Eat Bulaga Music

[Zulema Estabrooks]

Ina television market that is already saturated with singing reality programs, Music Hero was launched to provide a first-of-its-kind competition that gives the spotlight to the instrumentalists who make music events possible but are seldom recognized and appreciated.

After a rigorous seven-month-long instrumental battle, 17-year-old electric guitarist Blaster Silonga of Marikina City was proclaimed as the grand winner at the end of the competition. With his electric guitar, he performed a rendition of the 2004 hit single "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys.[1]

A second edition titled Music Hero: The Vocal Battle began airing just three months later in June 2017. The new edition is a singing competition in search of a lead vocalist for the newly-formed band.[3]

The talent competition was open to male and female musicians 19 years old or below who are skilled at playing musical instruments, such as keyboard, violin, clarinet, guitar, and drums. Auditions were held at the Broadway Centrum.

Alternatively, aspirants were able to submit their audition videos to an email address provided by the noontime show. Online auditionees who were selected to participate had their travel expenses covered by Eat Bulaga!.

Each daily round featured two new musicians who were pitted against one another with their musical instruments. The round was divided into two parts. The contestants played their song choices in the first portion and then engaged in a final same-song showdown in the second portion. Originally, contestants with different instruments were randomly paired with one another in the daily rounds, which proved difficult to judge the musical skills of the contestants. Eventually, the segment began to pair musicians with the same instruments to make the judging fairer.

The week-long wildcard rounds took place from 31 October to 4 November 2016. Several contestants who lost in the daily rounds or the weekly semifinal rounds received the opportunity to return to the competition. The returning contestants performed the same song that they played in the daily rounds. Two contestants were pitted against one another each day for a chance to earn a spot in the daily semifinal rounds.

The semifinal rounds were originally held on Saturdays right after the daily elimination rounds from August to October. After the conclusion of the daily rounds and the subsequent wildcard rounds, the semifinals transitioned into a daily event beginning in November.

The early semifinal rounds occurred on Saturdays from 16 August to 8 October 2016. Three daily winners with different instruments were pitted against one another in the usual two-part round. Each musician performed their song choice in the first part before finally engaging in a one-song showdown.

Because these weekly semifinal rounds occurred prior to the wildcard rounds, several eliminated semifinalists received a second opportunity to return to the competition by winning in the wildcard rounds and then competing again in the daily edition of the semifinals.

After the wildcard rounds, the semifinal rounds transitioned into a daily event from 5 November to 8 December 2016. This time, the competition pitted two musicians with the same (or similar) musical instruments against one another. The semifinalists battled in the usual two-part round.

An additional one-day wildcard round for eliminated semifinalists occurred on 9 December 2016. Three returning musicians were once again pitted against one another for a chance to advance to the next round of the competition.

The 36 contestants were then separated into eight different categories based on their instruments: Drums, Acoustic Guitar, Woodwind, Keyboard, Electric Guitar, String, Bass Guitar, and Saxophone. The lone cello player was grouped with the six violinists in the String category, while the lone clarinet player was grouped with the three flutists in the Woodwind category.

Contestants were pitted against one another until only two or three were left within their instrument categories. The elimination round was composed of two portions. The first part was the song choice. In the second part, each contestant performed a different song from the category that a computer-generated shuffle track selected for them. To prepare for the second battle, the contestants were asked to learn and prepare a song for each category.

After the elimination rounds, the grand finalists once again faced a new threat from returning contestants in a round known as Steal the Spot. One contestant for each category returned to challenge a grand finalist for their spot in the grand finals. Challengers were able to select any one of the grand finalists whom they would like to be pitted against.

The grand finals for each instrument category was split into two rounds. The first round placed the judges inside an enclosed area in order to judge the competing musicians based solely on their pure musicality. The contestants picked their own songs for the first round. In the second round, the contestants played the same song selected by the judges while giving their own rendition and adding new flavors to the song. The contestants were judged based on their overall presence onstage and mastery of their instruments.

