Tawag ng Tanghalan


Tawag ng Tanghalan is an amateur singing competition currently aired as a segment of the noontime program It's Showtime on ABS-CBN. Dubbed as "your all time favorite search for outstanding amateur talents," the competition is open to Filipino contenders from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and overseas.
The segment first aired on January 2, 2016, and has aired four regular seasons, one kids edition, one celebrity edition and one all-star edition. There have been seven winners to date: Noven Belleza, Jhon Clyd Talili, Janine Berdin, Elaine Duran, Ethel Booba and Mark Michael Garcia.

History

First and second incarnations (1954-1988)

Tawag ng Tanghalan debuted as a radio talent search program on DZBB-AM in 1954. It was later aired on television DZAQ-TV until 1972 following the declaration of Martial Law by former President Ferdinand Marcos. It was revived from 1987 to 1988 following the relaunch of ABS-CBN.
Noted OPM artists like Armand Panlilio, Nora Aunor, Novo Bono Jr., Pepe Pimentel, Edgar Mortiz and Diomedes Maturan were among the winners of the original program.

Third incarnation (2016-present)

Tawag ng Tanghalan returned as a daily segment on ABS-CBN's noontime program It's Showtime.

Format

The regular season is divided into four quarters, with semifinals taking place at the end of each quarter. Two semifinalists with the highest scores from each quarter, together with winners from the wildcard rounds, move on to compete in the grand finals.

Daily rounds

Elimination round

Daily contenders from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao perform in front of a live audience and are scored by a panel of judges composed of a Head Judge and four regular judges. For the first two regular seasons, and kids edition, the judging criteria were as follows:
In the following seasons, the judging criteria were modified:
The first criterion includes intonation, enunciation, voice projection and technique. The second criterion comprises timing, mastery of lyrics, stage presence and audience impact.
If the contender goes out-of-tune, the Punong Hurado has the option to signal the gong master to hit the gong three times, thereby stopping the performance and eliminating the contender, à la-Major Bowes Amateur Hour. This mechanic was omitted in the kids edition presumably to prevent judges from upsetting young contenders, instead relying solely on the judges' verdict and overall score to determine the winner. In the fourth season, the four regular judges have also been given the power to gong a contender if they all press their buzzers.
The winning daily contender receives, while the other contenders receive a consolation prize of.
In Celebrity Champions, the winner in the elimination round automatically advances to the semifinals.

Face-off round

The daily contender with the highest score moves on to the face-off round to challenge the defending champion and attempt to steal the golden microphone. The winner in the face-off round gets to claim the golden microphone and defend their title against the next winning daily contender. Defending champions who achieve a five-time winning streak advances as a semifinalist, but may opt to continue their winning streak up to ten. Those who continue and achieve ten straight wins become a Tawag ng Tanghalan record holder and get to select a bonus prize. In Kids, this was reduced to five straight wins. In the fourth season, a defending champion may advance to the semifinals with four straight wins.
The defending champion receives for each win.

Semifinals

Quarter semifinals

The semifinalists perform a song based on a theme for each day. The contenders are scored by hurados and the audience through text votes. The judges may still gong a contender in this round.
The two semifinalists with the highest combined score from the judges and the public at the end of the six days move on to the grand finals and receive and a golden medal. The losing semifinalists receive a consolation prize of, and gets an chance to return as wildcard contenders in the Ultimate Resbak round.

Global Semifinals

In addition to the four semifinals, an additional semifinals are held for overseas contenders. The semifinalists compete for additional two spots in the grand finals.

Wildcard rounds

Instant ''Resbak''

In the third season, every judge is given the power to save one losing defending champion in the face-off round. The saved contender advances to compete in the Instant Resbak for a chance to re-enter the competition as a grand finalist. The judges may still gong a contender in this round.

Ultimate ''Resbak''

Semifinalists who failed to advance to the grand finals advances to the Ultimate Resbak round for a chance to re-enter the competition as a grand finalist. The judges may still gong a contender in this round.
In the first season, the semifinalists are grouped into four and must compete in two rounds. In the first round, a group performs with individual songs. The semifinalists with the highest combined scores from the judges and the public for each group will advance to the second round. In the second round, the four remaining semifinalists perform again with individual songs. The two contenders garnering the highest combined scores from the judges and the public advance to the grand finals.
In the second and third seasons, the Ultimate Resbak round follows a last man standing format. Two semifinalists who are in the Seat of Power choose two semifinalists. These chosen semifinalists battle it out for a chance to challenge and dethrone the sitting semifinalists. If the challenger wins, the semifinalist in the Seat of Power is dethroned. If the semifinalist in the Seat of Power wins, they remain in their seat. This continues until there are only two semifinalists left.

