Sinulog Idol 10 kicks off with Idol’s Choice round

CEBU, Philippines —  Sinulog Idol kicked off its tenth season Friday night at the Plaza Independencia with its 12 finalists introducing themselves to the public by singing their hand-picked pieces for the evening’s Idol’s Choice round.

Making up this year’s Sinulog Idol hopefuls are Guadalupe’s Jake Batiancela, Carcar City pride James Alfafara, Talisay City bet Jessa Abaquita, Jonas Elarcosa all the way from Daanbantayan, Brgy. Punta’s Kyla Dizon, Mandaue City’s Maica Apas, Consolacion’s Mikee Allaga, Minglanilla’s Rache Parco, Danao City’s Shim Dagatan, Talisay City’s Vanessa Parame, Mandaue City’s Yad Jayme and Talisay City’s Zane Dugaduga.

Mainstay judges and mentors Jay Unchuan, Apple Abarquez and Ryan Mark Borinaga singled out Vanessa Parame who performed “Love On The Brain” by Rihanna, Rache Parco who sang Scorpion’s “Still Loving You” and Jessa Abaquita who did “Tawag Ng Tanghalan” Season 2 champion Janine Berdin’s version of “Narda” by Kamikaze as the top three best singers of the evening. However, Jessa’s performance of “Narda” won for her the Star of the Night title with an average score of 95.33 percent.

“Super happy ko,” Abaquita began of her placement. “Wala ko nag-expect nga daghan kaayo og maayo. Nakulbaan ko sa akong first na performance. Naa jud ang pressure. I’m so hapy na ako ang napili nila karon.”

Abaquita, a second year hotel and restaurant management student, had auditioned for Sinulog Idol in 2012 and 2017 but decided to wait it out until this year to actually push through with the competition. For her third time, she feels more prepared and says that she’s ready to take on the rigorous journey towards the Sinulog Idol title.

The former “TNT” contender mused that “Narda” suited her voice quality, saying that she will have to rehearse well for the following nights if she would like to keep her place. For the second round of elimination dubbed “Jam Night,” the idols are divided into groups for an ensemble performance.

Vocal coach Jay Unchuan, who considers Abaquita as one of the “unsung singers of Cebu,” personally anticipated her performance. The judge praised the Talisay City bet but also left her with a challenge.

“Yes, you are good. But can you still be better? Be better and learn and learn and learn. That’s the only way to get to the top,” Unchuan quipped.

Apart from the first round winner, judge Apple Abarquez also announced those in danger of elimination. Broadcasting student Jonas Elarcosa was declared to be at the bottom of the list. His “Take Me Out of the Dark” performance was pitchy according to Unchuan, since he wasn’t able to hit various notes.

But things looked up for Elarcosa very quickly. While the evening also signaled the nightly eliminations, nobody was sent home on Friday and all 12 singers lived to sing another night.

“You gave a beautiful performance, and it is so awesome to see people like you who inspire so many,” Abarquez quipped, comforting an anxious Elarcosa.

Unchuan explained that they decided to keep Elarcosa because while his singing could be better technically, he had the ability to express his feelings with his movements and projections.

“Sayang man sad. One day pa and we thought, tomorrow is a group performance so maybe we’ll give them one more chance to prove what they can showcase pa. I always advise them, kung maayo sila karon mas mu maayo pa ugma, kung dili maayo today, mumaayo ugma. You can only give chances for so long,” Unchuan said.

While the Final 12 are still intact and thus was in a celebratory mood, Abarquez reminded them to be prepared at all times as someone will surely get eliminated in the following nights.

“You are not safe all of the time. Tomorrow, we will really start eliminating maybe two or three or more. That is why every day is your final day to sing,” Abarquez warned.

Produced by Soundtraxx Production Studio in partnership with the Cebu City Government and the Sinulog Foundation Inc., Sinulog Idol will award its Grand Champion P50,000, plus P30,000 for the first runner-up and P20,000 for the second runner-up.

The Sinulog Idol competition will test the finalists’ skills and drive through nightly competitions at Plaza Independencia. The weeklong elimination will have the finalists singing all sorts of music with themes like Showtunes, Tribute Night, Cebuano Night and Rock Night among others. On Jan. 17, only six will remain for the Sinulog Idol Season 10 finals.