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28 March 2024

Teen Pinoy star Roel Manlangit uses prize to build house

Published
By Choy Navarro

After beating the other finalists in a reality television talent show, the teen singing sensation Roel Manlangit said he will use his 2-million-peso (Dh173,701.87) prize money to build a new home for his family.
 
“I’m very happy because I won,” he told reporters Sunday night when winners of the Season 4 grand finals of ABS-CBN’s ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ (Philippines Has Got Talent) were announced at the Pagcor Grand Theatre in Metro Manila’s Parañaque City. “I want to thank God, my family and those who supported me.”
 
The 13-year-old belter and YouTube sensation has joined the ranks of previous winners Jovet Baldivino, Marcelito Pomoy and the Maasinhon Trio after he won over five other finalists for his rendition of ‘Noypi’—an anagram of Pinoy, which is a slang for Filipino—a song popularised by the Filipino indie band ‘Bamboo’.
 
“We’ll use the money to build a new house,” said Manlangit, whose family lost their home in the southern Philippine city of Valencia when typhoon ‘Pablo’ hit Bukidnon province in December 2012.
 
This was the fourth straight season that the show, hosted by Luis Manzano and Billy Crawford, crowned a singer as its grand winner.
 
Based on ‘Got Talent’ franchise, a British TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell’s SYCO company, ‘Pilipinas Got Talent’ has actress-TV host and presidential sister Kris Aquino, media executive Freddie Garcia and comedienne and box-office queen Ai-Ai de las Alas for its panel of judges.
 
Manlangit, who shot to internet fame last year after a video of him singing Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ went viral, garnered 30.22 percent of the nationwide votes for his rendition of ‘Noypi’ during the performance night last Saturday.
 
His video that went viral now has over 2 million views on YouTube.
 
The ring dancer Frankendel Fabroa and the singing group MP3 Band won first runner-up and second runner-up as they respectively garnered 26.07 percent and 17.48 percent nationwide votes. They each brought home 100,000 pesos (Dh8,685.50) in cash prize.
 
The three other finalists went home with 50,000 pesos each (Dh4,342.76). These were the dance groups Zilent Overload, with 11.91 percent of nationwide votes, and D’Intensity Breakers (11.87 percent) and the car-rifting duo Lateral Drift Productions (2.44 percent).