The Voice Philippines 2: 20 Best Performances (Wrap-Up)

35 Episodes. 6 Weeks of Live Shows. 56 Artists. 4 Coaches. 1 Annoying Luis Manazano. Too much Gonazaga Sisters. And The Lea Salonga. How can someone I adore so much be that irritating in a reality singing competition?

The second season of this franchise started with a lot of promise. Coming off from the first season where there are tons of talent that shine, the second season’s Blind Auditions didn’t disappoint as it gave us a glimpse of what is supposed to be an exciting season.

But then the show failed because of its flawed format – seriously, why would you let team members battle each other during the live shows? I mean, they should’ve just let the public decide who should be in the finals and completely eliminate the two least vote getters every week instead of doing the Public Votes-Coach’s Choice style. The Coaches had so much power. It’s frustrating. And there are numbers of artists in a certain team that deserved to be in the finals.

Nonetheless, even if the show has some format flaws, we are still catered by some fantastic performances all through the season.

So this is (for me) the TOP 20 PERFORMANCES of The Voice Philippines Season 2.

20. Drive
Jem Cubil
Knockouts

-Jem has the looks of a superstar. He is easily the most marketable artist that made it pass the Blind Auditions. Given the right material, he could surprise us. While his Blinds is tad underwhelming, his Battles was shaky, his Knockouts performance is undeniably his strongest. The vocals were decent. The stage presence is strong and he was in his most comfortable during the entire performance. Watch it here.

19. Ang Huling El Bimbo
Jason Fernandez
Blind Auditions

– It was a competent vocal performance. Bamboo was right, he sang the song right in the way it was supposed to be sang. But one thing that made this a strong audition? He made it sound really current for a classic OPM track. Watch it here.

18. Jar Of Hearts
Jason Dy
Knockouts

– While this wasn’t as good as the original nor as strong as what Morissette Amon did during the first season, Jason sounded quite well. His vocals were beautiful and despite some overdone runs, this was still a lovely performance. Watch it here.

17. You Are My Song
Timmy Pavino
Blind Auditions

– Timmy is boring and bland all throughout the season. He is a predictable balladeer who belts out the highest notes when he think it is what is needed to move forward. BUT. Yes that’s a big but – no pun intended – his audition piece is probably one of the strongest one out of the bunch. It was delicate, vocally solid and deliberate. His vocal choice were not perfect but good. Watch it here.

16. I Knew You Were Trouble
Monique Lualhati
Knockouts

– Who would’ve thought that this franchsie is capable of doing something as bold as this? I mean, we all know that the contestants would usually do karaoke versions or competent covers but for Monique to rearrange a current track and deliver a lovely interpretation? That is really commendable. Of course, some of his vocal choices were missed but again, props for her in making something her own. Watch it here.

15. Hanggang
Jason Fernandez
Live Shows 1

– Jason came on to this competition with a clear picture of what kind of artist he wants to be – rock! But when his coach gave him a challenge, he took it with flying colors. Who knew Jason could sing a ballad like this? His vocals were strong. His performance is solid. His tone is really beautiful! Watch it here.

14. Natural Woman
Tanya Diaz
Live Shows 2

– Goodness gracious, I never knew Tanya is capable of doing something like this. The girl has been screaming her lungs out from her Blinds up to the first Live Shows performance. But she dialed it down beautifully. The imperfections made it more compelling and this is the most of her being connected to her material. Great job! Watch it here.

13. Kamusta, Mga Kaibigan
Bradley Holmes
Knockouts

– Bradley is a born performer. He is just oozing with so much confidence that is not even cocky at all. Not to mention, he sings his songs spot on. Of course, one would argue it was a competent karaoke version but for me the way he navigated the verses is really fluid and his vocals were on fleek! Watch it here.

12. Maging Sino Ka Man
Monique Lualhati
Live Shows 1

– The way Monique carressed the verses of the song sounded like butter melting. It was sublime, lovely and delicious. And when she reached for that climactic belt, she soared as if the song was written with her in the mind. Beautiful! Watch it here.

11. You Give Love A Bad Name
Bradley Holmes
Live Shows 2

– Great stage presence. Fantastic vocals. He commanded the stage pretty well. I am livid that his coach chose the other artist instead of him. He was robbed! Watch it here.

10. Bukas Na Lang Kita Mamahalin
Leah Patricio
Knockouts

– Leah is a very technical singer and it shows. And even if I hate all the overdone, old fashioned song choices for her, I can’t deny the fact that she nailed this song like she never really want to look back. The dynamics were gorgeous. The vocal choices were sublime. This is an absolute strong performance. Watch it here.

9. Tadhana
Daniel Ombao
Blind Auditions

– There’s something haunting in Daniel’s voice that perfectly suits UDD’s biggest hit. The imperfections in his delivery provided a compelling quality that made the audition gorgeous, sublime and lovely. Watch it here.

8. Stay With Me
Jason Dy
Blind Auditions

– With the hype surrounding this audition, Jason’s win is already written in the stars of the season. I mean, even if he doesn’t win, he already got the biggest advantage public hype. But that is not just a hype for me, he actually delivered a beautiful version of this current Sam Smith hit. There are overdone runs but I digress. It was a competent vocal performance. Watch it here.

