A ‘first’ in PGT

MANILA, Philippines – For the first time in the history of Pilipinas Got Talent (PGT), it was not a singer who was declared champion. Last May 22, a couple who was not into music yet excelled in interpretative dance became the PGT 5 grand winner.

Power Duo, the pair of real-life couple Gervin and Anjanette from Angono, Rizal, took home the P2M grand prize. Their heart-stopping performance merited the perfect score of 100 percent combined from the four judges and text votes from the audience.

Even the two runners-up were not into music. Amazing Pyra displayed jaw-dropping fire stunts to become the first runner-up, while Ody Tolentino wowed everyone with his magic tricks and placed second runner-up.

“This season (of Pilipinas Got Talent) is not a season for singers,” judge Vice Ganda said after evaluating the performance of the all-male quartet, Next Option, one of the 12 finalists. The group dished out their version of Shawn Mendes’ chart-topping hit, Stitches.

The other singers who made it to this season’s finals were Kurt Philip Espiritu who rendered Charlie Puth’s One Call Away and The Chosen Ones Band, who did a rock number.

For four seasons, singers dominated the winner’s list of PGT. From Jovit Baldivino and Marcelito Pomoy to the Maasinhon trio to Roel Manlangit, the winners consecutively stole the hearts of the audience with their vocal prowess. It was therefore a surprising and delightful announcement when the Power Duo emerged as winners this season.

The duo of Gervin and Anjanette was the first recipient of PGT’s Golden Buzzer when they auditioned last January. All four judges, including Robin Padilla, Angel Locsin and former ABS-CBN president Freddie “FMG” Garcia, gave a standing ovation after watching the duo’s impressive acrobatic performance. It was Robin who pressed his Golden Buzzer to send the Power Duo to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, the other acts in the Season 5 finals were the Crossover Family, Mastermind, the Santo Tomas Bulilit Acrobatic Dance Group, Power Impact Dancers, UA Mindanao Motocross Performers and Dino Splendid Acrobats.

Sharon Cuneta was the special guest in the PGT finals, hosted by Luis Manzano and Billy Crawford and held at the Mall of Asia Arena. Sharon gave the audience a teaser of her participation as one of the coaches of The Voice Kids Season 3, to premiere on May 28. Sharon replaces Sarah Geronimo and joins Lea Salonga and Bamboo Mañalac in the swivel chairs for The Voice Kids.