Jovit Baldivino: First Big Winner of 'Pilipinas Got Talent'

The little man with a big voice…that’s how I see the 16-year old Pilipinas Got Talent grand winner Jovit Baldivino. He won almost half of the total votes during the finals night on June 12-13, 2010 (Saturday) at the Big Dome (Araneta Coliseum). He defeated other 11 finalists that also showcased true Filipino skills and talents, mostly in singing, playing instruments, dancing, magic and puppetry. The votes of Filipinos around the world went for Jovit…almost half of the total percentage.

JOVIT'S HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

In a Third World Countries,. like the Philippines, true talents always come from the poorest of the poor. With just an acoustic guitar as his musical instrument, Jovit Baldovino experienced singing in a special occasion, like birthdays, fiestas with his voice as his sole weapon to entertain people who also experienced economic repression. His raspy but big voice pleased them and momentary forget their problems in everyday lives.

To help earn a living, he vended siomay (fish dumplings) after school to provide added income for his family. Amid all the hardships, he never forget his dream of becoming a big star someday. Blessed with a unique vocals, he braved the audition for Pilipinas Got Talent when the ABS-CBN worldwide talent show announced for the Luzon leg (aside from Visayan and Mindanao eliminations).

His audition song, Faithfully (by Journey whose vocalist is also a talented Filipino, Arnel Pineda) reached more than one million hits in YouTube. Remarks from all over the world from Filipino and foreign fans are wholly positive and even encouraged the little guy to continue reaching for his dreams.

With an overwhelming positive response, he was chosen as one of the 36 semi-finalists and the first one to be declared as one of the 12 finalists. The three judges, TV Host/Actress Ms. Kris Aquino (youngest sister of President Benigno Aquino III), Comedienne Ai-ai de las Alas and FMG aka Ferdinand Garcia (ABS-CBN former Head of ) even gave Jovit the first standing ovation during the semi-finals when he sang “Carrie”. Even the host Luis Manzano and Billy Crawford (Filipino R & B artist who became popular in Europe) were amazed of Jovit’s talent.

When the finals was held in Araneta Coliseum, it was even made clear that the first edition of Pilipinas Talent is tailor-made for Jovit due the audience response and the votes of Filipinos around the world. It was really his night plus the monetary prize of a whopping 2 million pesos (about 50 thousand US dollars)!

Jovit’s immediate plan is to buy a house and lot for his parents and siblings. They don’t own any parcel of land in Batangas. His next move is to penetrate the Philippine show business and make an album (I’m sure of that).

I often mistaken it as British Got Talent, when in fact, it is Britain's Got Talent. Winners that made it so popular were Paul Potts, the salesman turned opera singer, and the jobless Susan Boyle. Runner-up like the child prodigy, British-Filipino Charlie Green and Filipina semi-finalist Madonna Decena. Other than that, there were no interesting acts that stirred the imagination of the Filipinos...until ABS-CBN got the franchise to stage it here.

THE CONCEPT OF 'GOT TALENT'

The show's format was created by The X Factor creator, Pop Idol/American Idol judge and Sony Music Entertainment A&R Executive Simon Cowell, who has created a Got Talent series across the globe. On 12 February 2007, it was announced by ITV the judges would be Simon Cowell, Piers Morgan (who had also judged America's Got Talent) and Amanda Holden (a late replacement for Cheryl Cole, who later became a judge on The X Factor in 2008). Originally the judge line-up was to have been Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and David Hasselhoff, from America's Got Talent. In a similar fashion to The X Factor, the show has an ITV2 counterpart called Britain's Got More Talent, presented by the magician and former CITV presenter Stephen Mulhern.

UNIQUENESS

So, thousands of aspirants flock the auditions in every assigned venue hoping to get the approval of three judges with buzzers. This system was used in old variety shows. They will buzz if they don't want to finish the performance of the auditioneer. Even if they qualify for the next round, they're not safe to the buzzing of the judges. In America's Got Talent, the buzzing will be either check for approval or X for disapproval. Their comments will influence the 'voting power'of the audience and fans.

So, there. Any comments, fellow hubbers?