonight. Second round of performances will be on tomorrow’s episode.

Tawag Ng Tanghalan airs Mondays to Saturdays on It’s Showtime via ABS-CBN at noon.