TANDINGAN. Unique combi-nation of singing and rapping.
This past week in show biz, some instructive developments stood out from the usual blur of predictable activities, potentially teaching lessons that should be learned by everyone concerned: Last Sunday on “X Factor Philippines,” for instance, middle-aged finalist, Modesto Taran, finally bit the dust, leaving the singing tilt with only eight survivors.
What was so unusual about that? He was the oldest finalist by far, so senior talents lost their “inspiring” representative in the competition. More to the point, however, Modesto looks and sounds like the very antithesis of the standard local “singing star” package, so it really was a puzzlement how and why he survived the tilt’s weekly cut for as long as he did.
As one of the more “idiosyncratic-looking” finalists in the bunch, and being not a very good singer at that, he clearly had other things going for him. We figured that it was the novelty of his unusual “package” that tickled the fancy of the show’s viewer-voters—but, the appeal of novelty is of exceedingly short duration in these part, so we felt that, when push eventually came to shove, he wouldn’t make it.
True enough, Modesto is no longer in contention, proving our view that looks, charisma and exceptional singing talent are still the main qualities that fans look for in these parts—as should be the case.
It took the “X Factor” tilt’s viewers weeks to get that straight, but now that they have, it should strike fear in the hearts of the show’s remaining “idiosyncratic” bets. If Modesto finally reached the end of his “novelty” rope, how much more time could they hope to have to stay “alive” in the competition?
Another aspect of last Sunday’s telecast that could have made some contestants feel squeamish was the fact that it was the second time for the singing group, Take Off, to sing for its collective life as one of the week’s two bottom-dwellers in terms of “votes” garnered.
The young singers must have been extra-happy to survive, and their mentor, Gary V, must have heaved a big sigh of relief, because if they hadn’t, he would have been left with only one surviving group (Daddy’s Home) in the competition.
Take Off’s second time as a bottom-dweller reinforces our view that groups intrinsically have a harder time “connecting” with viewer-voters—unless they have something really unique to offer, like the Akafellas.
More: Allen Sta. Maria is benefiting from the fact that, at only 16, she’s the tilt’s youngest finalist, and thus can connect more directly with local TV’s predominantly youthful viewership. Could this edge take her all the way to the “final-finals?” —But, wasn’t there a time when she wasn’t doing all that well in the competition? What’s working for her now?
As for KZ Tandingan, she initially impressed viewers with her unique combination of singing and rapping, but the fact that the finalists are required to sing in a different style each week has effectively blunted this key advantage. Still, she hasn’t been voted out yet, so could she be another bet who will eventually get into the “final-finals?”
And, could Allen and KZ be joined by Jeric Medina? Just asking!