Sunday, September 25, 2016

Justin Alva of The Voice Kids Philippines

I missed the most recent season of The Voice Kids Philippines - season 3 - but I watched an episode of GGV a couple of weeks ago that featured the top 3 contestants. It was through that show that I became a fan of Justin Alva, the third placer. Early in the show, while he was singing, I noticed that his right hand, which he was using to hold the microphone, looked like it was missing some fingers. Later in the episode, as Vice Ganda was talking to him, he used the fact that he was born with only two fingers on his hand to make a joke. This prompted Vice to ask about it and his responses just showed a maturity well beyond his years. Check out that sequence in this video:


video uploaded by ABS-CBN Entertainment 

I assume it was this ability to manage his emotions that allowed him to sing successfully even while being distracted. An entertaining impromptu segment came about because of the story of Antonette (the 2nd placer) about how she once lost a singing contest because she stopped in the middle of her song because someone was making funny faces at her. Vice then challenged each of the kids to sing while Kiray tried to make them laugh. Even Vice ended up trying to make it through that challenge. All of them failed except for Justin. He not only made eye contact with Kiray but he also touched Kiray's face. Awesome focus for a 13-year-old kid!


video uploaded by ABS-CBN Entertainment 

I had already warmed up to him at that point before Vice asked him to dance. He promptly did a few of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean moves - including the moonwalk - and he did it really well. As if that wasn't enough, he later on performed two songs while playing the guitar - Love Yourself by Justin Bieber and Photograph by Ed Sheeran. Amazing.

(Click here for a link to Justin Alva's cover of Bieber's Love Yourself.)

After the episode, I started checking out his performances during the show. What impressed me about Justin is his expressiveness. He showed a ferocity and an angst while singing 7 years by Lukas Graham. He was amped up in his finale performance of a medley of Monster and Lose Yourself. My favorite performance though is probably his rendition of Sam Smith's version of the Whitney Houston song "How will I know". It was so heartfelt and moving. Check it out here.


video uploaded by The Voice Kids Philippines

Hopefully, Justin can have a singing career. He has talent and artistry and I find his story and his outlook in life to be truly inspiring.

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