Liezel was first asked to sing the heartfelt “Hiding My Feelings” but was later changed to “Letting Go.” Apple sang the former. MP3s available after the jump.

LISTEN TO BOTH SONGS AND COMMENT AFTER THE JUMP.

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Proven fact: Watching the show live is way better than watching it on TV.

Liezel, Bunny and Cris did the Spice Girls proud! Strutting their stuff on stage, the girls gave us an outstanding rendition of late 90’s hit song, Stop. LIEZEL LOOKED EXQUISITE! Good thing they worked the stage a little with cute dancing and walking. Judge Louie was impressed. “Finally we’re having fun. I’m giving you a 10!,” he commented.

Listen to Liezel, Bunny and Cris – Stop

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I didn’t like the idea that they had to perform twice in a row. From fast song to acapella? Nakakahingal. LOL.

Anyway, the trio pulled off another girl band hit, Tide Is High. There’s something with this song (not the performance) that makes me not like it. The blending was beautifully executed as they made the most out of the song. Another lovely number!

Listen to Liezel, Bunny and Cris – Tide Is High

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Judge Louie: “You know, to do an acapella number is one of the most difficult things. And I must congratulate you for doing a good job, though, syempre hindi kasing ganda ng isa, pero maganda pa rin. Nag enjoy ako, so I gave you an 8.7.”

No probationary scholars this week. But on Saturday, the Acadreamers will have to go up against each other. Lower score = Probation. Again, I hate this idea.

Liezel Garcia (Listen by Beyonce) vs Laarni Losala (Di Ko Kayang Tanggapin by April Boy)
Van Pojas (Through The Fire by Chaka Khan) vs Hansen Nichols (Bailamos by Enrique Iglesias)
Chris Pastor (It’s Raining Men by Geri Haliwell) vs Bunny Malunda
Bugoy Bogayan vs Apple Abarquez
Miguel Mendoza vs Inaki Ting

Goodluck!

WATCH THE PERFORMANCE AND COMMENT AFTER THE JUMP!

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RANT: What was up with the group’s “Goodbye Song” performance? I didn’t get it. LOL.

Dressed in a sexy silver cocktail dress (thank you Justin for the term), Liezel looked exceptionally stunning during the Pinoy Dream Academy’s 5th Gala Night. She got the pimp spot, and brought us her rendition of Sa Aking Pag-iisa, another one of those Regene-ified hits with lotsa curly runs making it too complicated for anyone to sing. As much as I would like to patronize this performance, it wasn’t really one of my favorites from her. The side-to-side striding was fun to watch, her movements weren’t awkward at all. But I’ve never been a fan of incoherent background dancers on singing competitions. It was as if her every turn was confusion because of the extra people in the background.

Listen to Liezel Garcia – Sa Aking Pag-iisa

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Judge Gerard: “Hi Liezel. As usual, ang galing. Pero some of the low notes of the song medyo wala sa range mo, hindi mo maabot. The microphone was getting away from you while you were dancing around the stage so medyo may ibang parts na hindi namin marinig. But otherwise, I mean, the only thing we’re worried about is yung progress mo. You have to keep getting better kasi the better you are, the harder it is to improve. Just keep moving and moving and moving, pero ang galing.”

Mr. Salonga was right, off mic moments were much of a bother. Pure vocals are still intact, nonetheless. She has this timbre to her voice that’s truly captivating – slow or upbeat. Though I would’ve preferred hearing the original mellow version of the song, I appreciated Liezel’s tenacity to stir things up, singing the fast paced part that suited her. Regene’s songs, as well as Whitney’s and Mariah’s, are way too rangy and so owned. Too oversang by many, that no matter how hard you try to follow the melody hitting all high flying notes, it’ll still come out as copycat suicide. Talk about diva comparison. The disco melody proved that Zhel can sing well on the dance genre too. The girl also knew how to work the stage. Quite impressive.

Liezel’s performance was pleasant enough to land the Top 3 as she garnered 8.73, same score as Laarni – who had one of her best nights, by the way. Bugoy managed to top the evening with his Boyz II Men take, getting an 8.80 average.

WATCH THE PERFORMANCE AND COMMENT AFTER THE JUMP!

