Pagcor search winner was about to give up
After a four-month nationwide search for exceptional amateur singers, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) recently named the “1st Total OPM Performer.”
Marie Joyce Tañaña of Angeles City was named grand winner of the search, “OPM@PAGCOR.” Grand finals night was held at the Pagcor Grand Theater of the Airport Casino Filipino in Parañaque City.
Tañaña bested 13 other grand finalists with her rendition of “Tila,” a Lani Misalucha original. The 23-year-old band singer said it is her lucky song.
She didn’t expect to win in the face of such formidable competition, Tañaña said. “I thought I’d just take my consolation prize after the finals and ask Pagcor to please release me from the performance contract,” she admitted. What happened was, she took home a cash prize of P300,000, a recording contract with a major music recording company and a performance contract with Pagcor worth P500,000.
Before she joined the Pagcor search, Tañaña had landed a job with an international cruise ship and was thinking of quitting singing altogether. She recounted, “At that point, my sad past experience with singing contests was starting to make me feel like a loser. This talent show was my last attempt.”
Second placer Charles Kevin Tan of Bacolod City won P200,000 in cash and a performance contract worth P300,000. Tan was grateful for the training the contenders received from leading OPM personalities and music educators.
Third place winner Renz Ruther Robosa of San Carlos City, Pangasinan, a 19-year-old education student, expressed the same sentiment. “I learned a lot from our workshops,” Robosa said. “I learned that good singing is not just about hitting the high notes, that the singer should become the song.” Robosa received P100,000 in cash prize plus a P200,000 performance contract.
New OPM stars
All the other finalists were each given P20,000 in cash and a P100,000 performance contract. All the prizes are tax-paid.
Bong Quintana, Pagcor assistant vice president for Entertainment, said the nightly entertainment shows of the new OPM stars start next month. All 14 grand finalists will perform in Casino Filipinos nationwide.
The judges on finals night were OPM president Ogie Alcasid and his wife Regine Velasquez; Celeste Legaspi; Tet Naguiat, wife of the Pagcor chair Cristino Naguiat Jr; and Pagcor president and COO Jorge Sarmiento.
Finals night will be aired June 19 on PTV 4, at 9:15 p.m.
