| Subject: Philippine Idol : Judging the judges |
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mmJun- an article
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Date Posted: 08:37:20 09/12/06 Tue
Philippine Idol : Judging the judges
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
http://bongaustero.blogspot.com/
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=bongAustero_sept13_2006
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
NOTE: Coments about the judges of PPS have been made
by several pinoy fans in the PPS yahoo groups. They
are not any better either. -mmJun :-/
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Judging the judges
Last Sunday, I ranted in my Web log about the disservice being done
by the judges of “Philippine Idol” to Filipino audiences and to the
contestants of that singing contest. I am told that that particular
post has been going around as an e-mail. So it seems that there is a
sizable number of Filipinos out there who share my rage at the way
the local franchise of the global phenomenon is being staged. I can
understand why.
If there is something that we crow about more often than anything
else, it is our supposed singing talent as a people. And indeed, we
do have many great singers. Many of them have dominated
international singing competitions, have played roles in Broadway
musicals, are members of world-famous bands, etc. There are just too
many singing success stories being bandied about that it is now
difficult to separate fact from fiction. There are those who claim
that any five-star hotel (anywhere in the world) worth its name
cannot afford not to have Filipino musicians on board. There are
even rumors about this and that singing celebrity having Filipino
blood, as if genes are the best indicator of singing talent.
It is no cause for wonder then than we are a country obsessed with
singing competitions. And speaking of singing competitions,
the “Idol” franchise is probably the most popular in the world
today. Thus, the expectations for Philippine Idol were quite high.
We expected the show to be a showcase of the best of the
Philippines.
Unfortunately, Philippine Idol is turning out to be such a huge
disappointment. It is such a shame because the problems of the show
have nothing to do with the quality of the contestants—some of the
best Filipino singers I have ever seen are in that show. The
disappointment has to do with the way the contest is being staged.
A number of people have already ranted about the awful quality of
the technical aspects of the show. The lighting is bad, the audio is
terrible, the stage design looks very cramped and many of the
performers end up performing with the audience, etc. The emceeing is
spotty and Ryan Agoncillo ends up saying the same things over and
over again (to be fair, he is making an effort and is showing some
improvement).
But the one aspect of the show that really irks me is something that
is totally within human control—the judging. Ryan Cayabyab, Pilita
Corrales, and Francis Magalona were supposedly handpicked to make
critical judgments on the contestants’ musical performance. Their
comments are supposed to guide viewers out there in terms of who to
vote for. It seems however that the judges are more interested in
trying to be witty or in trying to be popular than in making
analytical observations on the various performances.
In the semifinals for the male contestants held the other week, only
one contestant out of the judges’ top four picks were voted in by
the audience. The divergence in taste seemed to have riled Ryan
Cayabyab, who made snide comments last Saturday about the
supposed “incorrect choices” of Filipino voters. The comments were
uncalled for because, as they kept on insisting to the contestants,
the top 12 already represent the best among the crop, anyone among
them can become the first Philippine Idol. But more importantly, how
can Filipino voters make enlightened choices if the judges do not
make sensible comments to begin with? The judges are supposed to
help the audience make enlightened choices, but their comments last
Saturday were simply neither here nor there. So rather than blame
Filipinos, they can and should actually teach Filipinos.
As I maintained in my blog, Ryan Cayabyab did try to act like a real
judge. He did try to be objective and to make intelligent and
sensible comments on the singing and the overall performance of the
performers. Unfortunately, even the great maestro could not sustain
it.
I actually took note in my blog of the specific and individual
comments made by the judges last Saturday. But due to space
constraints, I will just pick on some of the more interesting
comments so that you can see for yourself just how analytical
and “helpful” the judges of Philippine Idol are.
I do not question Francis Magalona’s musical talent. I truly believe
that he is a gifted musician. However, it seems like making
analytical or intelligent comments is not one of his strongest
suits. First of all, this guy is forgetting that he is not on “Eat
Bulaga” where irreverence is the norm. He actually made a number of
truly outrageous comments. For example, he picked on the gender of
one of the semifinalists asking when she would wear a skirt. (The
actual comment was more embarrassing because he began by accusing
the performer of being manloloko—of putting one over them).
Later on the show, he commented on the performance of the
semifinalist from Australia: I think in spite of the fact that you
are from Australia, you did good! I do not know how Australians feel
about that comment; but I hope he does not get banned from entering
that country. And then there were the vague comments such as “Basta
OPM, okay sa akin [As long as it is original Filipino music, it gets
my vote].” “Kinareer nya” [she sang it in earnest].” “Nasakyan ko [I
was able to get it].”
Pilita Corrales is known as Asia’s Queen of Songs, which should be
more than enough validation of her qualification to sit as judge.
Unfortunately, she seems more interested in trying to lighten up the
show with her funny antics than in making sensible comments.
“You look like a contestant in the Miss Universe pageant” was meant
to be a positive comment, believe it or not. “Iba talaga ang Bisaya
[the Visayans truly have the edge].” “You are sexy and I like
you.” “I like you because you are taller than Ryan Agoncillo.” There
are just some of Pilita’s comments. As you can see, they added
nothing to the show except airtime filler. And of course, she did
more of the old stuff that she used to do with the late Bert “Tawa”
Marcelo in “Ang Bagong Kampeon”—she flirted shamelessly with Ryan
Agoncillo! And it worked, the audience was in stitches while the two
kept at it. It could have been a good thing if only Pilita was there
not as a judge but as comic relief.
Being the last judge, it was then left to Ryan Cayabyab to dish the
sensible comments. And he tried. But I guess there are limits to
what one man can do, even if the man is a genius. The problem with
Ryan Cayabyab is that he is makes terse and pithy remarks. He does
not elaborate. He does not explain.
“The song ate you.” “Not enough.” “You have class.” “Nothing
new.” “Good enough, nothing spectacular.” “Very solid performance.”
Were some of his comments.
And yet these judges blame the Filipino audience for not making the
enlightened choices.
The author blogs at
http://bongaustero.blogspot.com
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