7. Push
Jason Fernandez
Knockouts

– Again, this was a competent vocal performance from Jason. He is actually a polished one. He knows his range. His vocal choices sounded pleasant and the overall performance is simply gorgeous. Not to mention, we rarely hear a Matchbox 20 song being sang in these reality singing competitions no? Watch it here.

6. Sirena
Mackie Cao
Live Shows 4

– Prior to this, Mackie is an annoying, over the top diva who belts out the highest of the highest notes that felt more like a show off but she won me over when she displayed a variety of range, stage presence and confidence while managing to give us a bombast, colorful and beautiful delivery of this Gloc 9 hit. It was an absolute fantastic display of technicals! Great stuff. Watch it here.

5. Thinking Out Loud
Jason Dy
Live Shows 2

– Jason Dy has a restraint that is undeniably charming. His dynamics were gorgeous. His vocals were impeccable and the idea that the performance was simple allows Jason’s voice to be front and center. Watch it here.

4. Butterfly
Monique Lualhati
Live Shows 4

– We all should know by now that to sing a Mariah Carey song would be a challenge and “Butterfly” is probably one of her hardest track to sing. It is a complicated force of nature that needed so much precision and deliberate vocal choices but somehow Monique was able to run around the verses with so much ease and when she hits the chorus, she soared beautifully! Watch it here.

3. Bilog Na Naman Ang Buwan
Kokoi Baldo
Knockouts

– Fun, entertaing and undeniably a strong, solid showing from Kokoi. Yes he is a one-trick pony who only want to sing in his reggae genre but he made out of what he knows best and deliver a water cooler performance with so much passion, joy and gorgeousness. Watch it here.

2. Banal Na Aso, Santong Kabayo
Shairah Cervancia & Tanya Diaz
Battles

– While sure the over the top screaming in towards the end is really too much, the performance itself is intense, raw and passionate. The hoarsed quality on both artists’ vocals added texture and color to the performance that made it more compelling! What a battle! Watch it here.

1. Take Me Out Of The Dark
Daryl Ong
Live Shows 5

– Dary Ong is probably one of the most consistent vocalist in the competition and while some of those performance quite bore me to death, I still think his body of work deserved a finals spot. But he didn’t. Eh. Nonetheless, I would still rank his performance of “Take me out of the dark” as the best of the season because of three things: Great nuanced vocals, fantastic phrasing and amazing quiet but powerful delivery. Good job! Watch it here.

The Voice Philippines 2: Finale (Part 2)

Part 2 of last night’s finale. Tonight, the finalists will sing one more solo and a duet with their coach. After that, results will be announced where two artists are going to be eliminated and the final two will battle it out for the last time with another solo performance to determine who will be crowned as this season’s The Voice of the Philippines champion.

How did the finalists do? Let’s see..

SOLO

[4] Rence Rapanot
Tayo’y Mga Pinoy
Team BAMBOO

– I like what Rence and Bamboo was trying to do here. They are basically targetting the OPM enthusiasts but here’s my thing, Rence is just a weak vocalist and his vocals were sounding more likely in monotone. Sure this may be his best performance to date but I just don’t think that Rence is really a viable recording artist. 5

[3] Alisah Bonaobra
Go The Distance
Team APL

– While this doesn’t really give us something new from Alisah, her vocals here were mostly on point. Sometimes, the overwrought high notes felt more like showboating, she still manage to keep them on pitch. 6

[2] Jason Dy
Angels Brought Me Here
Team SARAH

– Just beautiful. I love it when Jason sings in his quiet moments. His vocal choices were fantastic and his vocals were mostly spot on. 7

[1] Leah Patricio
Run To You
Team LEA

– Sure, the song choice is a tired, predictable and yet another ballad but there is something magical in this performance that I personally adore. Her soft, tender parts sounded really gorgeous. Her phrasing was great and her nuanced is just lovely. And those high parts? Fantastic! 8

* * *
DUETS (w/ Coaches)

[4] Rence Rapanot (w/ Bamboo)
Hinahanap-Hanap Kita
Team BAMBOO

– Decent but forgettable. It’s unfortunate that Bamboo had the weakest artist in this stage of competition no? 4

[3] Alisah Bonaobra (w/ APL)
Hero/You Can Do Anything
Team APL

– Why do I find this performance a mess? I just didn’t think this really worked. 4.5

[2] Jason Dy (w/ Sarah Geronimo)
If I Ain’t Got You
Team SARAH

– I love how Sarah would give way for Jason to shine in this performance but there is something compelling in this duet that worked well. I don’t think it was the perfect song for them to duet and the song is already a tired choice but I digress. 7

[1] Leah Patricio (w/ Lea Salonga)
If I Were A Boy/You Oughta Know
Team LEA

– This worked. A little awkward in the transition of the mash-up but this worked pretty well as the performance went on. The vocals were spot on and the harmonies sounded nice too. 8.5