The Battle of the Champions took place on Saturday, 18 March 2017. The panel of judges included musical arranger Mon Faustino, musical director Butch Miraflor, songwriter Raul Mitra, composer Danny Tan, and record producer Mel Villena.

In the opening production, the grand finalists provided the instrumental accompaniment for the vocal performances of Aicelle Santos, Gabbi Garcia, Hannah Romawac-Olives, and Cooky Chua. The eight winners of the instrument categories then competed in the two-round grand showdown.

In the first round, the eight grand finalists were divided into two groups of four to form Bands A and B. The first round was judged based on the grand finalists' performance as a group by examining their dynamic and style for their chosen musical pieces. Band A won the first round and its members advanced to the second round of the competition.

Below is a list of guest celebrities, music professionals, and Eat Bulaga! hosts who participated as judges at some point in the segment's run. Many of the celebrity judges are members of well-known Filipino bands.

A total of 120 instrumentalists competed in the first edition of Music Hero. The following table sorts them alphabetically based on their last names. Also listed are the hometowns of the contestants as well as their ages during their first appearance in the competition.

The daily rounds took place from 6 August to 28 October 2016. Each daily round featured two new musicians who competed against one another with their musical instruments. The round was divided into two parts. Each musician played their song choices in the first portion and then engaged in a one-song showdown in the second portion. Daily winners advanced to the semifinal rounds.

The week-long wildcard rounds were held from 31 October to 4 November 2016. Several contestants who lost in the daily rounds or the weekly semifinal rounds received the opportunity to return to the competition. Two contestants were pitted against one another each day for a chance to earn a spot in the daily semifinal rounds.

The semifinal rounds were originally held on Saturdays right after the daily elimination rounds from August to October. After the conclusion of the daily rounds and the subsequent wildcard rounds, the semifinals transitioned into a daily event beginning in November. The 36 semifinal winners became known as the Music Hero Squad.

The early semifinal rounds occurred on Saturdays from 16 August to 8 October 2016. Three daily winners with different instruments competed against each other in the usual two-part round. Because these weekly semifinal rounds occurred prior to the wildcard rounds, several eliminated semifinalists received a second opportunity to return to the competition by winning in the wildcard rounds and then competing again in the daily edition of the semifinals.

After the wildcard rounds, the semifinal rounds transitioned into a daily event from 5 November to 8 December 2016. This time, the competition pitted two musicians with the same (or similar) musical instruments against one another. The semifinalists battled in the usual two-part round. An additional one-day wildcard round for eliminated semifinalists occurred on 9 December 2016. Three returning musicians were once again pitted against one another for a chance to advance to the next round of the competition.

The 36 contestants were then separated into different categories based on their instruments: Drums, Acoustic Guitar, Woodwind (flute and clarinet), Keyboard, Electric Guitar, String (cello and violin), Bass Guitar, and Saxophone.

The contestants then went through elimination rounds until only two or three grand finalists remained within their instrument categories. In Steal the Spot rounds, eliminated contestants returned to challenge a grand finalist who have secured a spot in the grand finals. Grand finals for each category determined the ultimate musician who would advance to the final round of the competition.

Six drummers competed against each other to win a spot in the championship round. The panel of judges for the grand finals included Manila Philharmonic Orchestra member Glenn Velarde, South Border drummer Otep Concepcion, Kamikazee vocalist Jay Contreras, renowned drummer Jun Regalado, Sr., and Side A co-founder Mar Dizon. In the end, 17-year-old Joaquin Rodrigo of Tanauan, Batangas was named as the Ultimate Drums Hero.

Five acoustic guitarists competed against each other to win a spot in the championship round. The panel of judges for the grand finals included UST Conservatory of Music guitar professor James Peter Namit, television musical director and guitarist Ric Mercado, Color It Red former lead guitarist Mike Villegas, composer Noel Cabangon, and renowned singer Regine Velasquez. In the end, 16-year-old Radlee Laquian of Tondo, Manila was named as the Ultimate Acoustic Guitar Hero.

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