The Caloocan City Sports Complex indeed got shaken as the madlang people present at the Huling Tapatan of It’s Showtime’s Tawag Ng Tanghalan, held on September 28, erupted to joyous cheers after Elaine Duran was declared as the grand champion for the third season.
Garnering the highest total combined average of 41.18% from the hurados’ scores (16.16%) and public votes (25.02%) in the second phase of the live finale, the young diva from Agusan del Norte bested second placer John Mark Saga who only got 33.59% and third placer John Michael Dela Cerna who only earned 25.23%.
While John Mark was able to beat Elaine when it comes to the grades he collected from the judges, 19.32% to be exact, he fell short in the public votes as he only amassed 14.28%, which was able to pull down his final score. On the other hand, John Michael got 14.52% from the hurados and 10.70% from the text and online votes.
The pride of Butuan City was able to topple both of them down through her enthralling and heartfelt medley of OPM icon Basil Valdez’s classic love songs—“Hanggang Sa Dulo Ng Walang Hanggan”, “Sana Ay Ikaw Na Nga”, “Ngayon At Kailanman”, capped by a whistle that truly surprised everyone and received a standing ovation from the audiences and judges alike.
WATCH: Elaine Duran touches everyone’s hearts with Basil Valdez medley
Prior to that, she all astounded us with her unique rendition of the popular Shanti Dope rap track “Nadarang” during the first round, in which she was able to further exhibit her versatile vocals and skills in rapping as well. That spectacular performance brought her on the Final 3, who advanced to the last round. She performed it again by the end of the show.
WATCH: Elaine Duran rocks the stage with her rendition of Shanti Dopes’ “Nadarang”
Having two of the toughest contenders in the whole run of TNT Season 3 as her rivals to the highly coveted title, she wasn’t able to hide the overwhelming happiness and surprise she felt through how she reacted upon punong hurado Rey Valera’s announcement of her name.
As the grand champion, Elaine took home the whopping two million-peso tax-free prize, an ultimate family vacation package to Bali, Indonesia, and the huge brass trophy sculpted by renowned Filipino sculptor and multi-media visual artist Toym Imao. She would also get to own a brand new house and lot, a business franchise, and a custom in-ear monitor, and will also acquire a recording contract from TNT Records and a talent and management contract from ABS-CBN and TNTV.