El Gamma Penumbra, which performs as a group of dancing silhouettes giving life to socially relevant issues, was declared the first grand prize winner of “Asia’s Got Talent,” which aired Thursday night on cable channel AXN.
The shadow play troupe from Tanauan, Batangas province, which started as a hip-hop crew, bagg
ed $100,000 and an opportunity to perform at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
The Filipino group’s final number Thursday night paid tribute to Mother Nature to the song “Colors of the Wind.”They beat their closest rival Mongolian ethnic band Khugsugtun.
Besting 8 other finalists
El Gamma Penumbra bested seven other grand finalists, including three other Filipino acts—10-year-old singing sensation Gwyneth Dorado from Pangasinan province, classical singer Gerphil Flores from Parañaque City, and hip-hop dance crew Junior New System from Manila.
The other finalists from the region, besides Khugsugtun, were: Gao Lin and Liu Xin, dance partners from China; Dance Thrilogy, a young group of tap dancers; Triqstar, a fusion dance group from Japan; and The Talento, a tween rock band from Thailand.
Gerphil Flores was the first to be eliminated from the top three finalists. A tearful Flores was hugged on stage by judge David Foster, who earlier in the contest praised her and promised that “the world is gonna know you.”
The hashtag AsiasGotTalentGrandFinals trended on Twitter around Asia, with Filipinos expressing pride in the winners.
Early favorite
The winning group, which got the most audience votes in the region, became an early favorite of the four judges. Foster, a seasoned music producer, praised the group’s performance in a previous episode. “Your message is so clear… so beautifully profound. There’s 13 of you; [it’s] going to be a very lucky number for you.”
Indonesian pop artist Anggun, who gave the group its first golden buzzer, said, “We are here to entertain but if we can raise awareness on subjects that really matter, that makes our job more noble. Wonderful performance!”
‘Very touching’
Former Spice Girls member Melanie C called the performance “wonderful,” while former Taiwanese singer Van Ness Wu described it as “very touching, very emotional.”
The group placed fourth in “Pilipinas Got Talent,” the local iteration of the program, in 2011.
Congrats from Gov. V Batangas Gov.
Vilma Santos congratulated El Gamma Penumbra via SMS to the Inquirer: “They are the pride of Batangas.. (they’re from) Tanauan … They always perform at the capitol at our ‘VSR’ (Voices, Songs and Rhythms) event… we are proud of them!”
The group said they will share the cash prize with their families and a home for the aged in Tanauan. Part of the prize would also be used to build their own studio
