After five weeks of searching for the first-ever winner of Tawag ng Tanghalan’s celebrity edition, It’s Showtime has finally found its grand champion in Ethel Booba during the TNT Celebrity Champions Ang Huling Tapatan on Saturday, November 9.
The Twitter Goddess of General Santos City’s riveting performance of Willy Cruz’s award winning song “Never Ever Say Goodbye” originally sung by Nonoy Zuñiga captured by the hearts of the hurados and the madlang people after garnering a combined average score of 39.82%.
WATCH: TNT Celebrity Champions TOP 3: Ethel Booba sings Never Ever Say Goodbye
Placing as her runners-up are the “Alterna-Tibay Rocker of Calamba, Laguna” Jason Fernandez, the former Rivermaya frontman, whose rendition of After Image’s “Next In Line” received a total grade of 36.79%, and the “Sexy Kontra-Diva of Makati City” Roxanne Barcelo, whose version of Gary Valenciano’s “How Did You Know” raked in 23.39%.
The sexy comedienne began her TNT Celebrity Champions journey as a winner during the daily rounds wherein she immediately enthralled us by belting out The Beatles’ “Help!” She’s been a crowd favorite, as attested by her win in the semi-finals wherein she received the highest percentage of online and text votes, 56.03%, by belting out Celine Dion’s “To Love You More”.
On the first round of the grand finals, she brought the house down with her powerful take on the classic “What Kind Of Fool Am I” that became her ticket to the final round as one of the Top 3 contenders alongside Jason and Roxanne. In the initial round, Jason fascinated the crowd with his rendition of another After Image song “Mangarap Ka,” while Roxanne performed a glittery version of Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend.”
As the grand champion, Ethel will take home 300,000 pesos tax-free cash prize, a trophy created by renowned Filipino visual artist Toym Imao, a custom in-ear monitor from Flip Ears, and a recording contract from TNT Records.