OPM@PAGCOR search picks four grand finalists from Luzon auditions

Marie Joyce B. Tañaña	Renz Ruther M. Robosa	Jell Christie Sumagui	Paullete Cambronero

FOUR aspiring singers are on the road to becoming the country’s first ever Total Original Pinoy Music Performer after winning in the semi finals of the OPM@PAGCOR nationwide search during the Luzon regional competitions held in Casino Filipino Angeles and Tagaytay.

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Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Director Enriquito Nuguid (left) and Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) President Ogie Alcasid (right) award the certificate of excellence to Marie Joyce Tañaña of Angeles City, Pampanga. Tañaña was chosen as one of the first two finalists for the “OPM@PAGCOR, A Nationwide Search for the Total OPM Performer” during the semi finals competition held in Casino Filipino Angeles.

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Marie Joyce Tañaña from Angeles City, Pampanga and Renz Ruther Robosa from San Carlos City, Pangasinan were named Co-Winners at the Angeles semi finals last March 24. Meanwhile, Jell Christie Sumagui from Dasmarinas, Cavite and Paullete Cambronero from Pasig City bested ten other contestants during the Casino Filipino Tagaytay semi finals on March 26.

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OPM@PAGCOR singing talent search finalists Marie Joyce Tañaña (2nd from left) a native of Angeles City, Pampanga and Renz Ruther Robosa (3rd) from San Carlos City, Pangasinan pose with Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Director Enriquito Nuguid (right) and Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) President Ogie Alcasid (left) after receiving their certificates of excellence.

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The four grand finalists from Luzon were chosen from a field of more than 400 auditionees.  They received a cash prize of P25,000 each and the chance to undergo a performance training/workshop with some of the country’s OPM music luminaries from May 28 to June 4.

All four Luzon winners have the same dream: to make it big in the Philippine music industry and to be able to help their families. Cambronero said the cash prize she received during the Tagaytay semi finals is a big help to her family. “Sana po ay suwertehin din ako sa grand finals kasi po pangarap kong makilala bilang singer. Sana ay ito ang maging daan para makaahon kami sa kahirapan,” she said.

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Director Enriquito Nuguid congratulates Jell Christie Sumagui, co-winner in the Tagaytay leg of the OPM@PAGCOR search.

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OPM Secretary Dingdong Avanzado, who was one of the celebrity guest jurors during the Casino Filipino Tagaytay semi finals, said he was impressed with the performances of the contestants. “They were all good.  However, we only have to pick two winners and the ones that we chose really stood out.  They have the potential of becoming recording stars,” Avanzado said.

Auditions for aspiring singers from Metro Manila were held from March 28 to April 1 at the Airport Casino Filipino in Paranaque and semi finals is on April 4 at the casino’s Altitude 64. By second week of April, auditions and semi finals in Visayas and Mindanao will be held in the Casino Filipino branches of Bacolod (audition on April 7 and semi finals on April 9), Cebu (auditions on April 10 and 11 and semi finals on April 12 ) and Davao (audition on April 13 and semi finals on April 15 ).

PAGCOR Entertainment Head Bong Quintana said the Metro Manila auditions in Paranaque had to be extended from two to five days after applicants reached almost 1,000.

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OPM couple Dingdong Avanzado and Jessa Zaragoza with OPM@PAGCOR search Tagaytay co-winner Paullete Cambronero.

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“Due to the large volume of very talented and promising auditionees in our Metro Manila leg, PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Cristino L. Naguiat, Jr. instructed us to increase the number of grand finals qualifiers from Top 2 to Top 4. This brings the number of our grand finalists nationwide to 14 from the original 12,” Quintana said.

According to Quintana, what makes the OPM@PAGCOR search unique, exciting and inspiring is that “it attracted people from all walks of life – students, out of school youth, teachers, farmers, doctors, engineers, a balut vendor, blind men, a pregnant woman, the unemployed, and even senior citizens. For as long as you have a dream and you really, really want to make it. You are welcome to sing and be heard.”

OPM President Ogie Alcasid said the OPM@PAGCOR singing search would give a big boost to the local music industry. “Unlike other contests na pwede kang kumanta ng mga foreign songs, dito ay strictly OPM lang. I think this is the only contest with such concept and we should be proud of this,” he added.

Alcasid explained the OPM@PAGCOR is not just a singing search. “Our grand finalists will be trained by the country’s renowned OPM music artists which we hope will help prepare them in their pursuit of a professional singing career,” he noted.

The OPM@PAGCOR Grand Finals is set on June 10, 2011 at the PAGCOR Grand Theater in Airport Casino Filipino, Paranaque City. The top three winners will receive cash prizes of P300,000 (1st prize), P200,000 (2nd prize) and P100,000 (3rd prize). The grand winner will get a recording contract from a major music recording company and a performance contract from PAGCOR.

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