Awra Briguela’s victory last month on “Your Face Sounds Familiar: Kids” was a foregone conclusion, due to very popular showcases like his spot-on “Mommy Dionisia” and Nicki Minaj impersonations.
So, instead of focusing on the obvious, let’s talk about other aspects of the kiddie impersonation tilt that are interesting and instructive:
First, the older kids generally scored higher than the younger bets, with adolescents and tweens like Awra, Elha Nympha, AC Bonifacio and Justin Alva leaving more authentically juvenile contestants, like Xia Vigor and Alonzo Muhlach, behind.
We’ve complained about this before, but now that the competition is over, it should be rediscussed, so the next kiddie tilt will avoid the unfair comeuppance.
Our suggestion is that, for succeeding “kiddie” talent tilts, the age limit should be pegged at 10, not 12, so the really young bets aged 5, 6 or 7 can have more of a fighting chance to make it. We’re looking for child talents, right? Let’s not forget that key objective, or water it down to suit the well-connected.
Aside from Awra and Elha, the contestants who benefited the most from the exposure they got in the hit show were Sam and AC. Before the tilt, Sam Shoaf was not that clearly a comer, but he did so well on the “Familiar” show that more doors and opportunities were opening up for him.
As for AC, she was first noticed locally as part of a dancing act, but she’s gone solo now and has added singing to her set of skills.
On the other hand, Lyca Gairanod already has a performing championship to her name, but did poorly on “Familiar,” so it’s a step back for her.
Ditto for Alonzo, who’s already popular, but similarly didn’t stand out in the impersonation tilt—which he really shouldn’t have joined in the first place, since he isn’t a singer.
Xia fared better, even getting noticed by netizens globally, but the situation didn’t last.
Generalizing now, the less-than-stand-out experience of Lyca, Alonzo and Xia indicates that the “Familiar” tilt should have handled them more judiciously. After all, they were already relatively popular so the show should have given them a better showcase, given their greater stellar “cred” and “clout.”
More “lessons learned” if the kiddie impersonation tilt is produced again should definitely include a more authentically childlike context for the competition.
Singing stars chosen for impersonation should be known to the kiddie bets, not oldies they don’t have a clue about.
This makes them rely totally on the inputs and mentoring of their trainers, as well as the styling and prosthetics provided by the tilt’s production specialists—so, where’s the precious creative excellence theme?