15 ‘Mister PSK 2021’ finalists ooze with talent ahead of coronation day

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Judges face tough task to choose winner of competition

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 9: Pilipino sa Kuwait (PSK), one of the most followed community-oriented pages on Facebook catering to overseas Filipinos in Kuwait and around the world, kick-started their pre-finals competition ahead of the coronation day on January 7, 2022. The Mister Pilipino Sa Kuwait ‘Talent Night’ held at the Jerry’s Grill and Café in Old Souq Salmiya on Sunday kept the audience at the edge of their seats as the 15 dashing candidates spectacularly displayed their skills in singing, dancing, acting and other mind-blowing feats. Hosts Raymund Recamadas and TPPFM’s DJ Xiano started off the show by introducing the board of credible and respected judges, who were given the tough task to choose the winner of the talent competition, they are Zin Rous Regis, Khen Abendano, Mark Emil Francisco, Oliver Tupas Diong and Marlon Aquino Malinao.

During this segment of the competition, contestants are expected to highlight artistic ability, whether playing a musical instrument, performing a choreographed dance or singing. Other options include dramatic reading, performing magic or poetry. The time limit given for each contestant is five (5) minutes. No live animals or dangerous props (fire, pointed objects etc.) are allowed. All props must be functional and an integral part of the talent. When choosing a talent, music and content contestants have to keep in mind the values and image being conveyed as one of Mr. Pilipino Sa Kuwait 2021 finalists. The organizers have the right to ban the music, movement, costume or content deemed inappropriate.

Criteria
The criteria for judging are as follows: Technical Ability 20%, Creativity 20%, Professionalism 20%, Preparedness 15%, Appearance / Costume 15%, Audience Impact 10%. This totals to a whopping 100 percent. The ‘Talent’ is 25 percent of the total score of the finals tally. Candidate #1 Mark Go, representing Davao City, gave a heartfelt rendition of the song ‘You’. Making Cavitenos proud is candidate #2 Herold Cabatingan who belted out ‘How Am I Supposed To Live Without You’. Candidate #3 Michael Beredo of Quezon Province gave the audience goose-bumps with his timely skit/ dance interpretation on the ill-effects of COVID-19 and how to combat it.

The audience was treated to an electrifying dance number from candidate #4 Angelo Primo Pimentel who hails from the province of Marinduque. All the way from Misamis Oriental is candidate #5 Clifford Dolera who touched the hearts of many with his dance interpretation focusing on the undying bond of a mother and her child while showcasing his knack in painting. Adding to the event’s momentum is candidate #6 Rex Reyes from Quirino Province who gave his all during his soulful and patriotic interpretative dance. Gino Silvestre is candidate #7 who hails for General Santos City stunned the spectators with his flawless transition in dancing. Making the audience fall in love is a debonair crooner who hails from Rizal, none other than candidate #8 Paul Natividad, showcasing his prowess in singing as he performs ‘Bakit Ba Ikaw’ popularized by Filipino singer-songwriter Michael Pangilinan.

Making his dent in the talent competition is candidate #9 Arjay Tumang of Tarlac City. Tumang blurs the line between human and robot in his world-class beat box performance, mimicking sounds and rhythms of percussion instruments to the astonishment of all viewers. To briefl y pause the tense competition and give the judges a short respite from their laborious task is an intermission number from Maria Elleze Perez Embrado whose mellifl uous rendition of ‘A Million Dreams’ from the movie ‘The Greatest Showman’ transformed Jerry’s Grill and Café into a Broadway theatre to the admiration of listeners. Moving on to the competition arena is candidate #10 Danly Gonzales, a singer who hails from the province of Pampanga, flaunting his vocal expertise with his version of the timeless song ‘The Warrior Is A Child’. Kristian Tabuada is candidate # 11 from Quezon City who strummed his way into the pre-finals event with his medley of most-loved Tagalog hits.

Another show-stopper is the dapper candidate #12 from Laguna Gener Laserna Jr. who garnered the admiration of the crowd as he sang Gary Valenciano’s ‘Ikaw Lamang’ while shrieks and thunderous applause echo in the background. Candidate #13 Dionisio Lapuz Jr. from Bicol isn’t backing down as he dramatically comes up on stage ‘in character’ as he delivers a gripping interpretative dance which caught the eyes of online fans pouring praises for his compelling performance.

Enchanted
Johnson Catbagan representing Pangasinan is candidate number 14 who enchanted the audience as he fl awlessly sang ‘Kung Akin Ang Mundo’ popularized by composer, multiinstrumentalist, and singer Erik Santos. And last but definitely not the least is Warren Razon, candidate number 15, whose performance is a breather compared to his peers. Razon’s witty and comical ensemble lip-synching to Regine Velasquez’s version of ‘I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing’ made the crowd laugh their hearts out and winning their acclaim. The grand winner of Mister Pilipino Sa Kuwait will take home a whopping 30,000 pesos in cash, while the first and second runners up will take home 25,000 pesos and 20,000 pesos in cold cash respectively.

The spectacular event was sponsored by Get Dukan, Dadabhai Travels, PayRemit, International Culinary Arts, Carlton Tower Hotel, Telefonati, Jerry’s Grill and Café, Extreme Karaoke, Pinoy Taste Bakery and Kabayan Resort. Commenting on the objectives of Pilipino Sa Kuwait (PSK) on Facebook, PSK Founder Eljan Embrado said “When we created Pilipino Sa Kuwait, initially it was more of social reasons – to meet and interact with some friends on Facebook. But when our group has seen throngs of people visiting our page, sending messages, asking information and advice, we had to sit down and eventually decided to shift to a more community-oriented page. We slowly developed this advocacy to help the expat community not only Filipinos.

From then on, we carved our new mission and vision. Our mission is to strive to become one of the well-respected, non-profit, nonsectarian, non-political and non-partisan OFW communities in the State of Kuwait. Our vision is a broad and collaborative community which looks up to providing inspiration, embraces cultural diversity, provides assistance to its members in case of emergency and promotes acceptance and camaraderie among its members and the entire OFW community.” “That’s why we have this motto: We don’t know who we are until we do something. Maybe, some don’t know about our yearly projects – the outreach program and feeding program for our distressed OFWs at the Filipino Workers Resource Centre at the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO),” he added. Pilipino Sa Kuwait (PSK) created on October 16, 2010 has a total of 946,000 Facebook followers to date. Follow PSK on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and their website www.pilipinosakuwait. com to know the latest happening in Kuwait and around the globe. By Marlon Aquino Malinao Arab Times Staff

This news has been read 15631 times!