RESULTS:
Rence Rapanot (Eliminated)
Leah Patricio (Eliminated)

* * *
FINAL 2

[2] Alisah Bonaobra
All By Myself
Team APL

– No doubt she can sing those glory notes like she’s just eating a piece of candy but the whole thing was just old fashioned, too overwrought and it just left me cold after the performance. Sorry. 5

[1] Jason Dy
Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin
Team SARAH

– Safe. Decent. This is not a winning performance at all but between the two, I’d rather listen to this more because Jason was able to show dynamics, his phrasing was nice and his vocal choices were pretty gorgeous. 7

FINAL RESULTS:
Alisah Bonaobra (Runner-Up)
JASON DY!!! (Winner)

The Voice Philippines 2: Finale (Part 1)

Tonight is part 1 of the finale night of The Voice Philippines Season 2. If I’ll be very honest, last season’s set of finalists were way better than this season. Even in the semi-finals, it was actually a close call last season with Klarisse De Guzman, Morissette Amon, Paolo Onessa, Myk Perez, Thor and Radha giving quality performances. This season is a let down. The good ones were booted early, the coaches had so much power in them, the elimination process is stupid and we have Luis Manzano. Haha.

Anyway, for the first part of the finale night, each artists will perform twice: one is with a celebrity (singer) duet and the other one is their solo performances. Let’s see how the night went.

DUETS (w/ guest celebrity)

[4] Rence Rapanot (w/ Joey Ayala & Bayang Barrios)
Karaniwang Tao
Team BAMBOO

– Is it wrong that I cared more with Joey and Bayang than Rence himself? This is just… bad. 3

[3] Alisah Bonaobra (w/ Dulce)
Ako Ang Nagwagi
Team APL

– Dulce! But this feels more like a Barangay singing showcase. Sorry. 4

[2] Leah Patricio (w/ Jed Madela)
Muli
Team LEA

– While they both sounded pretty nice here, I feel like Leah held back that it feels more like Jed is owning the duet. But then, technically they sounded really fantastic. 7

[1] Jason Dy (w/ Charice)
Wrecking Ball
Team SARAH

– The give and take between the two is impeccable. They both sound really nice here with Charice having more effortless and ease in her delivery. Not that Jason was bad, no, he was actually good but you just can’t help but appreciate the fact that Charice unintentionally owned this performance. 7.5

* * *
SOLO

[4] Rence Rapanot
Estudyante Blues
Team BAMBOO

– Remind me again why is he even here? 2

[3] Jason Dy
With You
Team SARAH

– Remember his performance of “OMG”? That’s a train wreck right? I just don’t think people appreciates him in this kind of performance, especially in this stage of the competition. Sure, there are parts where he sounds really good but most parts felt like the timing is off and the whole thing is forced to him. This was okay. Okay?! 6

[2] Leah Patricio
Titanium
Team LEA

– I feel like the chosen verses and the arrangement didn’t quite work because the build up got lost in the middle and the timing was obviously got messed up somewhere in the verses. Good thing though, who knew Leah is capable of doing something current and pop no? 6.5

[1] Alisah Bonaobra
Love On Top
Team APL

– Yes I ranked her first in this round because I thought current songs really works for her. And even if her performance is verging more on screaming of notes, she still managed to pull those high notes quite well. Maybe if she had more dynamics in here, this would work better. 7

The Voice Philippines 2: Live Shows – Top 8

This is not The VOICE…. it’s The Barangay Live!

This turns out to be a frustrating episode for me. It’s like watching barangay singing competition broadcast on national television. Not that the barangay competitions are bad, but I’ve always believe that these artists are joining such popular reality singing show to use it as a platform to level up their career as singers, more so as performers.

But with horrible song choices each and every week, the public relying more on backstory than talent and the coaches sugar coating each performances instead of giving them constructive criticisms, I wonder what will happen to them post-The Voice.

Plus, it is such a terrible elimination process, I can’t blame Sarah for crying last week.

Nonetheless, here is what I thought the semi-finalists did tonight..

TEAM SARAH

[2] Monique Lualhati
Fighter

– Monique once again showed that she is a capable and dependable vocalist. Her voice soared in this track with so much confidence and her stage presence is simply impeccable. Though, I am not sure if this can pull an upset over Jason Dy but then she proved to be popular in public votes in the past weeks except last week. So this will be interesting. Both deserved to go to the finals tbh. 7

[1] Jason Dy
Back At One

– You know what really works with Jason? His vocal choices were actually incredible. He just knows how to use them and when to use them. Here, he created a different and texture on a Brian McKnight one hit wonder. It was sweet, pleasant albeit sleepy in parts but he manage to create that build up that successfully gave us a soaring third act. 7

PREDICTION:
Jason Dy

* * *
TEAM APL

[2] Alisah Banaobra
Lipad Ng Pangarap

– Predictable. Old fashioned. I just didn’t care after she performed. Sorry. 4

[1] Daryl Ong
Take Me Out Of The Dark

– Fantastic vocals. Great phrasing. Daryl is a strong vocalist especially with these kind of songs. His voice dominantly taking over the track but it is not too overpowering that he is becomes shouty, but he just knows how to maneuver over his performance to make it sound easy, pleasant yet powerful. 8

