The Bea Muñoz-Miguel Mendoza showdown during the 5th Gala
Night of Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2
was probably what the people behind the show hoped for. In fact, many viewers,
during the earlier parts of the show, speculated the real-life couple was
included in the roster to add drama to the reality singing competition. It
didn't seem possible at first: Miguel was touted as one of the show's early
forerunners—due to his stint in ABC-'s Philippine
Idol two years ago—while Bea never managed to impress the jurors in the
four previous performance nights. But thanks to a duet challenge last week, Bea
and Miguel fought head-to-head for survival last night, July 19, at the PDA
Concert Hall in Quezon City.
But in the end, it was the vocally inferior Bea who was sent
home. She got a percentage of 25.15 of the total text votes, while her
boyfriend Miguel got 74.85 percent. While Miguel's lead over Bea was
overwhelming, the same can't be said about the couple's performances.
PDA resident judge Louie Ocampo said he wanted to see Miguel perform better but
felt his performance of Westlife's "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" was
musically off. The other judges agreed—Miguel received the second lowest grade
this week, although he was saved from possible expulsion by the academy's
faculty. Gerard Salonga, on the other hand, said he saw Bea worked very hard to
deliver "Yakap sa Dilim" but added the effort was not enough. "I'm not sure if
it's there," Gerard said on Bea's singing ability, or lack thereof.
Although this week's sensuality theme was supposed to give
the scholars the opportunity to let loose, the other performances left the
jurors feeling cold. Bunny Malunda's "Emotions" and Cris Pastor's "Bleeding
Love" didn't turn Louie on. He noted that Bunny looked nervous when she first
stepped on stage and added it felt as if she was not in good shape. Louie said
he felt a bit of sensuality during Cris' performance, he criticized its overall
musicality and her diction.
Guest judge Vina Morales said Iñaki Ting's rendition of Prince's "Kiss" was not
"swabe" while Louie noted Christian Alvear was out of tune when he sang ‘The
Way You Make Me Feel." Vina said Hansen Nichols ("My Cherie Amour") and Van
Pojas ("Bed of Roses") were sexy enough with their pieces, although Van could
use some more work on using his eyes and face to express emotions while
singing.
In the end, it was Bunny (6.03 points out of a possible 10), Iñaki, and Christian (both scored 6.33 points) who ended up in the bottom group. It is Bunny's first time to be included in the possible set of probationary scholars, while the two have been in the bottom four once. This is also the first time Cris was not included in the bottom group after three consecutive appearances in the bottom four. With Bea's exit, Cris now has the lowest grade point average among the scholars.
Only a handful managed to earn the nod from the jurors. Liezel Garcia ("Sa Aking Pag-iisa") and Bugoy Bogoyan ("I'll Make Love To You") remain unstoppable, although two other scholars also have a shot of getting the top grade this week. Gerard thought "Fever" was the wrong song choice for Apple Abarquez, saying she was "overqualified for the song." Besides a minor mistake during the chorus, Laarni Losala managed to wow Gerard with her piece "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman."
Who among Bunny, Christian, and Iñaki will be expelled next week? Can the other scholars steal the top spot from the still undefeated Star Scholar Liezel? Catch Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 Uberture, Mondays to Fridays, 5:30 PM, and Pinoy Dream Academy Season 2 Primetime, after My Girl, on ABS-CBN. Viewers can also watch the PDA scholars everyday on Studio 23, 12:00-2:00 PM.