Tawag Ng Tanghalan August 9 Live Blog: Quarter 1 Semi Finals Day 3

POPCORN TIME LIVE BLOG/RECAP: Semi-Finals Day 3 Tawag ng Tanghalan August 8 is at hand! Yesterday, TNT semi-finalists Lalainne Arana, Jovany Satera, John Mark Saga, Alfred Relatado, and Alia Santos laid their hearts on the stage singing songs for their families. Before their performances, the partial and unofficial votes from their performances on Monday came out. Those in the bottom two are John Mark Saga (58.24 percent) and Alfred Relatado (57.53 percent). Click here to read yesterday’s recap.

On Day 3, the semi-finalists sing songs from their own musical influences. Among those featured are Regine Velasquez, Elvis Presley, Adele, Christina Grimmie, and Tom Jones. After all five performances, voting re-opened and will stay open until 6pm. Only one vote per sim, per day will be granted for the fans.

Tawag Ng Tanghalan August 9 performances, Musical Influence

First semi-finalist, Aila Santos sings “On the Wings of Love” by Regine Velasquez. Hailed as “Davao’s Song Bird,” it is without a doubt that Aila’s music is influenced by Asia’s Songbird, Ms. Regine Velasquez. Because of her admiration, she is able to sing the way Regine does. Today, the challenge she has set for herself is to give her own take on a Regine classic. She promises the audience that she she will be the sunshine that will shine hearts from within. After she rendered her song, Aila’s playful side came out by singing like Jessa Zaragoza and Jaya. She did a pretty good job doing that and the hosts rode along really well.

Judge K Brosas expressed that the way Aila sang was effortless, flawless, and clean. Her notes were spot on and the timbre and quality of her voice is very similar to Regine Velasquez’.

Second semi-finalist, Jovany Satera rocks to “Blue Suede Shoes” by Elvis Presley. Jovany grew up in the mountains of Mindanao. When he was five, he would listen to music using an old school transistor radio. It was through this that he first heard the King of Rock and Roll sing.  When he was eight years old, he was able to watch Elvis sing on video in one of the local hangouts. He instantly got inspired by Elvis and started joining singing contests. Jovany noticed that whenever he would sing an Elvis Presley song, he would win the contest. From then on, he always made sure to have an Elvis classic in his repertoire.  When Jovany finished his song, he showed off a bit of his disc jockey skills. Being a radio personality in his hometown, he had some fun role playing with the Tawag ng Tanghalan hosts. Jovany even performed a pretty cool rap. He really is talented.

Judge Billy Crawford said that Jovany is the pinoy version of Elvis Presley. His voice is good and his performance lightens up hearts and brought up smiles. The only thing the judges noticed is that Jovany missed the timing of the song’s bridge. Nonetheless, he gave a great performance.

Third semi-finalist, John Mark Saga sings “Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele. John considers Adele his greatest musical influence. He has been inspired by her in many ways. To him, the lyrics of Adele’s songs are very powerful. He chose “Set Fire to the Rain” because anyone who hears the song, feels a ton of emotions in every word sung. He strongly believes that Adele unites the world through her songs and he feels that he wants to do the same.

Judge Jed Madela said that John is an amazing singer. He is very consistent throughout his performances. Aside from his voice, Jed also says that John’s heart and emotions stand out whenever he renders his song. Feeling goosebumps is one constant thing with John. This quality is rare and is definitely a good thing for any singer.

Fourth semi-finalist, Lalainne Arana interprets “Wrecking Ball” as inspired by Christina Grimmie. The first time Lalainne saw Christina Grimmie perform in The Voice, she only felt utter admiration. She loved how Christina would cover songs and make them her own. She sings known songs differently. Lalainne also feels that Christina is an inspiration to the youth and to singers like her who are still starting. Like Christina, Lalainne wants to be known as an artist who is unique and original. After her performance, Lalainne wowed the crowd with her uncanny talent of singing like the chipmunks. She sang “Versace on the Floor” as a chipmunk and then switched it up by singing like Madonna.

Judge Rey Valera describes Lalainne as being like “diesel.”  This means that her performance starts slow but then ends big and loud in the end. He also mentioned that being part of Lalainne’s journey in Tawag ng Tanghalan is an honor for him. He invites the “probinsyanos” like him to vote for her.

Fifth semi-finalist, Alfred Relatado sings a Tom Jones classic, “Save the Last Dance for Me.” When Alfred was in high school, the only way he could listen to music was by visiting his neighbor who had a radio. He listened to Tom Jones back in the day because he loved his voice specially when he sang, “Save the Last Dance for Me.” Alfred fondly said that the song makes ladies fall in love. He proves this true at how he was able to win his wife’s heart. He thanks Tom Jones and his neighbor for the music he sings today. Without them, there would not be the Alfred he is today. Aside from singing, by the way, Alfred has got some beat boxin’ skills. He, is also able to put an interesting twist to news casting.

Judge Louie Ocampo admitted that he was nervous over the break. He hoped that Alfred’s performance would be at par with the first four semi-finalists. After Alfred performed, Louie said that Alfred was not only at par, but he raised the bar. He feels the same way Judge Rey feels about Lalainne. Louie also said that he is honored to be part of Alfred’s journey.