PREDICTION:
Alisah Bonaobra

* * *
TEAM BAMBOO

[2] Rence Rapanot
Ikaw At Ako

– I’m lost for words… and it’s not even for the common good. 2

[1] Rita Martinez
Himala

– My problem with Rita is that her vocal support is really weak. And that makes her performances realky underwhelming. Not to mention, she usually is off key and her nerves seems to be her greatest enemy. Nonetheless, she really has some lovely low register no? 6

PREDICTION:
Rence Rapanot

* * *
TEAM LEA

[2] Timmy Pavino
Ikaw Lamang

– Timmy has a nice voice and good looks to back it up so I am not surprised if he is really getting some public votes. But there is something lazy in his every delivery that I can’t really take. It makes his performances sleepy and boring. Not that he needs to do uptempo just not to be boring but his vocal choices were mostly dragging and when he is reaching those glory notes, it is very affected. This is yet again a decent but not even memorable performance from him. 5

[1] Leah Patricio
Ikaw Lamang Ang Mamahalin

– And when all else fails, go to your go-to-song. And this is very.. very.. very predictable already. Another diva song and she sang it really well but I just didn’t care at all. I mean, I wasn’t even excited. But then she sounds technically incredible. 6

PREDICTION:
Timmy Pavino

* * *

FINAL THOUGHTS: My predictions were usually based on a week by week results. If I had to choose prior to this week, per team I would like Tanya Diaz (Team Bamboo), Jason Fernandez (Team Sarah), Leah Patricio (Team Lea) and Daryl Ong (Team Apl) to compete for the finals. If it is per artist basis, I would say Jason Dy, Jason Fernandez, Monique Lualhati (all from Team Sarah) and Daryl Ong (of Team Apl) deserves to be in the finals. Nonetheless, the public votes are seem to be so locked already with the underdog and backstories that is why I am not going to be surprised if Rence Rapanot (Team Bamboo) and Alisah Bonaobra (Team Apl) will represent their respective teams. It is now very tricky for both Sarah and Lea’s team because both Monique and Leah were saved by the public in the early weeks of live shows byt somehow last week, the public ought to save Jason Dy and Timmy Pavino. So this will be an interesting night for both coaches.

The Voice Philippines 2: Live Shows -Top 12 (Part 2)

Last night’s show was iffy and underwhelming but tonight both Lea and Sarah did the right call. I mean, that’s the reason why the coaches are given that much power right? So that the deserving ones will get another chance to move forward just in case the public will not rally behind them.

Tonight, Team Sarah still dominates the whole competition in terms of performances and well Lea still uses those tired, outdated song choices that I wonder if she has seen the current music book.

Nonetheless, this is way better than last night but I am still waiting for those “moments”. In season 1 Morissette Amon shines when she performed “Jar of hearts” while on The Voice Kids Ph, Darren Espanto wowed us with his rendition of “Ngayon”.

And Luis Manzano and Alex Gonzaga…… Really?

TEAM SARAH

[3] Kokoi Baldo
Message In A Bottle

– It’s a problem for me since before. There is no growth in Kokoi to be honest. Sure it was still energetic, fun and feel good but it is still the same kind of performance we’ve seen from him since his Blinds. And I think even Sarah is finding it hard to look for the best reggae song for him. Why can’t he sing Redemption Song? That would be a total game changer. This was not bad but it is already predictable. 5

[2] Jason Dy
Kahit Kailan

– His vocal choices were outstanding. That falsetto part, missed a bit but he still pulled it off. His gorgeous tone created an undeniably warmth feeling and the overall projection of his performance is smooth, lovely and nuanced beautifully. 7.5

[1] Monique Lualhati
Butterfly

– Monique showed variety and that is what I like about her. She did uptempo last week, slow downed Taylor Swift two weeks ago, and this week she belted out this Mariah Carey hit. This is a risk because you need a solid vocal chops to pull something like this but Monique managed to give us a performance full of ease and power. Her vocal dynamics were fantastic too. 8

RESULTS:
Jason Dy (Public’s Vote)
Monique Lualhati (Sarah’s Choice)
Kokoi Baldo (Eliminated)

* * *
TEAM LEA

[3] Nino Alejandro
I Want To Know What Love Is

– His vocals were shaky. When he reached those high registers, it felt uncomfortable and wobbly. The vocals were too stretched. This is yet again another karaoke performance. 4

[2] Leah Patricio
Because You Loved Me

– This is turning out to be very predictable already and Leah is more capable of that. She needs to take risk and surprise people of how great of a singer she is. Technically, Leah is up there. But from the performance itself, and the continuous nod to diva songs? This is already tiring, boring and blah. 4.5

[1] Timmy Pavino
Story Of My Life

– Finally. A current song from this team. Look, on paper, this is perfect. It will definitely capture Timmy’s lovely voice but his lazy vocal stylings and that moment when he overwrought those high notes? It felt uneasy. His vocals also suffered when he tried to hit those high notes. 5.5

RESULTS:
Timmy Pavino (Public’s Vote)
Leah Patricio (Lea’s Choice)
Nino Alejandro (Eliminated)

The Voice Philippines 2: Live Shows – Top 12 (Part 1)

Horrible elimination process. Underwhelming performances with some stepping up tonight. I swear I can’t really wrap up myself around the idea that these teams are like scavenging each other just to be the last person standing in their team. That is just utterly ridiculous. We already bid goodbye to some of the best singers and we are left with mediocre ones and it is not funny. They should really change the elimination process or else we might end up having a finals of pure mediocre performers.

