The Bisaya faithful will have no shortage of bets to put their money on as singing duo ‘Music & Me’ of Bohol and Cebuana all-girl group ‘Sorority’ go for all the marbles when they hit centerstage in the first-ever grand finals of GMA Network’s ‘The Voice Generations’ this Sunday, December 10, 2023.
BOHOL PRIDE
Fedrianne Quilantang Villanueva and J-Ann Talisic are a match made in heaven who will be going for the gold under Coach Julie’s “Julesquad” after their disposal of ‘Mamaland’ in the semis.
Both working as event singers in Bohol, it was not until 2016 when they started partnering up in gigs and would continue performing as a duo where they spent much of their time honing their onstage chemistry.
It is no surprise, therefore, that Fedrianne and J-Ann were seen as one of the competition’s stronger contenders, especially after a four-chair turner rendition of ‘Makita Kang Muli’ at the blind auditions.
“Our (finals) performance will be a summary of all that we have gone through. I-apply po namin lahat ng tinuro sa amin ni Coach Julie - may tinuro si Coach sa amin na kami lang ang nakakaaalam,” they said.
CEBUANA POWER
Jacky Chang, Aki Omega, Kayla Barrientos, Aine Abella, DJ Mae Dente, and Cheska Rojas - or simply ‘Sorority’ - will banner Chito Miranda’s “Parokya ni Chito” after dominating its semifinals match-up against singing duo ‘Kris n’ Cha.’
The girl group started out only as acquaintances and have known each other from being members of the same music school in Cebu. Impressively, TVG is like trial-by-fire for the singing sextet, as this is their first ever competition as one ‘Sorority.’
“We actually got really close, and became family already. We think we are gonna bring that in the competition. Soloists kami before, and we learned and developed our skills together along the way,” said Sorority during an online interview.
Coach Chito was the lone judge to turn for the girls during the blind auditions, prompting an automatic addition to the legendary vocalist’s ‘Parokya’. Since then, the vocal divas of Cebu have taken the competition by storm and can now call themselves as The Voice Generations grand finalists.
VISAYANS UNITE
Asked about the communal power the Visayan community has for both finalists, it’s all friendly competition between ‘Sorority’ and ‘Music & Me,’ and they were quick to highlight the significance of their newfound friendship and the camaraderie they were able to establish during the competition.
“Kapag Bisaya, ‘pag nag get-together sa dressing room, ang ingay po talaga namin. And ‘di po mawawala yung inside jokes namin na kami lang ang nakakaintindi. Sobra po ang bonding namin with them (Music & Me), ang saya-saya po,” the ‘Sorority’ girls remarked.
“We support Sorority. Ang Bohol and Cebu, magkalapit lang po iyon. We support them and they support us; we treat each other as kapatid. Bigayan, eh. We pray and enjoy,” the Boholano duo added.
DIVERSE FINALS CAST
Now that the grandest stage is set for Asia’s first-ever The Voice Generations, esteemed coaches Chito Miranda, Julie Anne San Jose, Stell, and Billly Crawford could not contain their excitement and animation about the upcoming finale, especially because of how beautifully diverse the ‘final four’ cast turned out.
“Parang pinakamalalakas na pinagsasabong - my team’s different from the three other teams. Magkakaiba ng appeal, strengths - its just so diverse. Iba-iba sila ng category, which makes it such a great show to watch,” said Coach Chito in an online media interview.
Coach Billy believes that the varying skill sets and strengths should make for a great grand finale. “Lagi naming sinasabi sa lahat, kung sino matitira sila yung pinakamatibay at pinakamalakas. Every single group na napansin ko (dito sa finals), iba-iba yung skill sets and talents, iba-iba rin yung weaknesses. Such a good diversity,” added Crawford.
The Visayan bets will sing for the championship trophy together with Coach Stell’s Vocalmyx of Cagayan de Oro and Coach Billy’s P3 of Bulacan and Pampanga. The finals will take place on December 10, 2023 at 7:20 p.m. on GMA with delayed telecast at 10:45 p.m. on GTV.
