TNT Boys clinch unsurprising YFSFK win

MANILA, Philippines — Talented celebrity kids proved they undoubtedly got what it takes to rule primetime television as ABS-CBN’s reality talent competition, Your Face Sounds Familiar (YFSF) Kids, successfully concluded its second season last Aug. 19 at the University of the Philippines Theater.

“The Bigshot Trio” of Mackie Empuerto, Francis Concepcion and Kiefer Sanchez, popularly known as TNT (Tawag ng Tanghalan) Boys, won the contest and bagged P1M, a house and lot, plus a gadget showcase.

The TNT Boys won with their impersonation of Ariana Grande, Jessie J and Nicki Minaj singing Bang, Bang! The boys bested everyone and got 100 percent of votes, determined through a combination of the judges’ scores that the kids accumulated from the previous weeks and the public votes during the finals.

“Deserving po kami manalo kasi marami po kaming napapasayang mga kapamilya,” Mackie confidently told YFSF Kids host Billy Crawford before the boys ignited the stage with their high-energy performance.

Three times throughout the run of YFSF Kids 2, the TNT Boys emerged as weekly champions, bagging P50,000 every time and another P50,000 worth of toys for their chosen charity, House of Refuge.

The TNT Boys charted their first weekly win when they impersonated Destiny’s Child (the erstwhile trio of Beyoncé Knowles, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams) and rendered Survivor. The boys won again when they copied Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey, singing One Sweet Day.

Throughout the season of YFSF Kids, the TNT Boys delighted viewers even more with the other performers they imitated as trio, including the Bee Gees, Apo Hiking Society, Salbakuta, Aegis, The Supremes, Hagibis, the Spice Girls, VST & Company and even The Three Tenors.

It was no longer a surprise when the TNT Boys became the champion. They were consistently on the Top 4 every week. The only time they landed on Top 5 was on Week 12, when they did the Three Tenors. A week before the finals, the TNT Boys were joined by YFSF Kids Season 1 contestant Sam Shoaf. They thrilled the audience as ABBA with Mamma Mia.

Kiefer was the runner-up to Jhon Clyd Talili of Mindanao, the grand winner of Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids early last year. Mackie was third runner-up and Francis was in fifth place. The TNT Trio bested five-time weekly winner of YFSF Kids Sheena Belarmino, also a TNT Kids runner-up.

To date, the TNT Trio has been to the US and appeared on Ellen Degeneres’ show. They also went to the UK and guested on Little Big Shots, hosted by Steve Harvey. Next month, the boys will try their luck on Asia’s Got Talent and will go to Singapore.

In YFSF Kids 2, Onyok Pineda placed second with his performance of I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing as Steven Tyler, while Esang de Torres was third with Barbra Streisand’s Don’t Rain On My Parade.