BY: Yuji Gonzales
INQUIRER.net
There’s no reason for them to hide behind the shadows.
Filipino shadow play group El Gamma Penumbra of Tanauan, Batangas, was crowned the first ever grand champion of “Asia’s Got Talent” during the results show held at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore on Thursday.
As grand winner, El Gamma won $100,000 and a chance to perform at Marina Bay Sands.
El Gamma topped eight other grand finalists, which included three other Filipino acts, namely 10-year-old songstress Gwyneth Dorado, classical diva Gerphil Flores and hip-hop dance group Junior New System.
Musicians Khusugtun of Mongolia emerged first runner-up, while Gerphil finished second.
Other grand finalists were dancers Gao Lin and Liu Xin (China), dancers Triqstar (Japan), young rock stars The Talento (Thailand) and tap dancers Dance Thrilogy (Singapore).
During the top-rating grand finals on May 7, El Gamma showcased a moving performance about environmental conservation to the tune of “Colors of the Wind,” which moved judge Anggun to tears.
Anggun pressed the “golden buzzer” for El Gamma during their tourism-inspired audition, which automatically pushed the team to the semi-finals.
El Gamma darted to the show’s grand finals after they received their second golden buzzer from the judges for their world peace-themed semi-finals performance.
“What really made me fall in love with your performance is the fact that the possibility of the messages that you can put is endless. And tonight (you showed) your awareness of how important Mother Nature is. Our job as entertainers (is) we are here to entertain people. But if we can raise awareness on the subject that really matters, that makes our job more noble,” she said.
El Gamma first joined ABS-CBN network’s “Pilipinas Got Talent” in 2013 and finished as a finalist.
“Asia’s Got Talent,” a regional franchise of the “Got Talent” format dubbed as the “biggest talent competition in the world,” first aired in March.
The show’s judges are Grammy award-winning musician and producer David Foster, Taiwanese pop icon Van Ness Wu, former Spice Girls member Melanie C and Indonesian rock icon Anggun.
In a text message to the Inquirer, Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos congratulated El Gamma Penumbra: “They are the pride of Batangas … (they’re from) Tanauan … They always perform at the capitol at our VSR (Voices , Songs and Rhythms) event … we are proud of them!” With reports by Oliver M. Pulumbarit and Bayani San Diego Jr., Philippine Daily Inquirer