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First off, Resident Judge Gerard’s comment: “Hanep! That was really good! Pati yung kulot sabay na sabay, it was great! Yung konting diction issues lang, pero, if you can just work on that. Whew! Okay na to!”

Now someone’s in the mood! Mr. Salonga couldn’t be more impressed with this hot duet from Bugoy and Zhel. Suffice it to say that the duo delivered one of, if not, the best performance of the evening. The runs were spot-on, excellently rehearsed and not overdone – a rarity. “If I Ain’t Got You” has been sung a million times now with all the screeching, shouting and overlapping. Bugoy and Zhel showed us the way to perform without overkilling it.

Listen to Liezel Garcia and Bugoy Bogayan – If I Ain’t Got You

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Middle of the week, song change occurred and it was a bit of a disappointment. They switched their gala piece from “Hanggang” to “If I Ain’t Got You.” “Hanggang” is one of the most beautifully written songs ever – with the complete absence of cheesiness and mushiness – plus a lovely melody and a personal favorite. The sweetness of Liezel’s voice complimented Bugoy’s R&B-ish tone during a rehearsal. I thought it was so heartfelt, it would’ve given them enough praises for another Star Scholar week. But maybe, Liezel didn’t want to stick with mellow songs and lullabies. A wise choice indeed.

They pulled it off. So congrats to Bugoy & Liezel!

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It’s UBERTURE time! Just heard from my good friend, Brad, over at PEX that Liezel is now a certified One Voice member and this Saturday’s Gala Night will be a Duets Night! Bugoy chooses Liezel, which I think is a good team-up. I was a bit worried though about their what’s-it-gonna-be choice of song.

I don’t wanna hear: Please Be Careful With My Heart, Say That You Love Me, I Finally Found Someone, I Want To Spend My Lifetime
Ayokong marinig: Magkasuyo Buong Gabi, Ikaw Lamang, Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang

Not that I hate them. It’s just that, these songs have been owned. Unless you’re David Cook and you put a little twist on it.

Listen to Liezel and Bugoy’s “Hanggang”

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Anyhow, I was in awe upon hearing Liezel and Bugoy’s run through. The blending was just perfect, both voices were crystal, and it’s a Tagalog song! Yay. Bring it on guys!

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Liezel maintained Star Scholar regime with an 8.70 score as she performed “So Much In Love” during the 3rd Gala Performance Night of Pinoy Dream Academy, July 5. Originally done by Sheena Easton, this was actually the first time we’ve seen Zhel smokin’ an upbeat song. I thought it was okay, though I much prefer seeing her perform a slow poppin’ R&B hit. But what the heck. At least she isn’t boring, and we are now aware she could pull of a Rihanna. Change is good.

Judges were presented. First was musical director Gerard Salonga, who have been pretty much the Simon Cowell of PDA. I really like him – he knows musicality and does not compromise with the cheering audience. Check out his insightful feedback on Christian Alvear’s. Anway, singer Rachelle Ann Go was this week’s guest judge and sitting beside her was resident judge Louie Ocampo.

Host Billie was with Zhel and the 2 probies, Jet and Sheng, as we saw the footage of Liezel’s mom receiving the “Star Scholar” gift – a necklace. Mommy is evidently happy and proud of her daughter’s achievements, reminding Zhel to stay grounded.

“I love you, yun lang talaga. Na-mimiss ko na siya.” says teary-eyed Liezel to her mom.

As last week’s Star Scholar, she was up first. I thought (and was hoping) Mr. Salonga would take on Zhel since he was the first one introduced among the jury.

Listen to Liezel Garcia – So Much In Love

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Rachel: “Sobrang ganda ng boses mo, super. Nakikinig ako kanina, sobrang linis. Yun nga lang, medyo, sa stage, medyo stiff lang ng konti. Okay naman yung song mo kaso mas gusto ko yung nanggagaling sa mata sana yung nararamdaman galing sa puso. Pero overall naman okay naman yung performance. Sobrang ganda ng boses mo.”

I second to that. A little movement on stage won’t hurt, Liezel. It’s an uptempo song and we need to do that thang, y’know! Haha. Nevertheless, that mesmerizing voice that we love was stirring, flawless than ever. Oh, and no noticeable diction problems, yay! Congrats!

WATCH THE PERFORMANCE AND COMMENT AFTER THE JUMP!

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