Eva delos Santos battles it out tonight

CEBU, Philippines - Bohol-born warbler but adopted Cebuana Eva  delos Santos is proof that 50 can still be sexy and that even a considered veteran like her can still dream anew.

The 50-year-old mother, housewife, entrepreneur, former teacher and erstwhile band member is one of Sarah Geronimo’s bets in  ABS-CBN’s “The Voice of the Philippines” (Saturdays at 9 p.m. and Sundays at 8:15 p.m.) and she will duel it out tonight with teammate Michaellen Temporada for the Battle Round competition, the winner of which will gain a spot in the live show rounds.

Last year, the diva also tried out for the same network’s ‘X-Factor Philippines’, where judges billed her as the Philippines’ Tina Turner.

Humble and down-to-earth as ever, Eva hopes for the support of Cebuanos in helping her advance through text votes. Here, she recounts her audition experience and shares, among other things, how even an international awardee and experienced performer such as her still gets the jitters.

Tell us about the audition process.

In the very first audition inside a radio studio, each contestant was only given a minute to sing. I sang ‘Proud Mary’ in acapella. Then they said they would just let us know if we made it to the next round. After a week, somebody texted me to go back to ABS-CBN Cebu for a daily elimination round where I competed against five people. I won that round. This time, I sang ‘Oh, Darling.’  All daily winners were then asked to return for the weekly round, where I sang ‘And I’m Telling You’ which I won again. That was my first time to compete like that, where after singing, you’d know the results right away. And then there was another elimination round at Sarrosa Hotel among Visayas contestants, this time with a minus one tape. I sang ‘Proud Mary’ again. One of the judges remembered me from ‘X-Factor Philippines’ and asked me to sing ‘Let’s Stay Together.’ After I sang, I kind of had a feeling that I made it because they told me to proceed to a private room for an on-cam interview. I got a call after two weeks, telling me to prepare for the blind auditions in Manila. Apparently, three of us from Cebu made it but I didn’t see them in Manila.

Did your daughter Monique also audition?

Monique didn’t audition at all. She was invited, so she didn’t have to go through what I went through. I think there are a lot of reasons they invited her. Maybe they wanted a mother-daughter story to spice it up.

How was your blind audition experience?

I didn’t have a good feeling about it. We were scheduled on the second day. The first day there were 34 people who auditioned and only six made it. That was awful! What made me nervous was when the makeup artist and coordinators said backstage ‘Alam mo, mommy Eva, yung kahapon, ayaw nila yung nag growl-growl at yung nag be-belt.’ Where will I place myself? That made me even more nervous.

How did you feel when it took a bit long before a coach turned around?Monique who auditioned before me, advised me, ‘Mommy, during the first parts of your song, if no one would turn, just close your eyes and focus on your singing so you will not freak out. Monique was invited straight, so she didn’t feel pressured and didn’t have a competitive mindset.

What made you choose ‘Proud Mary’ as your contest piece?

I was thinking of Whitney Houston or Mariah Carey songs, but I thought this was a competition and I was a hundred percent sure many would sing predictable contest pieces. I did something different, something people would not expect from me.

Why did you pick Sarah Geronimo as your coach over Apl.de.Ap?

It was not an easy decision choosing between Sarah and Apl, who both turned for me. It took me more than two minutes to decide. My first choice was Lea Salonga because she’s a bit older, and she’s also a mother so maybe she would feel for me. My second choice was Apl for the same reason that he’s a bit older and can understand me better. So I was not looking at Sarah. I respect her as an artist, I love her singing ability and everybody looks up to her as a pop star in the Philippines, but she’s much younger than me. When Apl first turned for me, I felt numb by that time and wasn’t rejoicing. Maybe because I was really looking at Lea’s chair. Towards the end of the song I was trying my best to belt even more for Lea to turn, but she didn’t. I chose Sarah at that very last minute. It was not planned at all. Despite the disparity in our age, she has been very active in the industry. She’s always performing and recording. There’s so much going on in her career. I was thinking that I can learn a lot from this girl. Apl has very good connections with his exposure in the international scene, but his career is more for the international market.

How is Sarah as coach so far?

She’s a very good mentor. I’ve really learned a lot from her in terms of dynamics, body language when you’re performing and getting emotionally involved in your song. Don’t give everything away, but save the best towards the end of the song. It’s just not always about belting; you have to take it slow — these are my best learnings from her.

Even Sarah has admitted she’s not very good at expressing herself.            

How does she effectively mentor despite that weakness?

We had a bonding session with her and I learned that she’s very shy. Off-cam, she doesn’t know what to talk about with us. She’s a person of few words. She’ll say, ‘Mommy Eva, huwag yan, ganito lang. Huwag mong i-whistle, hindi bagay.’ 

What do you think you can teach Sarah, not only about performing but about life in general?

Take it slow. Don’t think that because you’re already 25, you have to rush it. We have our own destiny, so take your time. You will find the love of your life, your peace and your happiness. You don’t have to worry about it as long as you’re working hard and being a good person.

You’re already Eva delos Santos in Cebu. Why join a TV contest?

My answer is, why not? Because I haven’t tried anything like this in my younger years. I was into performing. I gained a following thru constant performances. But I haven’t experienced something like this. I’ve always seen it on TV. So why not? And also, my personal assessment of myself as a singer and an artist, I’m only exposed in Cebu and Bohol, so why not get exposed nationally. There should be no limit.

What is your edge among the other The Voice of the Philippines contestants?

My experience as a singer. I can say that I know how to handle myself on stage with everybody’s attention on me. There’s not much intimidation in terms of judges looking at me. But to be honest, I do still get nervous. (FREEMAN)