Successfully second-guessing ‘The Voice Kids’ voters’ verdicts

LYCA’S edge is her “masa” projection, calling to mind the unique appeal of the Superstar.

When the six semifinalists of “The Voice Kids” were chosen last July 13, we decided to analyze each one’s “pro” and “con” factors in advance of their square-off on July 19 and 20, to second-guess who would proceed to the finals, where only four would compete.

Our initial insights: Of the six semifinalists, two—Lyca and Darlene—would appear to have an edge because they aren’t just talented singers; they are really little kids—unlike some other contenders, who are 12 or even 14 years old. Our firm belief is that the tilt should be for very young children, because their innocence and sense of wonder is what local viewers are looking for. If they look and sound like tweens or teens, viewers would dote on them less.

Another initial insight: the fact that Lyca and Darlene are rather similar in size, voice and projection suggest that only one of them should get into the finals, because they would come across as too similar, and thus not as distinct as they should be.

In this regard, Lyca would seem to have an edge over Darlene, because she’s more petite—and more masa in projection, calling to mind the unique appeal of Nora Aunor when she was a child competing in the “Tawag ng Tanghalan” singing tilt in the 1960s (which she won, launching her phenomenal “superstellar” show biz career)!

Tonton is also still a relatively small kid and has a pure, “innocent” singing voice so he could get into the finals. Unfortunately, his voice isn’t strong enough to stand out and his performance is sometimes too nervous and sluggish, so he’s a “question mark” in our book.

Look, projection

Also unlikely to make it is Edray, because she’s simply too mature for the kiddie tilt, although she does have an exceptional singing voice.

That leaves two semifinalists, Darren and Juan Karlos. Like Lyca and Darlene, they’re similar in look and projection, so choosing between them is a problem. Also, they look a bit too mature for the tilt—but not as obviously “off” as Edray, so they can still make for “acceptable” finalists.

On point of looks, Juan Karlos has an edge, because he’s tisoy-handsome (and we know how Pinoys love tisoys). However, Darren is also good-looking, and is a better singer-dancer. So, if we had to choose between the two of them, it would be Darren.

After that process of detailed analysis, our “survivors” are Lyca, Darlene, Darren and Juan Karlos. So, even if Lyca-Darlene and Darren-JK are “too similar,” it looks like we don’t have to choose only one of each “type,” because two and two make—the magic number of Four for the Finals (this weekend)!

We did all of this before last weekend’s semifinals round, and it looks like our guesses were indeed “educated,” because we got the four finalists exactly right. We weren’t all that sure we could, because we couldn’t second-guess the “viewers’ votes” deciding factor. A contestant with a really strong “vote-generating machine” could have tipped over our carefully constructed house of cards.

But, no such upset or pushy show of financial clout happened, and the show’s viewers ended up agreeing with or affirming all of our choices! Now, let’s see if our “prescience” works in the finals round this weekend!