Hey, ABS-CBN! Let's Compare!

Whew! It's summertime in the Philippines and something has gotten really hot recently. "Who's the better singer? Ariana Grande or Charice?" ABS-CBN is asking the online readers. I wonder what the purpose of the question is. Do you have any idea?

(This blogger took the liberty of making corrections in their post. It should be "better" and not "best" since there are only two who are being compared. Doesn't anyone edit posts on ABS-CBN website?)

Captured from the ABS-CBN article posted on April 11, 2015 

- corrections added by this blogger

Some readers patronized the post and wrote their comments and sort of voted for their idols. And who can blame them? They are fans and will always support and protect their idols.

So, let's compare the two performances using the two videos that ABS-CBN posted. Here are the specimens.

Ariana Grande singing I Have Nothing

(From FateEnviesUs YouTube Channel)

Charice singing a medley of I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You 
(From ChenkaNubira YouTube Channel)

Oops...wait! How can we compare these two performances when Ariana and Charice are singing different pieces? For Ariana, it is the whole song I Have Nothing and for Charice, it is a medley of I Have Nothing and I Will Always Love You. I wonder if the ABS-CBN post wants us to stop in the middle of Charice's video, but that should have been specified in the article. So, I'd say, these are invalid specimens.

Let's just look for what is common in the two videos. Do you see it? I mean, do you see him? The David Foster! David Foster recognizes the talent of each of these two artists. I believe he wants to play for artists whose talents are great. And if David Foster says an artist is great, then, that artist is great. I believe him. Do you?

I wish David Foster will also play for the Kapamilya singers. Or has he already played for any Kapamilya singers? No, the audience participation in a concert will not count. Anyone from the long list of Kapamilya singers? Yes? No? If you know the answer, please write it in the comment section below. Thank you.

But then, maybe I should take back my wish because ABS-CBN will use the singer's performance video to compare, again, with their "favorite" talent that is Charice. I know it because of the following.

Captured from a post on Push dated April 17, 2015

And oh! There it is! The above image says, "...performances of the same songs...." So, why are Charice's and Ariana's performances featured there? I'm sorry, but I do not consider them as the same songs.

Now, back to David Foster. He is currently one of the judges in the first season of Asia's Got Talent (AGT). He pressed the Golden Buzzer for an auditionee named Gerphil G. Flores, a Filipino. Here's the thing. Gerphil, whose nickname is Fame, participated in Pilipinas Got Talent (PGT) of ABS-CBN in 2010. Gerphil (Fame) was eliminated because the two judges, Ai-Ai and Kris, did not vote for her for reasons you will hear below. 

Let's compare the comments of Ai-Ai and David Foster.

Did you hear the part when Ai-Ai confirmed that Sherwin did not hit the high note? She also offered the possible reason--he slept late/lack of sleep--why he failed hitting it. She continued and said that he was perfect the day before. Also, was it just me or did she really announce that she voted for Sherwin through texting?

So, David hates people who sing out of tune. It seems that he does not consider any excuses as valid when it comes to singing out of tune.



Next, let's listen to the comment of Kris.

Kris talked about the impact of the performances on the audience. I wonder if she was referring to the impact on the entire audience or only on her and on the two hosts, Luis and Billy. She said she based her decision on the fact that the two hosts sang the song of Sherwin during the commercial break.

Now, here's to show the impact of Gerphil's performance on the AGT audience.

And there goes the Golden Buzzer! Since Gerphil has received the Golden Buzzer from David, she goes straight to the semi-finals of the competition. Watch below.

Sometimes, I wonder why we let go of some of our great talents. We dwell so much on things that are of lesser value: physical looks over real talents. Most of the time, we are afraid to get out of our comfort zones: popularity over quality.

Here is a quote from the speech of ABS-CBN Chairman Mr. Eugenio Lopez III during the recent congress of the Media Specialists Association of the Philippines: "We believe it's a matter of duty to invest in radical change if you're the country's advocate of the media industry. We simply cannot ignore the global technology way. We innovate or we die."

Yes, Mr. Lopez. Change is badly needed. Please look into your daily programming. Please look into what your workforce spread on the Internet. Many Filipinos now have access to the Internet. Are you familiar with all the contents of your websites? Are you familiar with the contents of your TV and radio programs? Are you familiar with the contents of your news programs? More than your Mahiwagang Blackbox or the ABS-CBN TV Plus physical product, please look into valuable innovations for the types of shows that you offer to your audience. Please look into meaningful innovations for the types of articles that get published on your websites.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. ABS-CBN, you are an influential institution. Use that for attaining more meaningful and valuable objectives. Be conscientious in reviewing what you give to the public. I believe it is part of your responsibility. I don't need your Blackbox for a better quality of pictures on my TV screen. I need a better quality of the contents on my screens--my TV screen and my computer screen.

And please...do away with the comparisons! Not healthy at all!


(I do not own any of the videos embedded on this post. Credits go to FateEnviesUs, ChenkaNubira, ABS-CBN, and Asia's Got Talent.)