I am proud to announce that Liezel once again captured and won the judges’ hearts with her soulful rendition of Whitney Houston’s Count On Me. She was the only one who got praises from toughie – acclaimed Musical Director Gerard Salonga.

Listen to Liezel Garcia – Count On Me

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Judge Gerard: “Hi Liezel. You have a gift. You have a very nice voice. Ganda ng voice mo. Very musical. ‘Eto lang ang problema ko. Number one is English diction, medyo kailangan trabahuin ng konti. Secondly, hindi ko maramdaman kung kinakanta mo para sa akin o para sa’yo yung kanta. Hindi ko alam. Make sure you deliver the message of the song to us, to the listeners. Pero galing!”

I agree with Direk Gerard’s points for improvement. He sounded a bit Cowell-ish though. What he probably meant was, Liezel’s tension was more evident than her connection. I completely understand his side. Hope this wouldn’t be taken for granted by the mentors.

Toni announced that last week’s Star Scholar Liezel could give her “small dream” gift personally to her Aunt Miguela. Her cousin, MariFe, went up the stage in behalf of her mom.

“Sana lagi siya magiingat sa health niya. Kasi medyo matanda na rin. So laging ingat lang sa health. At miss ko na sila,” said Liezel.

Then we saw some exceprts from the mentors’ room.

Mr. C: “.. mga star scholars masyadong pressured yung performance nila. I think Leizel was pushing too hard.”

Nevertheless, Liezel managed to bag the Star Scholar prestige for the second time! The other top scholars were Bugoy with his unexpected twist on “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” and Laarni who bounced back with Streisand Classic, “As If We Never Said Goodbye.”

Kudos to ex-Scholar Chivas for his Pink stint with “Just Like A Pill.” I definitely thought this performance would’ve given Liezel a run for her money. Haha.

WATCH THE PERFORMANCE AND COMMENT AFTER THE JUMP!

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This was my original post about PDA a week ago. I do not know Liezel yet, or any of the contestants for that matter. Pictures and clips were just added today.

Read on, friends!

Pinoy Dream Academy (PDA) was on before Idol ended. I was a bit worried that I might waste another good hour of my existence watching it. Heck, no! I must say, the Scholars (as they call them) are trained well enough to put on a good show! The format – excellent – except for the 24-hour surveillance. Not a fan of Big Brother-ish shows here. I like the way they judge the contestants – from musicality to overall packaging and yes, they make sense. It’s not your typical “Maganda ka. I like you.” comments. I can definitely tell that the jurors know what they’re talking about. Try listening intently, you’ll learn a thing or two. This is my honest perception as a viewer, not as a Kapuso or Kapamilya, which, by the way, I’m neither. I wasn’t paying much attention to it, I was doing something else, ergo, the unnamed characters.

Listen to Liezel Garcia – Dance With My Father

I’ll still give it a shot. Here are some performances I wanna give Kudos to. I have no idea what their names are but I’m pretty sure you know who I am referring to, if you do watch.
1. That girl from Puerto Galera — Wohoo! The runs baby! Her “Dance With My Father” rendition was hottt! She reminds me of a mellowed-down Beyonce, which is good. I felt her vibe.

2. House Is Not A Home Guy — The low note on the latter part was just beautiful. This guy’s gonna sound good in recordings. If I remember correctly, he has a girlfriend among the scholars. Was he in Philippine Idol?
3. The Papa Song Girl — Darn. I really can’t remember. I want this entry to be as realistic as it could be so I’m not surfing for their names. LOL. Anyway, my brother and I both agreed on one thing — stage actress. It’s like you’re in Phantom Of The Opera in Vegas. Impressive. The voice was pure, she had a poker face althroughout though. I’m hoping she’ll give us another flavor next week coz I find her really good.

I can’t recall the other performances. LOL. I’ll probably ETA this one later, or post another entry with their real names.

WATCH THE PERFORMANCE AND COMMENT AFTER THE JUMP!

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