Final ''Resbak''

In the third season, Tawag ng Tanghalan introduced the Final Resbak. This round allows losing finalists from the Instant and Ultimate Resbak rounds to battle for the last slot in the grand finals. The judges may still gong a contender in this round.

Grand finals

The finalists compete in the week-long grand finals, dubbed as The Final Face-off, through a series of rounds. The finalist with the highest combined scores from the judges and the public for each round advances to the live finale. In the second and third seasons, the finalist with the lowest score for each round is also eliminated.
In the first and second seasons, the judges may still gong a contender in this round. This was discontinued in the third season.
In the live finale, the competition is divided into two parts. The six finalists sing their journey song in the first part. The three finalists with the highest combined scores from the judges and the public will move on to the second part, wherein they will sing a medley songs by their chosen artist. The finalist with the highest score will be named the grand champion.
The weekday rounds are held in ABS-CBN Studio 3, while the live finales are usually held in a large venue.

Judges and hosts

Judges

The judging panel is composed of a Head Judge and four regular judges.
Legend
Notes
  1. ^ regular edition for Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
  2. ^ regular edition for Tuesday, and Thursday
  3. ^ fill-in for Valera and Valenciano; Hurado/Regular
  4. ^ fill-in for Constantino and Alcasid; Kids Edition

    Hosts

Main hosts

Season 1 (2016-2017)

The first season debuted on January 2, 2016. The season concluded on March 11, 2017 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater, Resorts World Manila in Pasay.
After more than a year, Noven Belleza of Visayas emerged as the grand champion. Belleza won a musical instrument package from JB Music, family vacation trip, recording contract from Star Music, business package, a house and lot from Camella, a trophy and. Sam Mangubat was declared as runner-up, while Froilan Canlas finished at third place.

Kids (2017)

Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids is a special edition for contenders ages 7 to 13. Auditions were held on December 4, 2016. The season premiered on March 13, 2017 with the additions of Jed Madela and Jolina Magdangal to the judging panel. Yeng Constantino served as the Head Judge for this season. The season concluded on June 10, 2017 at ABS-CBN Studio 3.
Jhon Clyd Talili of Mindanao emerged as the grand champion, taking home a business package from Siomai House, a house and lot from Camella, a trophy and from Topps. Keifer Sanchez of Mindanao was declared second placer, while Mackie Empuerto of Luzon finished at third place.

Season 2 (2017-2018)

The second season premiered on June 12, 2017. For this season, the competition was also opened for global Filipino contenders from different parts of the world. Rey Valera returned as Head Judge, while Gary Valenciano was added to the judging panel. The season concluded on June 2, 2018 at Aliw Theater in Pasay City.
Janine Berdin from Visayas emerged as the second grand champion, taking home an ultimate vacation package from 2GO Travel, music gadgets package from JB Music, business package from Siomai House, premium television sets from HKTV, talent management contract, a brand new house and lot from Camella, a trophy and from Nescafé Creamy White. Ato Arman of Mindanao was declared second placer, while Steven Paysu of North America finished at third place.

Season 3 (2018-2019)

The third season premiered on June 25, 2018. The competition's 1975 champion Dulce, Randy Santiago and Zsa Zsa Padilla were added to the judging panel. The season concluded on September 28, 2019 at the Caloocan Sports Complex in Brgy. Bagumbong, Caloocan City.
Elaine Duran of Mindanao, the first TNT record holder, emerged as the third grand champion, receiving an ultimate family vacation package to Bali, Indonesia from Gingerbon, custom in-ear monitors from FlipEars, business franchise from Potato Giant, talent management contract from ABS-CBN and TNTV, recording Contract from TNT Records, brand new house and lot from Camella, a trophy and ₱2,000,000. John Mark Saga of Luzon, the second TNT record holder, was declared second placer, while John Michael dela Cerna of Mindanao finished at third place.

Celebrity Champions (2019)

Tawag ng Tanghalan: Celebrity Champions is a celebrity edition aired on October 7, 2019 as part of the month-long celebration of It's Showtime's 10th anniversary. The season concluded on November 9, 2019 at ABS-CBN Studio 3.
Ethel Booba of Mindanao emerged as the grand champion, receiving a recording contract from TNT Records, custom in-ear monitors from FlipEars, a trophy and. Jason Fernandez and Roxanne Barcelo finished second and third place, respectively.

All-Star Grand Resbak (2019)

TNT All-Star Grand Resbak is a special edition for contenders from past seasons who failed to advance to the grand finals. It premiered on November 11, 2019 and concluded on December 21, 2019 at ABS-CBN Studio 3.
Mark Michael Garcia from Metro Manila was hailed as the grand champion, taking home a business franchise from Potato Giant, recording contract from TNT Records, management contract from ABS-CBN, a trophy and. Jex De Castro of Metro Manila, Sofronio Vasquez III and Julius Cawaling of Luzon finished at second, third and fourth place, respectively.

