LONDON – It’s a home run for two Filipino talents from Austria as they emerged winners at the first ever Global Tawag ng Tanghalan held recently at Halle E + G MuseumsQuartier in Vienna.
Bernardite Steiger and Loiuse Auman are the official representatives of the continent to the first-ever global showdown of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” on “It’s Showtime” in Manila. The competition, co-produced by ABS-CBN’s The Filipino Channel (TFC) and DZMM Teleradyo, also bestowed upon the two homegrown talents the crown as the DZMM’s Global Pinoy Singing Idol Europe region winners.
From out of 10 contestants, Steiger and Auman both from Vienna, bagged the two titles for their tone quality, voice projection, consistency, and over-all impact.
It was a tough job for judges – Senior Vice President Ging Reyes who heads ABS-CBN Integrated News and Current Affairs, Toolstation Chief Finance Officer Alfonso Pinto, and ABS-CBN Europe Ltd. Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Luis Bariuan.
According to Reyes, chairman of the panel of judges, the contestants performed superbly in the audition and pre-finals round, and there were some who stood out. But she quickly adds: “During the final round, the dynamics on stage changed. The judging became more difficult for us as the contestants belted it out and gave their all. I must say it was a tough battle, but the two winners rightfully earned their victories”.
Hard as it was for the judges, the win was a complete surprise for Steiger who has not been singing on stage for a long time. In her youth, Steiger dreamed of being a singer but had to give it up for the sake of her family in Leyte in the Philippines. After migrating to Europe, she once again parked her dream for her own family. However, when TFC announced the Global Tawag ng Tanghalan competition, she did not hesitate to join.
Steiger fulfilled her dream with her winning rendition of Shirley Bassey’s hit, “I Who Have Nothing”.
“Honestly, no, I did not really believe that I will win because my opponents are really great singers especially when I heard them singing and performing in our Pre-Finals. I already thought of the two possible winners but they did not include me”, Steiger said.
The other winner, Auman used to post her cover songs on youtube, but had to stop for a while because of the demands of work. However, she was enticed to join the Global ng Tanghalan stage. On the night of the competition, she earned the judges’ nod for her remarkable stage presence and crisp rendition of “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten.
Auman said she was not actually thinking about winning. “I was just enjoying the experience. I prayed to God for guidance and that He may be with me during my performance. I just wanted to have fun and perform again. My intentions were never on winning’, she adds.
TFC will fly both regional winners to the global showdown of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” on “It’s Showtime” where Steiger and Auman will compete with other Region Finalists from North America, Middle East and Asia Pacific for a chance to be the first global representatives to the “Tawag ng Tanghalan” “Grand Finals” (“Huling Tapatan”). They may also have a chance to compete for the title of second Grand Champion.
In January, DZMM will bring Steiger, a mother of two, and Auman, a hotel employee, to the Global Pinoy Singing Idol Grand Finals to compete against regional winners from Canada and Malaysia.
Both winners won USD 1,000 in cash and a round-trip from Vienna to the Philippines.
Kapamilya stars Yeng Constantino and Matteo Guidicelli were also in Vienna to meet with the contestants and perform for the Filipino crowd. Filipino source of pride Ms. Philippines Earth-Water 2016 Melanie Mader and Wilson Budoy of “The Voice Kids Germany 2016” also came to show their support. “Global Tawag ng Tanghalan” Europe Region Finals was hosted by DZMM’s “Showbuzz” host Ahwel Paz and local talent dubbed Austria’s Favorite George delos Santos.
Watch out for the other “Tawag ng Tanghalan” on “It’s Showtime” region finals in other continents at the last quarter of 2017 in North America, Middle East, and Asia Pacific.
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.
