Gerard Salonga: THE Simon Cowell of the Philippines (?)

Photo c/o Belenzon.com

I am Not a very big fan of Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2. Nakaka-asar panuorin dahil halos lahat ng scholars this season eh Drama Queen... o kaya naman Quitters... o kaya naman Pasaway sa rehearsals (especially Dance Class)... and worse... yung iba, may mga Imaginary Friends pa! I don't really watch the primetime telecast or Uberture until I saw Maestro Gerard Salonga two weeks ago sa Live Gala Night. At first akala ko Guest Juror lang siya, but when Toni Gonzaga announced that he was actually a Resident Juror ang nasabi lang namin sa bahay eh, "Goodluck sa mga scholars!" We've witnessed what he did before sa Star in a Million (please correct me if I'm wrong), where he gave 0 point to a certain contestant. After that episode inulan ng comments si Gerard Salonga from the press people and I even remember reading the headline, "Ang taas naman yata masyado ng standards ng kapatid ni Lea Salonga." Of course, this was from a tabloid, but reading the article about him suddenly made me doubt about what do the Filipinos really want in a judge (for a singing competition).

Now, back to Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2.

Honestly, I am happy that ABS-CBN picked Gerard Salonga as one of the Resident Jurors because for me he and Mr. Louie Ocampo deserves the part. Pero after one gala night people started commenting about the way Gerard judges on PDA 2. Meron pang nagsabi (from ABS-CBN forum), "about credentials naman,yes may mga award na siya sa pagiging musical director niya sa mga concerts nang kapatid niya & who is it? non other than Ms. Lea Salonga! Well, kahit sinong humawak kay Lea tiyak namang maganda ang labas dahil siya talagang may karapatan na.baka kung siya pa ang 1 sa juror mas pakikinggan ko pa ang mga comments niya unlike yung Gerald na hindi naman ganun kagaling din eh kung makapag comment akala mo mas mataas pa kesa kay Mr. Louie Ocampo......what he said that night? ...."ang malas ko naman"? Bayad ang pag upo niya dun para i guide ang mga scholar sa mas tama nilang gawin at i rate ang performance nila hindi para pangdirihan.Stop being so arrogant dahil hindi ka naman ganun ka fullfilled,kahit na anong sabihin mo,name pa din nang kapatid mo ang dala mo kaya ka andiyan."

Ang mahirap kasi sa atin, salita tayo nang salita, hindi naman natin kilala yung tao. Para sa'ken, there's nothing wrong with the way he judges on Gala Night. Truthful naman kasi yung mga sinasabi niya eh at alam niya talaga yung sinasabi niya, hindi tulad ng ibang nagj-judge na kahit ano na lang ang sasabihin, may masabi lang na maganda about the performance even if the performance really sucked. Take Simon Cowell as an example; he will say whatever he want to say, no matter how harsh it is, sasabihin niya 'yon dahil 'yon ang pananaw niya. And look at the talents he's mentoring (think Il Divo and Leona Lewis); Leona Lewis is the next big thing in America right now; earning USD2m just for a single interview (hindi pa kasama sa TF pag papakantahin mo siya). It only means that he knows what he's doing and he knows the definition of a true talent. With Gerard, however, he's worked with different singers and bands and those were the most respectable performers here and abroad. Aside from his sister Lea Salonga, Gerard has also worked with Martin Nievera, Lani Misalucha, Regine Velasquez, Barbie Almalbis, Kitchie Nadal, among others. The point here is that ABS-CBN put him there because they trusts his judgment. Knowing that he IS Lea Salonga's brother, had graduated Summa Cum Laude at Berklee College of Music and had won numerous awards, it's for sure that he has a SAY in this industry and that ABS-CBN knows he's worth it.

It's just funny that some of us wanted to hear sugarcoated comments pa rather than something truthful, basta huwag lang malait ang "manok" natin. Masakit man sa pandinig ng audience yung mga pinagsasasabi niya sa mga scholars pero kahit di man natin aminin, may pinapatunguhan yung sinasabi niya. I just hope that those scholars will take his words positively and will work from his constructive criticisms, after all, para sa mga scholars din naman yon eh!

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"When you lie, Be Consistent. (="