Steven Paysu of US&Makoto Inoue of Japan conquer the Tawag ng Tanghalan stage as the 1st global reps

QUEZON CITY, Philippines - Dec. 20, 2017 - PRLog -- First heard on radio in 1953, with a television comeback in 1987 and a revival in 2016 via "It's Showtime", Tawag ng Tanghalan continues to endear itself as it went global in June, in partnership with TFC and this December, marked another milestone as the "all-time favorite search for outstanding amateur talent" declared the winners of the Global Tawag ng Tanghalan semifinals – the first ever global representatives to the "Huling Tapatan" this March, 2018.

Writing their own history, Steven Paysu of the United States of America (U.S.A.) and Makoto Inoue of Japan bagged the two global slots and are now TFC's official representatives to the Huling Tapatan after an intense semi-final round Saturday at the "It's Showtime" studios.

Battling ten other worthy opponents from Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Oceania who emerged winners in Region Finals conducted by "It's Showtime" and TFC, Paysu and Inoue managed to surpass other global contenders from a tight, 50/50 mix of judges' scores and fan votes that included those that were casted internationally via tntvote.abs-cbn.com

During the Global Week that started December 11, Peysu and Inoue went past the 10 contenders.  On day 1, the first batch of contenders then composed of Al Angelo Bernal of Abu Dhabi; Joseph Legaspi of Guam, Penny Salcedo of Hong Kong and Inoue went face to face where Inoue and Salcedo emerged winners.  The next day, Bernardite Steiger of Austria, Cris Rotor of South Korea, Rex Angelo Urbano of Australia and Paysu battled it out where Rotor and Paysu triumphed.  On day 3, Louise Auman of Austria, Aaron Paul Manabat of Singapore, Chlea Maria Trinidad of Bahrain; and Jing Wenghofer of U.S.A. took a stab at being part of the finals but Manabat and Wenghofer only succeeded.  On day 4 and 5, the competition grew tighter as Inoue, Salcedo, Rotor, Paysu, Manabat and Wenghofer gave their best but Inoue, Salcedo, Paysu and Wenghofer only make it to the final round.  Finally, on day six, it was a four-way battle where the US-based Filipino and the half-Filipino, half- Japanese were declared Global "Tawag ng Tanghalan's" first two global representatives.

It was a surprise win for Paysu, a laboratory technician from California, USA since day one.  He was a wild card contestant so to speak at the Region Finals conducted by TFC in North America who managed to make it because another contestant could not make it.  Taking this in as a challenge turned into an opportunity to showcase his talent. Paysu, shared: "If you would have known my journey, you would not have thought I would come this far.  We semifinalists have gone through a lot and where we are is a result of our journey)".

During the final round, destiny continued to play out as Paysu thought his performance had flaws but still managed to emerge as a winner as votes for the quinquagenarian came pouring in. Paysu shared: "I knew that my performance had inconsistencies.  Backstage I was crying. But when I saw the people's comments, I was so touched.  I had mixed emotions.  The people I guess could relate with my mistakes – that I was only human who made mistakes. From the bottom of my heart, thank you".

Inoue, was equally surprised at his win.  During the early voting, the half-Filipino, half-Japanese was not the highest in terms of fan votes.  But during the Region Finals, he impressed the judges and was able to please the audiences.  Finally, on competition week, Inoue was able to charm both the judges and fans from all over and made the cut.

Inoue could still remember the first time his name was called on stage: "I wasn't able to react at first. I doubted if it was my name being called. I went down on my knees and all of my strength left me.  It was all for happiness".

Paysu garnered the highest combined scores from the "It's Showtime"viewers dubbed madlang people text and online votes and judges' scores. Both won P150,000 each and the title of the first two global representatives. Paysu and Inoue will continue fighting for their dreams and battle for vocal supremacy against Jovany Satera and Alfred Relatado of Quarter 1 and Anton Antenorcruz and Remy Luntayao of Quarter 2 in the Grand Finals.

Head judge Rey Valera shared: "Global Tawag ng Tanghalan for me is a big deal.  I have seen and heard of the show since I was a kid.  Now, it's thrilling to see that it has gone global.  To the TFC teams who helped our fellowmen – thank you.  To the staff who put all these together – thank you.  You would think doing all these – putting the video together etc. - are easy but they are not.  Thank you.  I am proud to be part of this thing (Tawag ng Tanghalan).

Relive their winning moments via TFC's IPTV and TFC online platforms.  You can watch "It's Showtime and other talented Pinoy singers as they battle for a chance to be the last batch of finalists in "Tawag ng Tanghalan," at the noontime variety show "It's Showtime," Mondays to Saturdays Manila time.

Connect with global Filipinos and visit facebook.com/KapamilyaTFC.  You can also follow KapamilyaTFC on Twitter and Instagram.