‘Idol Philippines’ draws mixed reactions for rejecting reggae singer

MANILA, Philippines — “Idol Philippines” drew mixed reactions from singers and viewers alike after three of its judges rejected a contestant for his reggae rendition of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You.”

Twenty-one-year-old Luke Baylon of Tuguegarao City sang the reggae version on May 12 — a performance that judges Vice Ganda, James Reid and Moira Dela Torre seemed not to be impressed of.

Despite liking Baylon’s rendition, Reid said it was lacking in terms of hitting the notes and timing. Dela Torre echoed the same sentiments, while Vice Ganda told Baylon his performance did not impact him in a big way and was “not extra special.”

It was only Regine Velasquez who gave the young singer a yes and added that she was not that concerned by his “messy” performance because it was reggae, after all.

“Ako actually I enjoyed it, it wasn’t [a] very clean performance, may mga flats, may mga sharp, I did like your falsetto, it was very clean,” Velasquez said in defense of Baylon. “I didn’t care for the, yung pagkadumi ng performance, kasi it’s reggae… kasi yung reggae ganun lang siya, even if you’re singing a particular song, parang you’re speaking lang.”

Many have since reacted to Baylon’s rejection; apart from viewers, singer-songwriter Juan Karlos Labajo and singer-rapper Quest also took to social media to speak highly of Baylon.

Labajo took to his Instagram Stories on May 13 where he expressed his disappointment over the rejection of Baylon.

“It’s a yes for me. I’m not even gonna argue with the other judges,” he remarked. “It’s easy to fix flats and sharps and such imperfections, but it’s not that easy to find soul.”

Labajo also praised Baylon, who did a reggae rendition of his song “Buwan” on YouTube and called out the other judges for not seeing his potential.

“HUGE shame on the other ‘judges’ for not seeing this guy’s potential,” he said. “What a shame. Such a shame.”

Quest, meanwhile, called out Vice Ganda, Reid and Dela Torre for not seeing Baylon’s potential, which Velasquez did. However, Quest defended the three judges’ takes and asked people not to bash them.

“Yes, the audition could be better but his range and voice quality is really good,” Quest said via Twitter on May 13. “We don’t need to bash the other judges. Magkakaiba panlasa nila sa music.”

He also expressed his interest in helping Baylon reach his potential, adding: “I don’t want to miss the opportunity to see Luke soar. So I wanna help him if he’s okay with it.”  (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)