Best and weakest contestants emerge

JAY-R AS KENNY ROGERS. His spot-on impersonation topped last Sunday’s tilt.

After four weeks of telecasting, ABS-CBN’s “Your Face Sounds Familiar” has become a regular viewing habit in some households. They appreciate the obvious time and effort that the show devotes to its eight celebrity contestants’ impersonations.

On point of performance, it’s instructive to see that the tilt’s resident impersonators have unintentionally grouped themselves into two “teams.” Thus far, the most consistent high scorers include Jay-R, Karla Estrada, Nyoy Volante, Edgar Allan Guzman and Jolina Magdangal.

On the other hand, the relative low scorers are Maxene Magalona, Tutti Caringal and Melai Cantiveros.

We expected Nyoy to do particularly well due to his involvement in theater, which places a premium on character, versatility and “organic” portrayals.

On the other hand, Jay-R’s consistently good showing is a pleasant surprise, because we used to think that he was “just” a predictable and laid-back R&B exponent. Thanks to this impersonation tilt, he has evinced an unexpected versatility and commitment that have boosted his career prospects.

Karla is an even bigger surprise, because she was previously mostly “famous by association”—as Daniel Padilla’s “momager.” Thanks to “Your Face Sounds Familiar,” she has impressed viewers with her spot-on impersonation of Sharon Cuneta, and her vocal pyrotechnics as Chaka Khan.

In Jolina Magdangal’s case, we believe in her musical-theater talent, so we’ve generally been disappointed with the less than dynamic way that the production has showcased her. That’s why we were heartened when she came up with a good impersonation of Cher. Even better, she ended up as the week’s winner!

In our view, the show’s biggest surprise is Edgar Allan Guzman. Most of his past portrayals have been rather standard and predictable, but the impersonation challenge has brought out the best in him, with a wide range of spot-on visual and vocal portrayals to prove his heretofore unheralded versatility.

On the down side, Maxene, Tutti and Melai have generally tried hard but come up short, betraying a lack of genuine artistic insight and analysis that they should work harder to make up for.

P.S.: Last Sunday, the program had its first telecast after its Holy Week break, a “duets” edition that turned out to be its least entertaining and creative show to date. No more such unproductive “experiments,” please, because they tend to pull down even the best contestants when they’re paired with mediocre partners!