Zephanie Dimaranan, the 16-year old girl from Laguna, who never gave up and pursued her dream despite her unsuccessful journeys in other singing competitions, became the first Idol Philippines with a combined score of 100 percent from the text votes and the judges.
Her decision to sing Maghintay Ka Lamang by Charice aptly described her journey to the finals night at the Resorts World Manila Newport Theater, from being a timid girl to a confident young lady who grew stronger arising from her past defeats in The Voice Kids and Tawag ng Tanghalan.
“Even if I am the youngest contestant in Idol Philippines, I believe I can be an inspiration and a role model for young people who want to reach their dreams. I believe that there is a right time for every dream we want to achieve in our life,” she said.
Vice Ganda, one of the four Idol judges, echoed a similar observation, saying Zeph is a befitting role model for today’s youth who easily give up and praised her determination.
“Ikaw yung dapat idolohin ng mga kabataan. You have been through a lot. You did not stop in pursuing your dream. Ikaw ang idolo ng Pilipinas,” said Vice Ganda.
Her performance also drew praises from judges Regine Velasquez-Alcasid, Moira dela Torre and James Reid.
Finalists Lucas Garcia.
In the beginning of her Idol journey, Zeph recalled that she was not confident if she could make it because of the rejections she experienced from previous competitions.
“The experiences, failures, and rejections made me stronger. I am no longer as scared as before,” she said.
Award-winning composer Jonathan Manalo wrote the Idol original song for Zeph titled Pangarap Ko, Pangarap Mo for the second round of the finals.
“I wrote the song for Zephanie. It is a song of gratitude. Ito yung kantang para sa journey niya na shina-share niya sa mga taong nangangarap,” said Jonathan.
As the first Idol Philippines, Zephanie won P2M, a house and lot from Camella, an all-expense paid trip for four to Taiwan, and a recording contract with Star Music.
The other Idol finalists were Lucas Garcia, who sang Hanggang by Wency Cornejo for his journey song, and Lance Busa, who chose Akin Ka Na Lang by Morissette Amon as his journey song.
Vice Ganda commended Lucas for bringing pride to the LGBT+ community, describing the finalist as a new gay idol who made the rainbow flag shine brighter. He declared, “Ako ang huling baklang nagpuno ng Araneta Coliseum. Ikaw ang susunod.”
Finalists Lance Busa.
Regine praised Lance for bringing back his level of performance to his audition day when the judges were so impressed with his talent. Vice Ganda added that after Lance’s performance last Saturday, he believed that Lance would give Zeph and Lucas a tough fight in the final round.
Bringing more excitement and glitter to the Search for the Idol Philippines: The Final Showdown were American Idol Season 11 runner-up Jessica Sanchez who sang And I am Telling You, singing champions Jona, Janine Berdin, Elha Nympha and KZ Tandingan.
Hosted by Billy Crawford, the Search for the Idol Philippines was the most watched TV program last Saturday with a national TV ratings of 31.4 percent and topped all programs last Sunday with TV ratings of 34.2 percent covering both urban and rural homes across the country.
Towards the end of Sunday’s finals, Billy announced that there will be a second season of Idol Philippines.