10 make it to Idol contest, six vie in Battle of Bands
From an electrifying ballad to heart-thumping island and rap music, the Marianas Idol 3 open auditions brought the house down at Saipan Grand Hotel’s Club V Wednesday night.
Of the 26 enthusiastic participants who showed up for the open audition, 10 singers made the cut and will be battling it out in tonight’s semi-finals of the Marianas Idol 3, dubbed as the biggest and the ultimate singing competition in the CNMI.
The top ten MI3 finalists are Parker Yobei, Juanette Villagomez, Ku “Steven” Jung, Tanya Dela Cruz, Marvin Espelleta, Angela Pinaula, Jerry Maglonzo, Chanel Cabrera, Tikla Brown, and Judy Sou.
“It’s a huge turnout,” said Charter Day Committee head Ed Propst, adding that Wednesday night’s open auditions was the first well attended audition in the history of the competition, with a standing-room-only crowd.
“Contestants ranged from 15 years of age to 50 and sang old hits from the ’70s to modern-day rap songs,” added Propst.
The contestants that auditioned had such diverse ethnic backgrounds, including Chamorros, Carolinians, Palauans, Filipinos, and Koreans.
The audition judges were NMC’s Mark Mendiola, Lorraine Cabrera, and Lynnette Castro. Propst hosted the event. “Ryan Seacrest was unavailable,” he quipped.
“It was difficult with so many talented singers to narrow down the 10 semi-finalists. Judges met after the competition for an hour and a half to compile scores and break ties. In the end, there were only 10,” Propst said.
Tonight the 10 will compete again to narrow the field to five who will advance to the finals tomorrow night for the $1,000 grand prize, courtesy of Pacific Trading Co., Ltd.
Propst said the open auditions would not have been successful without the assistance of Saipan Grand Hotel, SGH F&B restaurant manager Lance Razon and Pacific Trading Co. Ltd.’s Glen Hunter and Mike Babauta.
BATTLE OF THE BANDS
In related news, six amateur and professional bands will also compete in tonight’s NMC Charter Day’s celebration.
The competing bands include Grooveline, Frozen Nipple, Sound Structure, Meskla, Jake and the No Talent Nothings, and the Nekkid Boys.
