Change venue for finals of ‘Marianas Got Talent: Battle of the Voices’

The grand finale of the Marianas Got Talent: Battle of the Voices on Nov. 26, 2023, will be seeing a change of venue, from the Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center to the Saipan World Resort.

In its presentation at the Rotary Club of Saipan on Tuesday at the Crowne Plaza in Garapan, representatives of the Music Performing Arts Competition Corp. said they were prompted to change the venue as the Multi-Purpose Center wasn’t available on their chosen date.

MPACC chair Daniel Quitugua said that, although they have been using the Multi-Purpose Center for the event “unfortunately we got word that it will not be available on the 25th so…the standby option was to go to World Resort,” he said.

MPACC treasurer Arlene Reyes promises that the finals will be a “grand show.”

“There’s so much rumbling on the island. There’s so much excitement that is going on with respect to Mariana’s Got Talent,” she said

It will not just be the contestants that will take the stage. Reyes said there will also be performances by the judges.

With 14 contestants left in the competition, three individuals will win cash prizes: $1,500 for first place; $1,300, second place; and $1,100 for third place, along with a chance to compete in national competitions like America’s Got Talent, The Voice, and American Idol.

“Our goal is to consistently have a competition here to find someone who can represent us, the Marianas—and we know that we have those talents. …The three contestants [who] will win will represent the CNMI in either AGT, American Idol, or The Voice, depending on their age and the age contestants can join. We have different contestants in different age ranges, so depending on who wins will determine which network they will be going to perform.”

Since the funds raised from the competition will go toward the winning contestants’ tickets and lodgings when competing at the national level, Reyes said that ticket prices will be a bit higher for the grand finale at $20 per ticket.

Quitugua said that MPACC has been getting a lot of positive response from not only Saipan residents, but even from off island, and they are hoping to expand the competition.

“We’re thinking of taking Marianas Got Talent down to Rota and Tinian as well. We have planned to move it down to Guam, and we have been receiving requests from Micronesia and Palau to bring it over there. Our major problem right now is funding. Funding is very critical to us because you have to engage people to come and join the competition,” Quitugua said.

He said they are also looking for sponsors. “We are fully booked as far as events are concerned. We just need a little help with funding for all of these events. We plan to be more self-reliant rather than be dependent on the business community but we just need a little bit of a headstart to get us moving,” he added.

Both Quitugua and Reyes said the competition will be an annual event for Saipan from August to November. “Every month you will be hearing, you will be seeing, and you will be watching activities with respect to music here on our small island of Saipan,” said Quitugua.