- Ogie Alcasid responded to the criticisms thrown at the Tawag ng Tanghalan judges
- The controversy started to heat up after the elimination of resbaker Mariane Osabel
- Many viewers became doubtful about the credibility of the TNT judges
Award-winning OPM singer Ogie Alcasid has responded to the criticisms thrown at the Tawag ng Tanghalan judges after giving a low score to Ultimate Resbaker contestant Mariane Osabel last September 11.
Fans of the show became doubtful when Mariane, who performed a cover of Whitney Houston’s “Run to You”, earned a 16.50% score thus eliminating her from the contest despite winning the voters’ poll (50% vs. 33.74%) over her opponent, transwoman Mariko Ledesma.
The Tawag ng Tanghalan judges then received criticisms online after the episode aired on It’s Showtime.
In the midst of the controversy, Ogie revealed that some of the hateful remarks were “below the belt” to the extent of attacking their personal lives.
“We have a Viber group and it’s very healthy for us to say there how you feel. We pray for each other.
“Artists are the most sensitive people. Tsaka specially when the bashing is baseless and personal. Mga anak ko na yung tinitira ba,” Ogie said in an interview.
Since the elimination of resbaker Mariane, many viewers are now questioning the credibility of the TNT judges. Addressing the issue, Ogie reasoned that there will always be disappointments in any contest results.
“Alam niyo kagaya ng ibang contest, ang Tawag ng Tanghalan ay hindi naiiba in a sense na hindi lahat talaga magiging masaya sa resulta lagi. And that is a truth that I think we have to accept. Kahit Miss Universe pa yan or any contest, there will always be disappointment and most specially with Tawag ng Tanghalan dahil lahat ng ating mga madlang people become attached already to yung kanilang sariling manok. And of course, pag nakita nila na yung manok nila in their minds were treated unfairly in their minds, masasaktan sila which is understandable. But it depends naman to the hurados.”
As one of the head judges of the competition, Ogie said that he understands how a fan feels but he reiterated that a contestant’s performance is their basis in the judging criteria.
“First of all napakahirap maging hurado to balance all of that because sila rin mismo, kami rin mismo ay may mga manok din. But it’s a daily performance-based judging. So on a daily basis, we need to see who on that day performs better or perform the best and that’s what counts. It is not a matter of us favoring someone else or clinging to kung ano yung gusto ng masa but really when we get to the finals pag dumadating na tayo sa resbakan, talagang kung sino yung nagpakita ng kasindak sindak na performance ang siyang mananaig.”
The singer denied that they are giving harsh comments for the contestants. He clarified that they are only giving general opinions during the Ultimate Resbakan.
“No not at all. In fact, during the resbakan there was… wala namang opinion na binibigay na harsh because pag resbakan ang binibigay lang na opinion is a general sweeping opinion on not the specific performances but the performance of the two or the three in general.”
Ogie also assured that a contestant’s personality and their emotions are not affecting their scores.
“Sa amin hindi. It is obvious specially when the judging comes. The back stories, no touching, no moving. It really does not affect our judging. It affects us like minsan ang dami ko ring nabigyan ng kung ano-ano. Yung ibang judges they shell out money because they know mahirap lang yung singer. It affects us emotionally and we then act on that emotion by impulsively giving but at the same time we don’t let that affect our scores.”
Aside from being part of the Tawag ng Tanghalan panel, Ogie is now prepping for his upcoming concert which will include his fellow TNT judges. It will be held on October 10 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater ng Resorts World Manila.
“I’m very excited. My last concert was Valentine’s day and this time ibang concept naman with the Hurados. Excited ako to perform with them specially now na you know the branding of Hurados is very matunog sa madlang people and excited ako, very excited.”
