[Top story online] Duets prediction correct: Jason Farol of Batangas is third

 

More on Jason Farol’s feat in Duets will be reported in the next newspaper edition of The Filipino Connection next week.

 

MANILA–The prediction by Jenn Lee of BuddyTV in the US was correct: Filipino Jason Farol placed third in the inaugural season of the reality singing  show Duets

J Rome was the clear winner of Duets, being true to his name of being a “complete package” (says Lee) by landing in first among the judges in five episodes of the show.  John Glosson was runner-up.

Kelly Clarkson, co-host of ABC's Duets, is Jason Farol's duet partner. Farol placed third in the first season of the show (photo by ABC, from Jason Farol's Facebook account)

Both Rome and Glosson had Jennifer Nettles as due partner, while Farol, whose architect-father is from Rosario, Batangas and her nurse-mother is from Caloocan City, had Kelly Clarkson for a partner.

Both Farol and Clarkson sang an Elvis Presley song, “Heartbreak Hotel,” during the July 20 final episode of the show (or July 21 Manila time).

Glosson and Nettles performed “For Good” (from the musical “Wicked), while J Rome and Nettles sang “Rhythm of the Night” by El DeBarge.

After J Rome was declared the winner, the show ended with contestants and celebrity judges singing with the winner “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” by Stevie Wonder.

“(J Rome’s)  star quality is simply undeniable. J Rome is also extremely versatile (he can channel Usher, pull off a cheesy Grease number, do justice to a tender Whitney Houston favorite and slow things down with Billie Holiday),” Lee wrote in her pre-season finale prediction in BuddyTV.

As for Farol, Lee called him an “underdog:” “He is young, likable and has a pleasant tone to his voice (at times), but he was way too timid on stage and his nerves often affected his pitch. Twice he was in the bottom two and had to fight for his spot in an a cappella showdown.”

“Fortunately for Jason, he made it to the live shows, when his fate shifted into the hands of viewers. At that point his performances and rankings improved, as he grew more confident and his boyish charm surely won over much of America’s young female audience. All the same, Jason clearly doesn’t hold a candle to the other two finalists, though he does win the Most Improved title,” Lee wrote.

Farol’s accomplishment follows up the first-runner up feat of Filipino-Mexican Jessica Sanchez in American Idol season 11 last May.

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