MANILA, Philippines - For his striking resemblance to actor Christopher de Leon, impersonator Jonathan Garcia was named as the Ultimate Kalokalike last June 1 on ABS-CBN’s It’s Showtime’s look-alike contest grand finals.
Aside from bearing a close physical resemblance to the veteran actor for which he also won the special Picture Frame Award, Jonathan clinched the title after showing off his acting chops in the competition’s talent portion.
As the Ultimate Kalokalike, Jonathan brought home P300,000 and a special celebrity treatment package. He was also awarded the BFF Award, the contest’s equivalent for Mr. Congeniality, for being voted by his co-finalists as the friendliest in the bunch.
Sherylene Castor, Kalokalike of Jinkee Pacquaio, was declared the first runner-up and won P200,000, while Learsi Gomez, Kalokalike of Julia Montes, was named second runner-up with P100,000.
The Top Five Kalokalikes’ Bottom Two placers were international recording artist Adele and Kapuso host-actor Joey de Leon, who both won P50,000.
Aside from proclaiming the Top Five Kalokalikes that were selected by the panel of judges composed of master impersonator Willie Nepomuceno, Jason “Tito Bhoy†Gainza, comedian Pooh and host Jhong Hilario, It’s Showtime also handed out special awards to finalists who made a lasting impact on the madlang people.
The Kalokalike of Justin Bieber was given the Trending Award for generating the wildest buzz on social networking sites, as proven by the Twitter-trending hashtag #CliffHoganAsTheUltimateKalokalike, while Jay Failanga, the Kalokalike of Vice Ganda, clinched the Texters’ Choice Award for garnering the highest number of text votes from the viewers.
Meanwhile, the Kalokalike of Julia Montes received the Kumarir Award for being the most improved contender in terms of impersonation, wardrobe and overall look.
The grand finals was widely discussed online as the hashtag #UltimateKalokalike topped the list of worldwide trending Twitter topics.
It’s Showtime, hosted by Anne Curtis, Vice Ganda, Vhong Navarro, Billy Crawford, Karylle, Kuya Kim Atienza, Teddy Corpuz, Jugs Jugueta, Jhong Hilario, Ryan Bang, Coleen Garcia and Eric “Eruption†Tai airs weekdays at 12:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 12 noon.