For singer Randy Santiago, “Tawag ng Tanghalan” contestants are welcome to show their emotions in their performances, even if it could affect their singing.

Santiago is very keen on judging how a contestant interprets his or her piece, he said in an online press conference for “It’s Showtime” singing contest “Tawag ng Tanghalan: Huling Tapatan” last Saturday, Jan. 30.

“On our end naman, kasi kanta ang pinapakinggan namin, kung paano iyong emotion and everything na pinagsama-sama,” Santiago said. (On our end, because we are listening to a song, [we consider] the emotion and everything when put together.)

Santiago believes that a contestant can be very emotional in interpreting a song to the point that he or she fails to hit the right note.

“Siyempre, iba iyong iyak. Habang umiiyak, hindi natin maiiwasan iyong mga nawawala sa tono pero ’pag alam namin may boses iyong singer, alam naming nandoon,” he said.

(Of course, it is different when one cries [while singing]. While crying, it cannot be helped that you get out of tune, but when we know that the singer has a voice, we know that it’s there.)

Santiago notes that after a while, the voice will change and it will be back to its beautiful glory.

“Alam naman namin, sa tagal ng panahon, after a while, ‘di ba, kasi may mga daily rounds ‘yan, ‘di po ba? So, alam namin na ito iyong boses niya ngayon ay eventually magtsi-change pero at the end of the day ay babalik at babalik iyong ganda (ng boses),” he said.

(We know [what it’s like] in the long run, after a while, right, because they have daily rounds, right? So, we know that his/her voice will eventually change but at the end of the day it will be back.)

Santiago shared that their duties as judges do not end with the contestant’s performance.

“After their performances, each [performance] iyong sa araw-araw na ginagawa nila, hindi kami nagkukulang sa mentoring,” he said. “Right after the show, sinasabi namin kung ano ang mga pagkukulang at kung ano iyong puwede nilang i-enhance at kung ano iyong puwede nilang gawin para mas mapaganda iyong performance nila.”

(After their performances, each performance which they do on a daily basis, we do not hold back on mentoring. Right after the show, we tell them their shortcomings and what they could do to enhance and improve their performance.)

And when it comes to contestants’ personal backgrounds, he does get a good laugh at how Vice Ganda is able to find humor in their sob stories.

“Sila Meme (Vice Ganda) natutuwa na lang kami. Talagang nauungkat nila ang istorya ng bawat isa. Iyong handling nila ng bawat isa, iyong iyakan nang iyakan, biglang tatawa ka, na pati kami napapatawa,” Santiago said when asked if he’s moved by the sad story of every TNT contestant.

(We are happy with the way Meme [and the other] hosts handle it. They are really able to dig deeper into the story of each one of them. The way they handle each one, from crying to suddenly laughing makes us laugh too.)

Six grand finalists are set to face off with one another this Saturday, Feb. 6. Three finalists will then be chosen and will perform a song medley during the “huling tapatan” or final showdown.

The grand finalist will be chosen based on a combined score from audience text votes (50%) and judges’ scores (50%).

The show is available on the Kapamilya Channel cable and satellite TV (SKYchannel 8 on SD and channel 167 on HD, Cablelink channel 8, G Sat Direct TV channel 22, and most cable operator-members under Philippine Cable and Telecommunications Association). It also streams online on the Kapamilya Online Live YouTube channel, and on the iWantTFC app and website. Viewers abroad can also watch it on The Filipino Channel. NVG

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