It surely rained “finger hearts” on the third day of It’s Showtime’s Magpasikat 2019 week as the awesome tandem of Karylle and Ryan Bang, along with the Tawag ng Tanghalan singers, gave us a truly fantastic yet moving musical production number on Wednesday, October 23, at the Newport Performing Arts, Pasay City.
The futuristic musical presentation was actually an amazing mix of various music genres – theatrical, rap, ballad, and pop. It commenced by narrating the “sob story” of Ryan – from being “friend-zoned” by his celebrity crushes and being brokenhearted numerous times, to his yearning to be with his dad again – via a short K-drama-inspired video. A short skit by Karylle and Ryan ensued, wherein the former talked about their love-hate relationship as friends by belting out her original composition for him. The stirring intro gave us a hint that their number would put Ryan on the spotlight, which actually happened.
Our very own “oppa” was indeed the star of the show as it highlighted his unbelievable dancing and rapping skills that we’ve never seen before when we were transported to the year 2029 wherein there’s It’s Showtime will have a Korean adaptation.
The TNT singers, comprised of some of its alumni from both the regular and kids editions, definitely made us groove to the hit songs of top Hallyu groups BLACKPINK and BTS as they sang and danced (yes, they can also dance!) to “Kill This Love”, “Ddu-du Ddu-du Du”, and “Boy With Luv”, while cladded in their futuristic and colorful getups.
Ryan’s shining moment came when he emerged to the stage dressed like a true K-pop idol and showed us his on-point moves to BTS’ “IDOL”. He then delivered a speech in Korean, in which we assume that he’s only imparting his experience living and working in the Philippines, and proceeded on singing along the Tagalog song he personally wrote with the TNT Divas that narrated his unforgettable experiences here in the country. He might have missed some lines and was apparently gasping for air, but he still went on with his performance and impressed everyone.
Team Karylle-Ryan’s number concluded in a high note with the TNT Singers singing “Pabuhat”, a piece collaboratively worked on by Jonathan Manalo, Tito Cayamanda, Yael Yuzon, and Yumi Lacsamana which they commissioned from the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (FILSCAP) to be utilized for this inspiring spectacle.
This musical presentation truly didn’t fall short in giving us sheer entertainment and astounding us through the incredible and top-notch prowess exhibited by every member of the flock. It also succeeded in delivering its powerful message of not easily giving up on your dreams and of the possibility of being able to find the right people who will accompany you every step of the way and who will be happy your successes, just like Karylle and Ryan.