Season 4 (2020-2021)

The fourth season premiered on January 4, 2020. Pilita Corrales was added to the panel of judges this season. However, the season was put on hiatus due to the 2019-20 Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. The season was resumed on June 13, 2020 after 3 months since the lockdown in Luzon and legislative franchise.

Controversies and criticisms

Season 1">Tawag ng Tanghalan (season 1)">Season 1

has often as a judge been criticized by viewers and critics alike for his offensive comments to contestants regarding their physical appearance. He has received backlash on the internet for repeated incidences of body-shaming several female contestants and failing to focus on the contestants' singing skills.
Karla Estrada's qualification as judge has also been questioned by some viewers.
Judges' scores and text votes results are also questioned by many viewers either for lack of transparency, a faulty system that fails to confirm their votes thru SMS, allegations of unfair judging and similar claims that the show is rigged.
In the 2017 Grand Final, acclaimed actress Nora Aunor, the original Tawag ng Tanghalan Grand Champion in 1968, was scheduled to be the special judge but pulled out at the last minute due to a conflict with Vice Ganda, one of the main hosts of the show. According to reports, Aunor believed Ganda's brand of insult comedy was against her moral beliefs and made her deeply uncomfortable with the idea of being on the show.

Season 2">Tawag ng Tanghalan (season 2)">Season 2

On May 22, 2018, in the Ultimate Resbak rounds, after the first round of songs between Ato Arman and Aila Santos, Ato Arman advances to the second round. However, there has been negative criticisms against Hurado Jaya. Vice Ganda defends Jaya, and stated that she is one of the two hurados that voted for Aila Santos.

Season 3">Tawag ng Tanghalan (season 3)">Season 3

Since 2018, Tawag ng Tanghalan is often mentioned as one of the factors for longer airtime of It's Showtime, which in turn led to subsequent delays for the afternoon and primetime programs of ABS-CBN.
One of the semifinalists of Quarter 4, Season 3, Shantal Cuizon, made a headline when she made a controversial post in Twitter saying "Composer ka lang" and "Hustisya". Later, after her public apology, it was deleted and deactivated her Twitter account for good.
On the September 11 episode, after the second round of songs between Mariane Osabel and Mariko Ledesma, Mariko took the seat of power, dethroning Mariane. But when the screen appeared where the split scoring was revealed, the viewers noticed that Mariane's score given by the judges was 16.50%, while Mariko received 50%. Due to the allegedly "rigged" results, netizens used #HustisyaParaKayMariane and it was trending on Twitter, citing the expression, rants and sentiments over the score given by the judges.
On September 14, 2019, Hurado Dulce speaks out regarding to the controversial result last September 11, 2019.
With the recent controversy of the alleged results, Mariane withdrew the opportunity to compete for the Final Resbak due to her health problem. Mariko, who was one of the finalist for the Huling Tapatan, also withdrew her slot due to the netizens backlash to her.

Revenue and commercial venues

TNT Versions

In June 2017, Tawag ng Tanghalan debuted TNT Versions or TNTV, a YouTube channel featuring cover videos from its alumni and TNTNow, livestreams featuring OPM icons.

TNT Records

In July 2018, Tawag ng Tanghalan launched in own record label TNT Records under the guidance of ABS-CBN and Star Music to create platforms for its alumni. Its first signed artists were the TNT Boys, Janine Berdin, Ato Arman, Eumee Capile, Froilan Canlas, Anton Antenorcruz, Arabelle Dela Cruz, Reggie Tortugo, Sheena Belarmino and Steven Paysu. Second season finalists JM Bales, Christian Bahaya and Sofronio Vasquez were also launched as COVE, while Lalaine Araña and Pauline Agupitan were introduced as Bukang Liwayway.
TNT Records has released the following singles:
SongArtistDate ReleasedComposer
"Biyaya"Janine BerdinJuly 27, 2018Chochay Magno
"Bratatat"Eumee CapileJuly 27, 2018Chochay Magno
"Isang Pangako"Ato ArmanAugust 17, 2018Vehnee Saturno
"Gustong Gusto Kita"COVEOctober 28, 2018Ato Arman
"Wala Nang Iba"Froilan CanlasNovember 23, 2018Noel Fuellas
"Together We Fly"TNT BoysSeptember 21, 2019Chochay Magno
"Pabuhat"TNT All-StarsOctober 22, 2019Jonathan Manalo
Tito Cayamanda
Yael Yuzon
Yumi Lacsamana
"Iniismol"Ryle SantiagoDecember 27, 2019Ryle Santiago
"Wala Ako N'yan"Janine BerdinDecember 27, 2019Janine Berdin
"Dating Angkin"AntenorcruzJanuary 24, 2020Froilan Canlas
Ngayong Dumating Ka NaAto ArmanJanuary 31, 2020Reyman Gem Alferez

Concerts

Accolades