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Mr. C Loses His Cool in Another Idol Upset

By KAYE VILLAGOMEZ
Article Soure: Manila Bulletin Online - http://www.mb.com.ph/ENTR2006101877302.html

Philippine Idol" result serves upset number two in the elimination of Reymond Sajor, giving judge Ryan Cayabyab all the reasons to lose his cool Sunday night at the Idol theater at SM Megamall. Even if the "Idol" venue has yet to recover fully from Drae Ybanez’s early dismissal last week, another shocking result pushed Mr. C’s button.

"The results were dreadful!" Mr. C told the Manila Bulletin right after the results show. "The bottom three with Mau (Marcelo), Gian (Magdangal) and Reymond is shocking to say the least. These are our top guys!"

All contestants in the bottom three earned rave reviews from the judges in last Saturday’s Metropop–themed performance night. Mau sang "Ako Ang Nagwagi" by Dulce, Gian did "Give Me A Chance" by Ric Segreto while Reymond did "Be My Lady" with much justice that the "Idol" band and its musical director Mel Villena singled out his performance. Even guest judge Hajji Alejandro included Reymond, Gian and Mau in his top four performers’ list. The other one whom he named also exceptional was Armarie Cruz who performed Freddie Agular’s "Anak."
Cayabyab theorized last week when Drae got booted out prematurely that financially–equipped contestants may be having the edge over the more deserving ones. This trend rang true when Reymond exited "Idol" after a powerful performance. Mr. C placed his thoughts, "I expected the best singers to slug it out but it seems that the competition will turn into lightweight competition [in the end]. Serves the Pinoy voters right. They get what they deserve."

As a judge, Mr. C is beginning to believe their posts hardly matter when the voters seem to lose grasp of who deserves what and kept ousting exceptional finalists. "Truthfully, I don’t think our inputs matter. We are like appendices to the show! But never say die. Pinoys usually wait until it’s the end of the rope, kapag sukdulan na, dun lang gagalaw. Problem is pag laganap na ang cancer, wala nang lunas."

During the results night, the judge said on national TV that the public refuses to listen to them judges and vowed, "Titira na talaga ako next week. We were just being polite about our comments but it seems like nursery rhymes na lang ang kantahan."

But Mr. C promised he will try to stay calm next Sunday. "In the meantime it’s back to work. I should stop losing my cool and buckle down to work, not really to make tira for the sake of tira but to help everyone achieve higher standards. We’ll see how far I can stretch. I had an emotional outburst kanina, I think I will have to keep my cool."

The irony for Reymond is that he felt more deserving after he was voted off. "I felt so blessed because people believed in my talent so much. The overwhelming support I've been getting since I was eliminated has inspired me to be a better performer. I'll [still] pursue singing and write songs."

He could only credit the supporters of the other candidates as the reason he left the contest earlier than expected. "I just felt the others' supporters doubled their efforts but what's important is that I gave my very best," Reymond expressed.

HAJJI FASCINATES IDOL COUNTRY

Meanwhile, Hajji Alejandro who substituted for Francis Magalona (currently in Europe for a five–week show tour) impressed "Idol" country with his views on Saturday night’s performance show. Hajji was chosen to sit as a guest judge because of the Metropop theme as he won for Ryan Cayabyab the grand prize in the first Metropop in 1978 via the masterpiece "Kay Ganda Ng Ating Musika."

Hajji not only knew what to say but also how to say it. During finalist Miguel Mendoza’s crack at "Suwerte Suwerte Lang," Hajji cautioned him with his flats, sharps and "vibratos" which he thought were noticeable. In Apple Chiu’s "Sometimes You Know" Hajji took note that it’s more important to convey the meaning of the songs first before the technique.

The no–nonsense judge also coined the term "vocal acrobatics" when a singer is giving technique more weight than feeling the song’s message first before everything. He told Apple, "Your voice is very soulful but there’s a tendency to overkill [the song]. I’m not a big fan of vocal acrobatic but I’m more into telling the story of the songs and letting people feel it through the interpretation."

Twice in the show, Ryan Cayabyab acknowledged the "very well said" comments from the guest judge who might just be that ‘missing link’ that will make a more formidable three–man commenting team. After the performance show, Mr. C was raving about Hajji even more: "Ang galing ni Hajji! I was telling them [production team] about it that I had to stand up in between breaks and express it. He’s fantastic! Kasi beterano na siya so alam na niya talaga ang sasabihin niya. Wala nga akong masabi, nauubos na at nauunahan ako ni Hajji."

Hajji was all gratitude when he learned Mr. C was all praises, "Oh! It’s a big compliment, coming from Ryan Cayabyab that’s a very big compliment. Ako naman nag–enjoy ako ngayong gabi sa totoo lang. Talagang nakita ko na buhay na buhay ang future ng Philippine entertainment with itong mga budding idols na mga ito."

Even if it was Hajji’s first time to watch the finalists, he didn’t have any problem sliding into the system and giving the finalists (whom he met days within his participation) valid, well–thought–of, significant and informative points. "Ngayon lang talaga ko na–expose sa ganito. To be honest with you nadadaan–daanan ko yan from time to time sa TV pero hindi pa ako talagang nakaupo to get to know each and every contestant," he shared with the Bulletin Saturday night.

In the same level the crowd was amazed with Hajji’s pointers, the guest judge was also taken by the overwhelming talents the finalists showed. "Talagang amazed na amazed ako kasi ang kalibre nila hindi pang amateur eh. Parang mga professionals and I’ve seen a lot of professionals of lesser caliber than these kids."

He stressed that it had a lot to do with the hopefuls’ composure and professional stance. "The way they handle themselves in the face of all the tension that goes in a singing competition and for such tender ages kagaya nila, they are able to control their emotions at hindi mo talaga nakikita yung nerbiyos. They are really into their songs kasi like I said normally, mga professional na ang mga nakakagawa nun."

Hajji said he is honored to replace Francis for a weekend. I’m very honored to sit on Francis’ behalf because he’s a very, very good friend and magaling din yan na artist–musician."
Asked whether he would want to be part of the show again as a judge, he answered, "I hope so. Kung mahaba-haba pa ang tour ni Francis, I’ll be honored to sit again for him."

LUCKY NINE?

With Reymond’s exit, the remaining finalists are Mau Marcelo, Gian Magdangal, Armarie Cruz, Jan Nieto, Ken Dingle, Apple Chiu, Jeli Mateo, Miguel Mendoza, and Pow Chavez.

Gian had been an escapist twice already since he was part of last week’s bottom four. However, another chance await the remaining nine finalists when they face another round of performances with this week’s theme "Tunog Banda, Tunog Alternative."