TNT winner Noven is proud of his roots

When rice farmer Noven Belleza first appeared in It’s Showtime!’s Tawag ng Tanghalan — the first televised singing contest he joined — in July 2016, he performed Air Supply’s Even the Nights are Better, hoping to get through the first round and get as far as he could in the competition to pay for home repairs.

He would go on to nab a spot in the Quarter 3 semi-finals with another Air Supply song. And last Saturday at Resorts World Manila, Noven’s journey came full circle as he was crowned the competition’s grand champion, walking away with P2M and an all-new house and lot, after impressing both viewers and the hurados with a spectacular medley of the Australian rock duo’s hits.

“Hindi ako makapaniwala. Nabago po talaga ang buhay ko dahil sa Tawag ng Tanghalan. Thank you so much sa Showtime family, pamilya ko, kay Lord. ‘Di po ako makapaniwala na sa libo-libong nag-audition, ako po ang nanguna. Ang bait po talaga ng Diyos,” said Noven in an interview with the media after the announcement of his victory.

The 22-year-old Bukid Boy Wonder of Negros Occidental nabbed the title after receiving the highest average score of 99.96 percent from the combined judges’ scores and madlang people’s votes, beating final three contenders Sam Mangubat (49.09 percent) and Froilan Canlas (45.78 percent).

As the first-ever grand champion of Tawag ng Tanghalan in It’s Showtime!, Noven also won a recording contract with Star Music, a musical instruments package from JB Music, a negosyo package and a family vacation package.

When asked what he would do with his prize money, he said, “Una po, sa pamilya ko po talaga, sa mga kapatid ko para po mabago ko rin ang buhay nila at maipagpatuloy ang pag-aaral nila. At sa magulang ko po kasi hindi ko na rin po gustong makita sila na nagtatrabaho pa sa tanda nila sa bukid. Ang mga nabenta at nasanla po naming lupa, kukunin po namin ulit.”

A veteran of local singing contests in his hometown Victoria City, Noven has charmed viewers and the program’s hosts since day one with his easy smile and positive disposition.

Even Vice Ganda was moved by Noven’s story of sacrifice that the host committed to pay for his siblings’ one year of schooling after finding out that Noven had given up his own education so he could help his father plough the land and send his siblings to school.

Throughout his journey, Noven would often refer to his triumph as that of the ordinary Filipino, inspiring viewers with his determination to help his family that lives off a weekly income of P1,000.

“Minsan naiinggit din ako sa mga ka-edad ko dahil sila libro ang hawak. Ako, kalabaw at pang-araro. Pero kailanman ay hindi ko ikakahiya ang pinanggalingan ko kasi dito ako naging matibay. Napagtanto ko na maraming naituro sa akin ang sitwasyon ko na hindi pa siguro natutunan ng iba,” Noven said at one point in the competition.

The conclusion of the competition’s more-than-a-year-long search for its first grand champion pulled in viewers nationwide and prompted netizens to post their comments about the grand finals online.

According to data from Kantar Media, It’s Showtime! hit a whopping national TV rating of 33.6 percent. The data cover both urban and rural homes and represent 100 percent of total Philippine TV population.

The hashtag #TnTAngHulingTapatan also became the top trending topic on Twitter worldwide and in the Philippines, while tweets about the finale occupied 16 out of the 20 local trending topics on the micro-blogging site. The show’s online live streaming also drew more than 39,000 viewers — one of the highest numbers recorded on the ABS-CBN site.

Aside from the grand finalists’ final showdown, the program also brought together the competition’s hurados Rey Valera, Ogie Alcasid, Karla Estrada, K Brosas, Mitoy Yonting, Erik Santos, Rico J. Puno, Billy Crawford, Karylle, Louie Ocampo, Nyoy Volante, Jaya and Yeng Constantino for a performance with past Tawag ng Tanghalan winners Boy Leonardo, Arnaldo Agarin and Esterlita Liñan.

Tawag ng Tanghalan, the legendary singing contest that was launched in the ’50s, returned to It’s Showtime! in January 2016. Its reboot attracted more than 30,000 auditionees, 1,392 contenders of whom made it to the It’s Showtime! stage to represent Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Metro Manila.

This week, It’s Showtime! will continue to feature the best of the Filipino and make dreams come true by giving extraordinary singers seven to 13 years old the chance to show their talent in Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids.