Protégé: The Battle For The Big Artista Break is a reality TV series created by GMA Network. This show is the second season of Protégé where Krizza Neri won in 2011. Unlike the, the age limit has been set from 13 to 21 years old to find new acting talent. The show premiered on July 23, 2012 and hosted by Jennylyn Mercado and under the direction of Albert Langitan, while the Protégé Gala Night premiered on August 5, 2012 and presented by Dingdong Dantes, together with Carla Abellana and Maxene Magalona. The gala nights were directed by Rommel Gacho.
Overview
According to the show's fan page, there will be a "new kind of battle". Rumor has it that the incoming season will feature the other talent like acting or dancing and eventually will be an artista search like StarStruck did and it turned out to be true. The show follows the same format as the, except that it is no longer a singing competition but a talent artista search. Aspirants with ages 13 to 21 will be filtered until the two winners emerge - one male and one female protégé. In this battle, they are looking for a total package - an artist who can sing, dance, act, and possess that charismatic appeal over T.V. Like the first Protégé competition, this season will have judges/mentors who will be responsible for training and mentoring the chosen candidates. Twenty contestants will then be selected from thousands of hopefuls. These 20 potential artists will live in the Protégé house complete with amenities including bedrooms for each contestant, a living room, dining area with 20 seating capacity, a rehearsal area where they can practice dancing, singing, and acting, and a confession room where they will be asked to explain themselves in case of issues within the house or if a task is to be assigned privately. They will also battle it out head to head for audience votes. The Protégé house was just recently blessed and featured over the news of GMA Network long before contestants reside there. The winner will get a 5-year contract with GMA Network.
Aside from their respective mentors who serve as their guardian all the way through their journey, the protégés have coaches who also help them improve in their chosen craft.
The original schedule of auditions in SM Sucat is May 20, 2012
The original schedule of auditions in SM Mall of Asia is June 20–21, 2012
After the city auditions, Protégé also gave the hopefuls an alternative way to audition via online.
Semifinalists
After a series of auditions, a mentor chose eight hopefuls from the shortlist and those who passed from the online auditions. These eight aspiring protégés, which were composed of four boys and four girls, were called to come back for the final deliberation to determine the official four protégés. The other four protégés who were not chosen were eliminated. The twenty semifinalists who failed to advance in the finals are as follows:
Finalists
Originally, there were four protégés per mentor for this season, totaling twenty protéges. However, during the first week of Top 10, each mentor chose one of his or her remaining protegés to stay under his or her guidance. The protégés who were not chosen were later picked by other mentors, making a new protégé-mentor tandem. The twenty finalists were confirmed as follows: Key:
Weekly episodes
Elimination chart
Mentor Key: There was no elimination held but the Bottom 2 from each region were chosen. The bottom two protégés competed between each other to defend their slot. The challenge winners were the protégés who received special awards and were granted an immunity from elimination for that week. As part of the shock, the mentors had to choose a new protege from the other "mentor less proteges" who performed that night. The gala night was a non-elimination night. That gala night was already the first part of The Final Battle.
