Filipino talents in the MidEast create their own history at Global Tawag ng Tanghalan Region Finals

DUBAI MEDIA CITY, UAE - Nov. 22, 2017 - PRLog -- As "One Music X" and some of the Philippines' best artists were making their mark at the newest musical festival to watch in the Middle East on November 3, relatively unknown but budding Filipino talents were writing their own history as the first winners of the Global Tawag ng Tanghalan sa "It's Showtime" Middle East region finals staged at the Dubai Media City Amphitheater.

After weeks of online voting; and a grueling judging process, Al Angelo Bernal of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Chlea Marie Trinidad of Bahrain emerged winners, beating  a total of 440 entries  that came in since the June call for nominees - a feat for both the winners and TFC.


Bernal and Trinidad won based on votes that were cast via the TFC Live app and via the live judging during the newest music festival to watch in the Middle East, "One Music X".  The contestants were judged based on tone quality; voice projection; consistency; and over-all impact by respected names in the Philippine entertainment industry: Roberto Barreiro, ABS-CBN head of Integrated Events and Customer Engagement; Roxy Liquigan, head of Star Music Group and Olivia de Jesus, managing director of ABS-CBN Global North America.


While they both won the much-coveted titles, the two champions have very different stories to tell.

Trinidad, originally from Naval, Biliran in Visayas, Philippines, is a 17-year-old student whose family moved to Bahrain in 2011 to explore more opportunities.  From the roster of the auditionees and semi-finalists, Trinidad was the youngest.

However, young as she is, Trinidad joined Global Tawag ng Tanghalan sa "It's Showtime" to help her family.

At Pre-finals, she sang "I Believe I can Fly" by Yolanda Adams and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston and went on to become a finalist.

Trinidad was determined to win and unlike the headline of her entry at Finals, Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing", Trinidad gave it her all.

Beyond her family inspiration, Trinidad also joined to share her gift to a wider audience.  Trinidad mused: "I know my talent will just be a talent if I don't step it up".

And so, when the TFC announced the search for the iconic singing competition going global, Trinidad did not think twice: "I think Global Tawag ng Tanghalan is a great opportunity to showcase the talent of the Filipino people around the world. Not all talented Filipinos are in the Philippines.  Some are in the other part of the globe working hard for their families and I think Global Tawag ng Tanghalan is the best possible way to approach those talented people".

While Trinidad is a newbie in terms of talent searches, Bernal is a singing competition veteran.  His name may ring a bell for some locals as he was the 2^nd place winner at the TFCKat Europe Finals in 2012 and the first Birit King winner at the "Birit Queens" concert this year.

He was also part of Top 20 of the "Global Tawag ng Tanghalan" but initially failed to make it to the region finals.  But as fate would have it, Bernal won the wildcard round dubbed OSN Search for the Ultimate TnT Resbaker.

Bernal humbly admitted believing his entry as a wildcard contestant dimmed his chances but instead, turn it into an opportunity to do better. "It had its impact on how I perceived my chances. But then again, I prepared for it and I thought, I'd give it my all and take my chances", Bernal shared.

The Cavite native took a chance at "Feeling Good" by Michael Buble and Gloc 9's "Sirena" but the song "Habang May Buhay" by Wency Cornejo did it for him.

For the part-timer, his winning this part of the competition inspires him as well as other talents to take a chance at what life has to bring.  "Global TNT is an opportunity. Filipinos are everywhere worldwide and there are a host of talented Pinoys out there waiting to be given that elusive chance and be discovered. It helps us keep our dreams alive", Bernal mused.

Now, as the region finals winners of Global Tawag ng Tanghalan, Trinidad and Bernal are the official representatives of the Middle East cluster and will join ten other contestants at the global showdown on December 11, 2017 for the chance of becoming two of the first 1^st Global Tawag ng Tanghalan Global Cluster Finals and the two global representatives to TNT's Grand Finals or Huling Tapatan.

Meantime, aside from the number of entries, the Middle East Region Finals also scored a milestone for earning a record online votes of 30,618 during the voting period of the Global Tawag ng Tanghalan.

According to ABS-CBN Middle East Officer in Charge (OIC) Joseph Arnie Garcia, the high turnout is rooted mainly in the fact that Filipinos are innately talented and a lot of them are just waiting to be discovered.  Garcia shares: "Worldwide, and particularly in the Middle East, the Filipino talent abounds and TFC has been providing the platform for them to discovered and recognized.  We will continue to provide such platforms and inspire everyone to contribute to this mission".

Watch out for Global Custer Finals on "Tawag ng Tanghalan" sa "It's Showtime" in December.

For more information about Global Tawag ng Tanghalan and other TFC events, please visit emea.kapamilya.com or facebook.com/TFCEurope. Connect with fellow global Kapamilyas and follow @KapamilyaTFC and @KapamilyaGlobalPR at IG and Twitter.  For Global Pinoy Singing Idol, follow DZMM's official facebook, IG and Twitter pages.