Nonetheless, tonight… Team APL and Bamboo takes the stage with the results coming up immediately at the end of the night. 1 will be public’s vote and the other one is the coach’s choice. There’s so much power that lies in the hands of the coaches no? Ha.

Anyway, here’s how I thought tonight went.

TEAM BAMBOO

[3] Rence Rapanot
Kamusta Na

– Whyyyyyyyy. I still can’t get it! Not to mention, his verses are really muddled and everything is just lackluster and boring. 3

[2] Rita Martinez
Paglisan

– Decent but shrill. There are parts where her vocals were really shaky. Her phrasing is a little messy too. Nonetheless, there’s a gorgeous quality on her delivery that I like. 5

[1] Tanya Diaz
Because Of You

– I am not sure if the arrangement is pitched too low for her or she took the song way too high but the beginning is really uneven. Not until she reached the chorus where everything came together and her vocals were soaring. There’s a part of me though that thinks she isn’t that sure about the song choice because she seems to be just throwing her notes up in the air not minding if she is really hits them on point. Nonetheless, it was a gorgeous effort still. 6

RESULTS:
Rence Rapanot (Public’s Vote)
Rita Martinez (Bamboo’s Choice)
Tanya Diaz (Eliminated)

* * *
TEAM APL

[3] Alisah Bonaobra
Let It Go

– There’s an easyness on her delivery of this popular (and tired, yes I’m tired of this song already) song choice. She may have little flaws like her intonation and enunciation but I like how there are dynamics here. When her vocals were soaring, it wasn’t painful to listen. But then, it is so boring and felt like an impressive karaoke version. 4

[2] Daryl Ong
Rolling In The Deep

– Covered multiple times already, I was expecting for a trainwreck here. I mean, do we need another cover or arrangement? Haha. His delivery is almost, if not, flawed. His tone is messy in parts. There is so much going on in here. I mean, he started slow, turned it up a little then doing a full time R&B version then suddenly there were “Chasing Pavements” inflections. The arrangement is awful for my liking. 4.5

[1] Mackie Cao
Sirena

– Mackie is a show off no? Yes we get it Mackie, you can belt these notes higher than the eagle can fly. But here’s the thing in this performance. It was surprisingly strong and entertaining albeit overwrought in high notes, there is confidence in her delivery that oozing with passion and presence. Her vocals were technically impeccable and if only she dial it down a little, this would be a total home run. 8

RESULTS:
Alisah Bonaobra (Public’s Vote)
Daryl Ong (Apl’s Choice)
Mackie Cao (Eliminated)

The Voice Philippines 2: Live Shows – Top 16 (Part 2)

On a night where Bamboo’s choices (both results and songs) were pretty impressive and Lea seems to have taken some notes from APL and decided to, well, get songs from the old school song book. Not that those are bad songs, but clearly those are tired song choices. Not to mention, it is pretty obvious that Nino Alejandro is Lea Salonga’s Mitoy and Darlene this season.

Anyway, I hated this by team elimination. I think the show wanted all coaches to get represented but I think it was like killing your own kind instead of outdoing the competitors. You get me? Haha

Now let’s see how the second night of Top 16 went..

TEAM LEA

[4] Nino Alejandro
Livin’ On A Prayer

– This is miles better than the previous weeks but it felt awkward. His stage presence looked unnatural. He hits some wobbly notes here and there and his verses were kinda muddled. But then this is pretty much a decent performance. Still a little karaoke in parts but I digress. 6

[3] Timmy Pavino
My Heart Will Go On

– Timmy is a lazy vocalist no? I mean sure there are pretty decent to great notes he hit but his vocal choices were blah. It never really something inspiring to listen. Plus, do we really need another Erik Santos? Go Figure! 6.5

[2] Miro Valera
Kiss From The Rose

– While his voice sounded thin for the song, Miro delivered something decent. If only they kept it intimate, this will be spot on. But then, Miro was able to choose some impressive vocal choices and his nuance sounded beautiful. 7

[1] Leah Patricio
Healing

– Again, this was technically great but uninspired. The vocal choices were nice albeit lazy. Her vocals were soaring high and I love how she showed dynamics pretty well. But then, this felt outdated. She needs to graduate on that or else people will forget about her right after the competition. 7

RESULTS:
Leah Patricio (Public’s Vote)
Timmy Pavino (Public’s Vote)
Nino Alejandro (Lea’s Choice)
Miro Valera (Eliminated)

