The four Filipino acts on Thursday stood out at the grand finals of Asia’s Got Talent, with all of them earning standing ovations from the judges and audience members.
10-year-old titanium
Ten-year-old singer Gwyneth Dorodo took her flair to the next level when she carried through a moving interpretation of Sia’s “Titanium.”
Dropping the full band and with only a piano at the background, she stepped up this time after judge David Foster found her performance a little bit bland in the semifinals when she sang Jessie J’s “Nobody’s Perfect”.
“You tonight obviously took the advice that we gave you weeks ago and the true you–that’s who you are right there—with the piano with that beautiful voice. Congratulations! You killed it!” said Foster.
Gwyneth advanced to the grand finals by public votes.
Not just for the halftime
Taking the Super Bowl to the stage, hip-hop dance group Junior New System in football-inspired costume never failed to impress the audience with their exciting stunts as they danced along a mashup of a bevy of songs and even waved the Philippine flag proudly.
Watch: Filipino dancers in high heels slip to ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ grand finals
“Fantastic job! I love the energy. I love the technical difficulty of your dance moves. It was just flawless to me. It was amazing…great job!” said judge Van Ness Wu.
Junior New System headed straight to the grand finals when they received the Golden Buzzer from the judges after rocking the stage in high heels on the April 23 episode.
Golden girl
Embodying the true meaning of a “diva,” classical singer Gerphil Flores delivered a spine-chilling rendition of “The Impossible Dream” from the musical “Man of La Mancha.”
Wearing a golden dress, Gerphil literally stood on a pedestal and blew the roof off the whole Marina Bay Sands as she belted out high note after high note, leaving the audience in awe and wanting more.
Judge David Foster, who pressed the Golden Buzzer for Gerphil during the auditions, was left ecstatic. “My golden girl, tonight the song is called ‘The Impossible Dream.’ You just made the dream possible. I promise you, the world is gonna know about you. That’s a promise.”
WATCH: Filipina classical singer earns raves, ‘golden buzzer’ in ‘Asia’s Got Talent’
The 24-year-old songstress won by public votes in the semifinals. She gave a different take to the classic song “Love Story.”
Entertainers with a message
Ingenuity and inspiration were what shadow play group El Gamma Penumbra exemplified when they showcased an arresting presentation about conservation of Mother Earth.
Performing to “Pocahontas” theme song “Colors of the Wind,” the group showed the ways people destroy nature like hunting, dynamite fishing and littering. But they didn’t forget to give a lesson on how to take care of the planet.
“What really made me fell in love with your performance is the fact that the possibility of the messages that you can put is endless. And tonight (you showed) your awareness of how important mother nature is. Our job as entertainers (is) we are here to entertain people. But if we can raise awareness on the subject that really matters, that makes our job more noble,” said Judge Anggun, who also bestowed the group the Golden Buzzer during their audition.
WATCH: El Gamma Penumbra advances to ‘Asia’s Got Talent’ grand finals
“The thing that stand out tonight is each time we’ve seen you, there’s been a short gap and less rehearsal time. But it’s got even more incredible and that is down to sheer hard work and your creativity. I salute you! Wonderful!” said judge Melanie C.
The show’s other grand finalists were dancers Gao Lin and Liu Xin (China), musicians Khusugtun (Mongolia), dancers Triqstar (Japan), young rock stars The Talento (Thailand) and tap dancers Dance Thrilogy (Singapore).
The results of the grand finals will be revealed on May 14.
Viewers can vote for their favorite acts in one of three ways: via SMS, Facebook and the “Asia’s Got Talent” mobile app.
In the Philippines, viewers can vote by texting SMS AGT(Contestant number) to 2929. The service only supports Smart and Globe subscribers and charges will be applied.
Voting is now open and will remain open until Monday. Further details on how to vote can be found on the website: https://asiasgottalent.tv/vote/ –IDL
Email arvin.mendoza@inquirer.net