“ANG galing-galing mo,” so said Vice Ganda to Elle Ocampo, one of two Pampanga natives who made it to the Final 12 in Philippine Idol over the weekend.
Elle just rendered her own version of “Ride” by the Twenty One Pilots that earned praises from judges as she moved up to the so-called live rounds in the nationally televised talent search.
On the other hand, Renwick Benito, also from Pampanga, got teary eyed after his rendition of “Kasalanan” by Orient Pearl in the solo round.
“Ang sarap mong pakinggan. Ang sarap mong panoorin,” Vice told Renwick.
From thousands who auditioned, Elle and Renwick have made it to the Final 12 after going through the initial top 69 aspirants, then onto solo round for top 20 in the talent search of TV giant ABS-CBN. It is the local version of American Idol that has discovered Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Adam Lambert, Jennifer Hudson and many others.
James Reid, one of the four judges, noted the peculiarity in the style of Elle, who was raised in Clark Freeport. She is 21 years old.
"You have probably the most unique style, not just with your voice but the way you perform," Reid said.
Elle has slowly gained the accolade of being unique not only from judges in the weekend primetime show.
An article in the Manila Bulletin last June 24 described Elle as “known for her unique style of singing and artistic expression.”
Moving to the live rounds means Elle and Renwick will vie with 10 other hopefuls who will perform before a live audience and show off to get votes from viewers.
As of press time, Elle’s rendition of Ride was already seen by 1.2 million viewers, four days after it was uploaded on YouTube.