– –
TEAM BAMBOO

[4] Rence Rapanot
Para Sa Masa

– Seriously, I like underdogs but I still don’t understand how he made it at this point. His vocals were uneven. His pitch was all over the place. The performance is boring. This was just meh. 4.5

[3] Tanya Diaz
Take Me To Church

– I seriously thought it was a smart move for Bamboo to give her this song. I am not sure if the masses will be a fan of it but it was actually brave for her to take this. She started shaky and she even missed the cue. Her vocals were uneven and especially in the last part when she started shouting to us, again. 6

[2] Kai Honasan
Jealous

– Decent but forgettable. Her pitch were far superior this week than before. Her vocal stylings were nice and I did like the fact that she stripped down this R&B track from Nick Jonas. 6.5

[1] Rita Martinez
Sweet Dreams

– While I still don’t know what kind of artist Rita wants to be, this is her team’s best effort. Her vocals were nice despite some muddled verses. Her pitch is almost on point. Her tone sounded beautiful as well. The production looked a little distracting but she was able to pull it off. Wait, did they use the LGBT card during her introduction? Hahaha smart move! 7

RESULTS:
Rence Rapanot (Public’s Vote)
Rita Martinez (Public’s Vote)
Tanya Diaz (Bamboo’s Choice)
Kai Honasan (Eliminated)

The Voice Philippines 2: Live Shows – Top 16 (Part 1)

And this is the reason why I hated the by team elimination. I mean, tonight we saw deserving artists got eliminated just because he is in a team where everybody delivers. Sigh.

Team Sarah once again brought the much needed fire and performances last night while Team APL, well I guess Apl hasn’t seen the current music book that after his team performed? I feel like I’ve aged 20 + years.

A couple of key stuff last night: The staging looks awful with lights like the show don’t want to spend money for electricity. Haha. And is Jason Dy not that really popular on the voting public? This will be the second time he hits bottom 2 and I am really surprised that the “front runner” doesn’t have people rallying behind him.

Nonetheless, here’s how night 1 of the Top 16 went with performances and results night happening.

TEAM APL

[4] Mackie Cao
Maghintay Ka Lamang

– Old fashioned song choice and delivery. Mackie is proving one thing: She can shout, I mean, hit those high notes. And it sucks that there is no dynamics in here. She just keeps on belting those notes that were not even necessary. 4

[3] Suy Galvez
Bridge Over Troubled Water

– Suy keeps doing these over embellished runs and adlibs in her performance that it makes the song almost unrecognizable. More so, she keeps on hitting those high notes like Mackie. I just felt tired after watching this and not to mention the whole thing felt pageantry and sounded really dated. 4.5

[2] Daryl Ong
Smile

– Seriously, right after his performance? I frowned instead of smile. The whole thing was sleepy and dragging and exhausting, I just can’t. The song choice was meh. The delivery is boring. The whole thing was disconnected for me. 5

[1] Alisah Bonaobra
Laserlight

– Alisah topped her team because of one very evident reason: song choice! Yup, finally she sang something current. Right for her age. It made her sound now. The problem is, she looked uncomfortable on stage. Her vocals were well she keeps shouting. Haha. I swear, all of the artists in Team APL loves to… shout. This wasn’t up to pr what Team Sarah delivered, but out of all the artists in Team APL, Alisah was decent. Where is Bradley Holmes when you needed him? Right, he was eliminated last week. Meh. 6

RESULTS:
Daryl Ong (Public’s Vote)
Alisah Bonaobra (Public’s Vote)
Mackie Cao (APL’s Choice)
Suy Galvez (Eliminated)

– –
TEAM SARAH

[4] Jason Dy
O.M.G

– I didn’t really got the song choice but I guess Sarah wants to show the versatility of Jason. Now, he begins quite nice. That was a good, strategic move to slow it down. But once the band hits in and the arrangement went uptempo, Jason lost it. His verses were muddled, you can’t even understand some of his words. He sure has confidence. The chorus was nice but again the verses didn’t really come together. 6

[3] Kokoi Baldo
Could You Be Loved

– I like Kokoi. He’s very organic. He is unassuming and he stays true to his craft but I feel like this isn’t something I have not seen from him before. I mean, it was predictable already. Maybe if he stripped this reggae track down and offers us a water cooler performance from him, I’ll be excited because he stays true to himself while still branching out. This isn’t bad. But it wasn’t groundbreaking as well. 6.5

[2] Jason Fernandez
Moves Like Jagger

– “Sunday Morning”? “Harder To Breathe”? “Animals”? There are a lot more in the Maroon 5 music book that I prefer Jason Fernanded should took rather than this. It felt corny in parts because the coolness and sexy quality he brings out didn’t felt natural. But then he sounded pretty nice. His nuances were almost spot on. The pitch was pretty good. But then again, I think the song choice bite him in the end. I like what Sarah was trying to do with him but I think it boils down to a better cong choice. Again, this wasn’t bad but it was average. 7

[1] Monique Lualhati
Bang Bang

– Monique is probably the dark horse that was under the radar not until she needed to fight. I mean, in the previous rounds she was just skating by and now she’s just performing better and better each and every week. This was really good. She didn’t try to be Jessie J but she didn’t overwrought the song just to prove a point. Her pitch was flawless. Her delivery sounded natural. Her vocal choices were spot on. Plus, she rapped! Really, really good job! 8

RESULTS:
Kokoi Baldo (Public’s Vote)
Monique Lualhati (Public’s Vote)
Jason Dy (Sarah’s Choice)
Jason Fernandez (Eliminated)

The Voice Philippines 2: Live Play-Offs (2)

Can we not eliminate anybody from Team Sarah? Because quite frankly, they’ve brought their A-game last night that it is frustrating to see one of them go home and yet we are stuck with a less impressive artist from other teams.

