Which voice will win?

It will be a battle between experience and youth when Janice Javier, Mitoy Yonting, Klarisse de Guzman and Myk Perez face off this weekend at the final showdown of The Voice of the Philippines.

Mitoy, the 43-year-old singer of The Draybers band, is no stranger to talent searches or performing on television. While Lady Luck has not smiled on Mitoy’s stardom, the once TV comedian- singer’s standings on public voting this season have been good, if not impres- sive.

Having performed here and abroad as a band singer, Mitoy has earned years of experience and exposure to interact- ing and entertaining various audiences — an advantage that can play to his favor.

“Experience is our advantage. But we can not afford to relax,” said Mitoy in a recent press conference. “The young artists may spring a surprise. They may have something up their sleeves. In the end, it is also experience that will remind us not to relax or be complacent with what we are doing.

Even if he has been performing to crowds for many years, Mitoy said he cannot escape the pressure of having to prove himself to the four seasoned coaches but at the same time, not to make the young artists feel aloof.

“It’s a tough balancing act,” he said in an interview in Mornings @ ANC.

Like Mitoy, 38-year-old Bangkok- based band singer Janice has conquered her inferiority because of her weight. She has successfully carved a name for herself in Thailand, where she per- formed with top Thai artists. And now, she would like her fellow Filipinos to discover her talent.

“The young artists are fresh. That’s their advantage. But we have dealt with the pressure of performing to different people every night. And these audiences have different standards in judging our performances,” said Janice.

If the public votes last Sunday were any indication, Filipinos have given them the thumbs up for their powerful performances.

Coach Lea Salonga described Mitoy’s rendition of The Power of Love as “heart- felt,” while coach apl.de.ap cried “Hal- lelujah!” after hearing Janice’s version of Imagine.

On the other side of ring are two young artists who are ready to give Mitoy and Janice a tough competition in the final showdown.

Klarisse, who competed against her coach Sarah Geronimo in the past, has not been successful in singing competitions. And so she placed her dream at the back- burner and pursued a degree in music production. The 21-year-old student is now one step away from winning.

Asked what lesson she has learned so far in the competition, Klarisse echoed what Patty Austin advised them few weeks ago in the show.

“When you sing, it is not important that you hit the high notes. It has to come from the heart,” she said.

She also added that it is important to listen to the coaches because they know how to improve their performances.

As Sarah put it last Sunday after Klarisse sang To Love Somebody, “we both attempted to fulfill our dreams at the same time in the past, but I fulfilled mine first. You have proven that it is your time to shine now.”

Completing the Final Four is another young artist Myk, who gave up his studies in Manila to save money for her mom’s cancer treatment.

Viewers were surprised to see a dif- ferent kind of performance from Myk last Sunday when he let loose of himself and enjoyed singing Baby I Love Your Way. Myk’s deviation from his usual singing style was a gamble that paid off.

Coach Bamboo commended, “I am not used to seeing you without the guittar,,but it was great to see you. You’ve got the moves and the groove. It’s great to see a total package up there.”

Myk said doing live perfor- mances is a different experi- ence. “You can hold back during rehearsals. But in a live perfor- mance, you have to focus when you sing the lyrics of a song. People should feel the emotions when you sing,” he said in a TV interview.

All four of them will have to give their best this weekend after months of rehearsing and per- forming in order to mobilize the public to vote for them by text or online. The public’s downloads of their songs on iTunes will also be crucial as each download is equivalent to five votes.

Judging from the trending topics that TVOP generated and dominated on Twitter last week- end, the final showdown will surely be an exciting battle.

So which team will win? Whose voice will win? Take your pick and make sure to vote.