The Chief of OPM could not hide his utter admiration for the TNT defending champion’s show-stopping performance.
Tawag Ng Tanghalan defending champion, Eich Abando, brought the entire It’s Showtime studio to its feet, with almost every audience paying him an explosive round of applause and a standing ovation. Before joining the noontime singing competition, Abando was producing and writing music. His incredible style was not surprising at all, but it still mesmerized the audience and the members of the judging panel. That was apparent, judging the standing ovation given by the judges at the end of his performance.
Abando battled against Riolyn Tuhay on September 15, 2022. Tuhay won her daily ‘battle of versions’ bout a day earlier, against John Joseph Saban. Interestingly, both Tuhay and Saban were discovered via their viral impromptu performance of the Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli classic, The Prayer, at a mall in Cebu City. It was It’s Showtime host, Vhong Navarro, who notified the TNT team, which then invited the pair to audition for the show.
In her battle against Abando, Tuhay performed her version of the Aegis hit, Sayang Na Sayang. She wowed the judges, but it was enough to convince them to give her the golden microphone. Abando ruled the match with a whopping 98.3%, which is already one of the highest scores ever given to a contestant since the current season began in November, last year.
That very high score seemed not enough to pay tribute to Abando’s vocal prowess, and one of the judges, Ogie Alcasid, went beyond the usual practice of giving a standing ovation to an exemplary contestant. The OPM Chief stood atop the judging table, to make sure everyone could see him doing his act of commendation for Abando.
Abando represents the province of Bulacan. His latest match was with Alyssa del Sol, which took place on September 17. He needs one more win to secure a place in the quarter-finals is expected to happen very soon.
