“Hay salamat, mukhang ito may talent talaga,” judge Kris Aquino blurted when she first saw Jovit Baldivino walk towards the “Pilipinas Got Talent” stage for his audition. Her gut feel was right — the 16-year old Batangueño would eventually win legions of fans and become the first grand prize winner in the talent search.
Out of the 12 finalists who battled it out during the grand finals at the Araneta Coliseum on June 12, the small-town boy with the “God-given” voice proved he not only has the pipes reminiscent of Journey frontman Arnel Pineda, but, as Kris puts it, he has “charisma.” Bulletin Entertainment saw how the crowd got smitten by him that night. Jovit got the loudest cheers, mostly coming from the Jovinatics. Off-air, during the Independence Day performance night show, fans screamed out his name; raising streamers and waving balloons the moment he stepped on stage.
After his performance came the verdict: Comedienne and “Pilipinas Got Talent” judge Ai-Ai delas Alas dubbed him as an “endangered specie” while Kris seems to have set in stone that he is “the next big superstar.” Even man of few words Freddie M. Garcia a.k.a. “FMG” used multiple adjectives in describing how pleased he was with Jovit’s version of Brian May’s “Too Much Love Will Kill You.” “You are unbelievably very, very good,” said Freddie. The online community loves Jovit, too. His performance of “Faithfully” (1,690,509 views), and semi-finals rendition of “Carrie” (734, 481 views) have turned him into one of the most-watched contestants on YouTube. So, whether Jovit joins the powerhouse singers on “ASAP XV” or take over Willie Revillame on “Wowowee” or star on a teleserye with Sarah Geronimo, one this is for sure: Pinoys will remain forever his… faithfully.
(Read more on Manila Bulletin News and Yahoo! Philippines Entertainment News)
