‘Sing Galing’ cast survives season one, back for another round

CEBU, Philippines —  “Sing Galing” – which returned on television early this year with new features, extra challenges, and more hilarious antics – recently announced its second season after the success of its first.

With the goal to unite everyone who loves to sing – young or old, pro or amateur – the show encourages videoke-enthusiasts to join the fun. Each episode offers a platform for three contestants to face three rounds that will challenge their luck, song knowledge, and lyric-recall to determine the Bidaoke Star of the Night who will be competing all the way to the grand finals.

Randy Santiago, Donita Nose, and K Brosas are the show’s Sing Masters.

“Ang ‘Sing Galing’ ay videoke, so hindi number one needed na magaling at biritera ka. Sa mga seryosong singing contests, hindi ka pwedeng magpatawa. But here, kailangang may showmanship. Tsambahan lang talaga sa kanta kasi hindi ikaw ang pipili kundi ang randomizer,” Brosas said.

Maintaining the credibility of the show is the presence of judges – Juke Bosses – Rey Valera, Ronnie Liang, and Jessa Zaragoza.

“What I love most about this show is its lightness. It brings up the spirit. I commend the work ethics of the group, very professional. Wala kang mararamdaman na intriga at walang nagrereklamo sa pagod,” Valera said.

For Nose’s part, she shared, “Napanood ko ito dati, maganda siya. Hindi kasi siya napaka-pormal tapos may tawanan din. So maaaliw ka kahit paano, enjoyable panoorin. Dito mo makikita yung culture ng mga Filipino bilang mga singer, mga mahihilig sa videoke.”

Santiago, a veteran host and singer, echoed her thoughts. “Filipinos are very expressive regardless whether nasa tono ka o maganda yung boses mo, pero kapag nando’n ka sa mga handaan, makikita mo yung mga pamilya talaga hindi makakalampas na hindi ka kakanta. Yon ang pagka-Filipino. Hindi pwedeng sasabihin mo na hindi ka marunong kumanta, lahat kahit paano may tono. At alam natin kapag videoke, may score yun at yun ang nakakatuwa.”

Liang offered, “Expect yung labanan ng mga pagalingan sa pagvi-videoke. Masusubok pa lalo kung sino talaga yung master when it comes to videoke. Kaming mga Juke Bosses naman, makikita nila kung gaano kami kagaling mag-analyze ng mga performances nila.”

Valera, a Philippine music industry pillar, called the show ‘God-given’ for still making him relevant.

“Madali kasing pumunta at makilala sa showbiz eh, mahirap ang mag-maintain. Malalaman mo yan sa matatandang nasa showbiz. Kaya napakalaking bagay ng ‘Sing Galing’ sa buhay ko.”

How does he specifically maintain his relevance in an industry that favors the young and the brand-new? “I see to it that in every generation, nagpapakilala ako through anything. Example, through a new song,” Valera shared, “Syempre may namamatay na fans and it breaks your heart. The phrase ‘Enjoy every moment’…for me napakabigat ng ibig sabihin nun. If I could just share everything I have learned, not just in music but in life in general, I would.”

Asked about their biggest challenges during the show’s first cycle, Valera said being a senior citizen was one of his concerns.

“Hinihingan kami ng permit to work every single time. At sa pagkuha ng permit, kailangan ko magpa-drug test, blood test, X-ray, BCG, urine test, etc. sa ospital kung saan may COVID. Imbis na umiiwas ka sa sakit, parang ako na mismo pumapasok sa sakit. At nangyari nga siya sa akin. One time, while processing my permit, pagdating ko sa swab test, nag-positive ako.”

“Naging negative naman ako 3-5 days before the taping. I was so afraid na baka maisabit yung taping, but wala naman akong naramdaman kaya naisip ko na baka false-positive. Nevertheless, ipinagmamalaki ko na survivor ako, kung totoo man yun.”

“Hindi yan biro eh. Minsan naiisip mo kung ito na ba ang dulo,” Valera continued. “Mag-iiwan na ba ako ng sulat kung kanino mapupunta yung gadgets at computer ko? Mga ganyang ka-praningan naiiisip mo talaga. Hindi ko nga alam kung masamang damo ako eh, pero ginusto ni Lord na mabuhay pa ako kaya malaki ang pasasalamat ko.”

For Liang, the challenge was to maintain his energy from sun up ‘til sun down during their marathon tapings. But the show’s success has served as his morale booster.

Zaragoza, for her part, shared, “Yung puyat at pagod given na yan sa taping eh. Pero ako, sa 20 plus years ko sa industry, ang ‘Sing Galing’ ang isa sa mga pinakamagaan at very positive na show na napasukan ko. Walang masyadong challenge. Kaya natutuwa talaga kami na nata-translate sa manonood ang saya at love namin sa aming ginagawa.”

“Pinaka-challenge sa akin ay ang expectation ng mga tao kasi napakalaking show ng ‘Sing Galing,’” Brosas added.

And how did they handle all these?

“At first intimidated ako sa mga kasama ko. Kaya bago ako pumapasok sa show, hinihingi ko muna ang guidance ni Lord. And then you just go with the flow. With the grace of God, nakampante ako eventually,” Liang said.

“Lahat naman talaga ng show may pressure. But with ‘Sing Galing,’ balance is key. Hindi siya dapat super light and super serious. Pero ngayon sa season 2, wala ng pressure sa akin. Excited na ako for the next taping,” Brosas added.

First aired in the late ‘90s, the multi-awarded videoke game show and the first of its kind in Asia offers equal opportunities to contestants by challenging them to randomly sing any karaoke song. The show does not require perfect-pitch and strong vocals, you just need to have guts to ace this competition.

“This show is super fun. I think yun lang naman ang ating goal, na sa gabi, sa hapunan ay light, kantawanan, di ba? Masarap na hindi masyadong serious na kantahan dahil yung mga hosts hindi naman din seryoso masyado,” Brosas assured.– Jonas Raymond Tatoy, CNU Intern