Pinoys voted for YouTube sensation as PGT winner

(Editor’s Note: While Bibsy Carballo is on her month-long annual vacation abroad, representatives from the three networks will alternate in writing Live Feed: Butch Raquel for Kapuso, Peachy Guioguio for Kapatid and Kane Choa for Kapamilya. Every now and then, Bibsy will email a story from wherever in Europe she is.)

Roel Manlangit, the youngest contestant in the grand finals of Pilipinas Got Talent (PGT) whose video on YouTube has elicited millions of views, beat all diverse acts on the talent-reality show this season and won the P2M grand prize.

Asked what he will do with the winning prize, Roel said he will use it to build a house, which they lost during Typhoon Pablo. He will also use part of his winnings to send his siblings to school.

Few days before the grand finals, the 13-year-old talented singer from Bukidnon admitted he was feeling a bit nervous even if he has been joining singing contests since he was six years old.

Last year, local and foreign media noticed Roel when a YouTube video of him singing Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You on a street in Bukidnon went viral. 

 â€œAfter the video was uploaded on YouTube, there were people who recognized me and even asked for pictures taken with me,” he humbly recalled in Filipino. 

His strong showing in PGT season four shouldn’t come as a surprise. It rather affirmed his popularity. â€œCongrats, Roel Manlangit” became the top trending topic on Twitter after he was proclaimed grand winner, garnering 30.22 percent of the total votes cast.

After watching his powerful rendition of Noypi on performance night, PGT judge Kris Aquino said she wanted to retract her statement hoping that a singer would not win this season because Roel deserves it. Her fellow judge Ai-Ai delas Alas described Roel’s voice as “very powerful,” while Freddie “FMG” Garcia said the boy showed his “wide vocal range.”

Roel is the fourth grand winner of PGT, which expanded its search for the most talented Filipinos to include those living abroad. It also led to the discovery of many extraordinary and unusual acts.

PGT season four successfully presented a gamut of diverse acts like drifting, flairtending, gymnastics-cum-wall climbing, synchronized swimming and many others. It was the first time in PGT to have a metal ring dancer. Frankendal Fabroa, who works at a theater group, impressed the judges with his dance that entailed the use of a metal ring.

Frank, who got the second highest number of text votes, had wanted to present an unusual performance that has never been done in PGT.

“I almost gave up. I initially thought that it was going to be easy. I would get dizzy, but eventually, my body got used to the routine and I was able to adjust,” he said.

Frank is proud of his unusual talent. “Others have tried it. Some sought my help and asked me to teach them, but they were not successful,” he said.

 Another first in PGT was the drifting act by 22-year-old friends Gio Rodriguez and Ralph Tan of Lateral Drift Productions. The young duo is glad that they were able to popularize the motorsport and expressed willingness to teach it to young Filipinos.

“Drifting is a safe motorsport,” said Gio, who has been drifting since the age of 14. He said making it to the grand finals was already a “bonus” for them, “It is still surreal.”

One thing common among Roel, Frank and the


Lateral Drift Productions was that they considered D’ Intensity Breakers as their toughest competitor.  “Agaw-buhay” or death defying was how FMG described the dance group’s presentation. 

Another dance group that made it to the grand finals was Zilent Overload. Their black light dance was a visual feast. As Kris said after watching their performance, “You don’t have to be rich or well-funded to reach the grand finals or be the grand winner.”

Completing this year’s finalists is Davao’s MP3 band composed of McKoy, LJ Manzano and Aries Sales. A number of netizens expressed on Twitter their dislike for singers to win again in PGT. But the people have spoken through text and online votes. Roel, like Jovit Baldivino, Marcelito Pomoy and the Maasinhon Trio, won the top prizes because of the people’s votes.

Aries quickly pointed out that they are a band and no band has ever won in PGT.  He said, “At the end of the day, we are musicians. We write songs and make our own arrangements.” One of his compositions was sung by The X Factor Philippines winner KZ Tandingan when she auditioned.

In a VTR before their grand finals performance, Aries admitted that he felt down because of the bashing and was hurting from a relative’s comment that his band did not deserve to win. In spite of these, the MP3 band got the third highest number of votes in the grand finals.

MP3 and Roel don’t need to defend their victories. It is their talents that drove Filipinos to vote for them. PGT showcased many diverse acts this season, but ultimately, loyal viewers still chose a young talented singer to win.  

On a similar note, 11-year-old Filipina Arixsandra Labantino sang her way to the finals of Britain’s Got Talent and will be competing this week. Filipinos are indeed talented singers.  

We should be proud as they continue to win in competitions and exemplify that the Filipino singer is truly a world-class act.