Nonetheless, even if there are some tired old song choices, attempts of rearranging songs and predictable performances, this is way better than last week’s group. The performances were more technically solid and it is actually hard to predict who will move forward.

With that being said, here’s how I rank the artists per team..

TEAM APL

[3] Alisah Bonaobra
Bituing Walang Ningning

– How old is she again? Right! Look. Alisah can definitely sing. Her tone is gorgeous. Her phrasing is on point and she has power vocals to match her contemporaries but she needs to graduate from these tired song choices that were overused in a fiesta singing contest. This is a bigger platform. This was vocally, yet again, impressive but I just really didn’t care afterwards. 6

[2] Mackie Cao
Making Love Out Of Nothing At All

– Her high register was almost flawless and her pitch is just spot on. Technically, this is one of the best of the night but as a whole this felt disconnected. The runs were a bit too much. Some parts were overkilled and her stage presence felt staged. 6.5

[1] Bradley Holmes
You Give Love A Bad Name

– Some see this as karaoke, while some were ecstatic about this. Bradley brought energy and passion tonight that he easily blew the other two out of the park. His vocals were mostly on point. It sounded a little karaoke on parts but then I didn’t mind. I seriously, enjoyed this! 8

PREDICTIONS: Bradley Holmes (Public’s Vote). Apl might choose Mackie Cao. But this is tricky because Mackie and Alisah were like the same person in terms of performance quality and presence. Lol.

– –
TEAM LEA

[3] Miro Valera
Wake Me Up

– I don’t know what happened but I feel like the song choice screw Miro over. This was totally disconnected. He looked uncomfortable on stage. His vocals were uneven and some of his words were too muddled. I feel like if they kept the arrangement stripped down, this will really work but the upbeat made Miro looked like he was running after the rhythm. 6

[2] Casper Blancaflor
Chandelier

– I never really see what is with Casper that people are impressed with her. I find her tone annoying; she’s like eating her words all the time. I must admit, this is miles better than her knockouts performance but still I just can jump on the Casper train. I am not really into her. 6

[1] Timmy Pavino
Hanggang Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan

– Gorgeous tone. Charismatic. Forgettable. Decent performance. 6.5

PREDICTIONS: Timmy Pavino (Public’s Voice). Lea (I hope) might choose Miro over Casper. But we will see, I certainly didn’t really thought she woukd choose Casper during the Knockouts but she did. Haha.

– –
TEAM SARAH

[3] Kokoi Baldo
Love & Devotion

– I love Kokoi. He stays true to his genre. He has this certain way of connecting to his material. He is so passionate with his body of work. But I must admit, the performance didn’t bring anything new to what he did before. This was a little, if not so, predictable. The vocals were not as strong as before and I am not sure if the public is relating to him to actually root for him. 6.5

[2] Douglas Dagal
Home

– I like the arrangement. It created a good contrast from Michael Buble’s feel good ballad version. This sounds more pop but still keeping that ballad essence. Ha! The vocals were enough and I love how Douglas was able to connect with his material like he meant it. I wish there was a moment in here though but I digress. 6.5

[1] Jason Dy
Thinking Out Loud

– While Jason gave a more pop ballad version of this Ed Sheeran hit, there is no denying that the hype that was created around proved that this is his season to lose. I mean, he is clearly the front runner! His delivery sounded nice. His vocal choices were decent and I love how he showcased dynamics. Now, I’m just wondering if Jason is a one trick pony. But then, this is probably one of the strongest performance of the night. 8

PREDICTIONS: Jason Dy (Public’s Vote). It will be tricky because both Douglas and Kokoi delivered. But if I will reconsider the body of work from the previous rounds, I think Sarah would eventually go with Kokoi.

– –
TEAM BAMBOO

[3] Rence Rapanot
Malayo Pa Ang Umaga

– Hmmm. Am I the only one who thought he has pitch problems all through out his performance? Not to mention, this was so boring. Sorry. 4.5

[2] Arnee Hidalgo
Crazy In Love

– People were saying that it was a ripped off of the version from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack. Uhm. Hello? That’s like a stupid argument especially if Arnee never really claim it was her original arrangement. Lol. This was, a little uncomfortable for me or I think there is an overwrought delivery of sensual on her performance that I thought unnecessary. But Arnee sounded nice here. Her vocals were soaring. I just didn’t think it created a moment for her. 6.5

[1] Tanya Diaz
Natural Woman

– Control! Yes! This is like slap in the face from all the screaming problems I had with her. Tanya just did what I asked her to do. Great vocal control. Her vocals were front and center. This isn’t over the top. And her display of dynamics was simply impeccable! I am not a fan but she definitely performed well last night. 7.5

PREDICTIONS: Tanya Diaz (Public’s Vote). I think Bamboo will choose Arnee.

