MANILA, Philippines – It’s Showtime started the year with the grand comeback of the classic singing contest that gave rise to today’s OPM legends, Tawag ng Tanghalan.
Now respected artists in the music industry, Nora Aunor, Pepe Pimentel and Bobot Mortiz started out as contenders in the said contest. With its return this year, Tawag ng Tanghalan once again calls for new talents from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Metro Manila to find the country’s next singing superstar.
Four contestants will battle daily and will prove their singing prowess to the madlang people and the hurados. However, when the singer goes out of tune, “Jhong the Gong” (Jhong Hilario) will hit a gong that signals the contestants to stop singing. Big prizes await the defending champion as he or she could win P25,000 while the runners-up will get P5,000 as consolation prize.
Last Jan. 2, three contestants battled it out and showed what they got.
This week, OPM icons Rey Valera, Rico J. Puno as well as Mortiz, serve with Nyoy Volante and Yeng Constantino as judges and give feedback on the contestants’ performances.
Meanwhile, with the launch of Tawag ng Tanghalan, Amy Perez and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla are now officially part of the It’s Showtime family. Amy and Mariel thanked the ABS-CBN management for the trust and support.