Sinulog Idol 2019 champ wins 1st week of KARA-OK! Star

CEBU, Philippines — Apart from fulfilling your gastronomic desires, you can now catch great talent at The Pyramid, as the wine and dine destination begins the search for the KARA-OK! Star.

Open to all non-professional singers in the Visayas region between 15 to 35 years of age, the KARA-OK! Star search is stemmed from the bistro’s desire to find local standouts, and blend that remarkable flavor of talent with their brand of food and lifestyle for the ultimate dining experience.

Setting itself apart from other singing competitions, KARA-OK! Star honors the cultural icon that is the karaoke machine. Instead of banking on their usual instrumental pieces, the KARA-OK! Star hopefuls will seal their fate with the songs available only on the machine. This will prove a challenge for singers who not only rely on their vocal talent but also on their mastery of the song and the nuances of the instrumental to deliver a stellar performance.

“We enjoy entertaining people, so why not make a contest?” says KARA-OK! Star spokesperson Adrian Diongzon. “Their songs will not be from the minus one. Their song choice must be from the karaoke machine because Cebuanos, we like to sing from the karaoke.”

After screenings that saw over a hundred auditionees, more than 40 singers have been lined up to perform. For the first week, the 13 slated singers were: Edimar Bonghanoy, Kristine Rose Gonzaga, Ediesa Panilag, Japhet Rey Danao, Charlie Sumalinog, Ronald Rey, Norami Ann Pineda, Jennifer Mae Yap, Jessa Abaquita, Randy Calipayan, Shenahia Postero, Jenno Ranin, and Jerwin Adlawan.

The KARA-OK Star! at The Pyramid kicked off on Saturday, July 6 at the Louvre-inspired restaurant, located at the IT Park. The affair saw the victory of Sinulog Idol 2019 and “Tawag ng Tanghalan” contender Jessa Abaquita.

Diongzon is happy with the competition’s roster of singers who not only have great talent but also interesting stories. He looks forward to more of the performances, which is a fun twist on the resto’s usual acoustic performances, what with the energy of friendly competition livening up the evenings.

But things are only heating up for the competition at this point, with more legs in the coming weeks. KARA-OK! Star will mount weekly singing battles, whose winners will then compete on the monthly stages. Only the best of the best will get to compete at the KARA-OK! Star at The Pyramid Grand Finals by the end of the year. With many weeks until the grand finals, KARA-OK! Star is open to interested singers who would like to join the tilt.

Aside from consolation prizes, a weekly prize of P1,500 is at stake, while those who make it to the monthly stage will compete for P10,000. By December, a cash prize of P100,000 awaits the ultimate KARA-OK! Star Grand Champion.