More fun in The Singing Bee

The franchise musical game show Singing Bee first aired from April 2008 to February 2010 on ABS-CBN. After four years of absence on the Kapamilya Network, it returned and this time, is airing on Saturdays with new hosts and new twists. Unlike other reality singing competitions, this one doesn’t test the contestants’ talent in singing but their knowledge of song lyrics. The Philippine version is known for its house band called the Bandble Bee, its singers tagged as Songbees and dancers the Honeybees.

At stake every game is the P1M jackpot prize. Five contestants will play in the elimination round called To Bee Continued during which each contestant will need to continue singing the song once the band and singer stop. The remaining four will play on in the next two rounds where the new point system has been implemented. In Jumble Bee, the missing lyrics flashed on screen are jumbled but the competitor has to sing the line in its correct order using all the jumbled words. If the player is correct, he earns two points.

The third round is Beedeoke where the contestants take turns in singing their assigned lines. This time, each player has three blanks or missing lyrics to fill in. Each correct answer is worth three points. The two contestants with the highest number of points will advance to the jackpot round called The Final Countdown. Since this is the final round, there will be seven songs that will come from seven different categories. The round begins with Manuhan where the host gives the name of an artist and the player who buzzes first must provide any song title recorded by the given artist. If the answer is correct, the player gets to use his own technique by choosing the category he feels knowledgeable in. Every correct answer is worth P20,000, but if a player gets four correct answers, he wins P1M and returns as the defending champion. 

Let us get to know the current hosts of the show. In the past, we had Cesar Montano for five seasons. Today, we have Roderick Paulate and Amy Perez forming a formidable team with decades of collective experience behind them. Their unmistakable and unique rapport come in handy in entertaining the audience. Maki Ricafort, Yuki Ito, Jessica Reynoso, Penelope Matanguihan and Isabella Fabregas are the resident Songbees of the show. They were part of the Top 24 artists of the biggest singing reality show in the country, The Voice of the Philippines.

 No musical show will be complete without its band, Bandble Bee. The show’s resident musical director/conductor/ comedian Mel Villena comes back with a slightly new look but with the same enthusiasm and vigor. He brings with him bandmates Joey Quirino (keyboard), Noel Santiago (guitar), Simon Tan (bass), Jun Austria (drums), Michael Guevarra (sax), Romy Francisco (trumpet), Ronnie Marqueses (trombone), Anna Achacoso Graham, Yosha Honasan and Gail Blanco as back-up vocals.  

The Honeybees is composed of 12 sexy, young and beautiful ladies, aged 17 to 21, dressed in bright yellow and black outfits.

Among the stars who played and competed for the P1M jackpot prize were Carmi Martin, Boboy Garovillo, Ogie Diaz, Eric Fructuoso and Kiray. We expect more surprises in the coming days.

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