The Voice Philippines 2: Live Play-Offs (1)

So basically, this is the first live show and I must say with the format, I thought that this is more likely the Play-Offs version of the other franchise. While I prefer that the teams weren’t group into 2, 3 artists each, I guess the management had better plans than what I prefer. My problem with this is that there would be obvious bias, some are meant to be thrown under the bus and what if all 3 performed the worst and the other three for next week all deserved to moved forward? It sucks right?

Anyway, to keep you posted, the format goes like this. 3 artists perform tonight from each team, 1 would have a free pass based on who got the highest votes tomorrow night and between the last 2, the respective coach will choose who will move forward and who will get eliminated. So yeah, we are in again for another Lee Grane, Mitoy or Darlene (The Voice PH – Kids) moment in here..

Now here I rank the underwhelming set of performances tonight.

TEAM APL

[3] Ferns Tosco
It’s A Heartache

– You know the whole performance is wrong when at the end, she then shouted “Thank You Resorts World!!” Haha. This was just… I don’t even know what to say. It sounded karaoke. Her pitch were all over the place. The song choice is blah. Her performance just didn’t work! 3

[2] Daryl Ong
Let’s Stay Together

– I got high hopes with Daryl but this was just vanilla. It was forgettable, sharp in parts and I just find it way too self indulgent. 4.5

[1] Suy Galvez
I Won’t Give Up

– It’s so weird that she’s wearing something like that while singing an over the top version of this very laid back, intimate kind of song. I mean, if Jason Mraz could hear her? I bet he will give up! This was just way too embellish for a song that is supposed to be genuine, emotionally powerful but essentially smooth. 5

PREDICTIONS: Daryl Ong (Public’s Votes); APL will choose Suy Galvez over Ferns! It seems that Apl is way more invested with Suy!

– –
TEAM LEA

[3] Nino Alejandro
Nakapagtataka

– Really? This song? Nothing against it because it is a beautiful song but it left me cold and thinking was it the right choice for him or they’re playing the “surname” card way too obvious just to advance? This was nothing spectacular. I thought the Sponge Cola version is way better than this. It was flat, off key in parts and it didn’t even have any dynamics. 4

[2] Abbey Pineda
Sana’y Maghintay Ang Walang Hanggan

– Oh god! It was so boring, I just didn’t care! I mean there’s not even any connection with her performance for me to get chills or glued or made me engross with her. 4

[1] Leah Patricio
Queen Of The Night

– Very Jonalyn Viray! Haha. And La Diva will still be the benchmark for a performance of this song. Loved how she took a chance and I thought this was decent. Maybe if she has more sass, spunk and sexiness, this will be a homerun! 7

PREDICTIONS: Leah Patricio (Public’s Vote). Lea will definitely choose Nino Alejandro if ever he lands on the bottom two. Hello, Mitoy! Darlene! Yup. You get me!

– –
TEAM SARAH

[3] Poppert Bernadas
I Feel Good

– Again, it was too theatrical. The vocals were soaring with some pitch flaws but his stage presence is way too theatrical, too staged, too technical. 6

[2] Monique Lualhati
Maging Sino Ka Man

– Last week, she did amazing.. this week, it was bland. The whole thing felt forced. It sounded okay but not memorable. There are no moments but she sounded decent. 7

[1] Jason Fernandez
Hanggang

– It’s a risky choice for rocker like Jason and I thought Sarah made Jason this versatile artist that he could be. It wasn’t perfect but there is now a clear opening on the idea that Jason can do something like this. He had some moments. His tone sounded nice and basically this was way better than the all of the performances before him. 7.5

PREDICTIONS: Monique Lualhati (Public’s Vote). Sarah might choose Jason Fernandez. But then this group of 3 can go either way so we’ll see.

– –
TEAM BAMBOO

[3] Rita Martinez
Smells Like Teen Spirit

– What the hell is happening? 2

[2] Karlo Mojica
Footloose

– This bordering from corny to a joke.. or maybe it can be both! 2.5

[1] Kai Honasan
Blank Space

– I’ve heard better. I mean, the Julie Anne San Jose version was fantastic.. and recently Stereo Kicks had their version and it was great. This, if not off pitch in parts, is underwhelming and bland, forgettable and wait, am I the only one who thinks she sounds like Sitti? Haha. Oh god, sharp galore and a voice that sounds like she was singing in front of an electric fan! Anyway, at least she attempted to be original and stay true to the kind of artist she wants to be but this was just blah. 5

PREDICTIONS: Kai Honasan (Public’s Vote).. Bamboo might choose Rita just for another free pass and it will be a safer choice as Bamboo can give Rita more variety to work on.