PROTÉGÉ: The battle for the big break

CEBU, Philippines - After scouring the entire archipelago for potential aspirants, GMA Network's all-original singing talent search, PROTÉGÉ: The Battle for the Big Break, makes its grand and highly-anticipated premiere on Philippine Television on September 4.

Protégé invades Filipino homes with a new breed of performers with unique voices and raw talents who will soon become the country's next batch of singing sensations.

This first-of-its-kind singing competition showcasing 10 of the industry's most adored legends as mentors, will be hosted by a fresh combination of Kapuso stars including singer-songwriter Ogie Alcasid as Journey Host, multi-awarded drama actor Dingdong Dantes as Gala Presentor and versatile actress Jennylyn Mercado as Reality Host. Ogie delivers the backstage drama and the emotional highs and lows in the life of every aspirant while Dingdong hosts the live Sunday gala night presentations and Jennylyn takes over the 10 - minute Mondays - Saturdays updates on the aspirants' quest for musical stardom.

The 10 highly-respected mentors who were sent out to different parts of the country to find their three protégés include The King of Soul JANNO GIBBS for Iloilo, The Queen of Soul JAYA for Davao, The Prince of R&B JAY-R for Cabanatuan, The Ultimate Singing Champion RACHELLE ANN GO for Cebu, The Wordsmith of Rap GLOC-9 for Manila, The Acoustic Sensation AIZA SEGUERRA for Cagayan de Oro, The Sentimental Songstress MS IMELDA PAPIN for Naga, The Country's Sweetest Voice MS CLAIRE DELA FUENTE for Batangas, The Platinum-Selling Vocalist JOEY GENEROSO of SIDE A for Dagupan, and Mr. Hitmaker REY VALERA for Pampanga.

These award-winning music personalities will not only share their professional guidance to their protégés in every rehearsal, vocal workshop and studio recording but also invest on their looks, and over-all packaging and showmanship in hopes of winning over the judges' and the viewers' votes.

The three formidable and high-profile Protégé Judges are well-renowned composer/musical director/writer LOUIE OCAMPO, well-respected talent manager/director BERT DE LEON and entertainment guru, JOEY DE LEON.

Who will stand out among the 10 mentor-protégé tandems? Can they survive the intense and emotional battle of the singing search? How far will they go to snatch the coveted votes of the judges and the viewers now that at stake are big prizes for both the Ultimate protégé and his or her mentor?

Catch the unparalleled display of singing sensations as Protégé: The Battle for the Big Break premieres September 4 on GMA. (FREEMAN)