MANILA, Philippines — Comedian Vice Ganda led his team to victory with a powerful and dazzling performance dedicated to people struggling with alopecia areata, a condition that causes hair to fall out, and was crowned the Magpasikat 2019 grand champion on Saturday (October 26) for “It’s Showtime’s” 10th anniversary.
The "Unkabogable Star," who was accompanied by “Miss Q and A” queens in his performance, depicted his hair loss story and journey to self-acceptance with a medley of songs that included Radiohead’s “Creep,” followed by Willow Smith’s “Whip My Hair” and Destiny’s Child “Survivor,” marked by numerous wig and costume changes.
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The theme of self-love further took centerstage as Vice spun in the air and belted out Lady Gaga’s “Hair,” then gave the spotlight to a child with alopecia. Various audience members donning wigs also revealed themselves to have alopecia by taking off their wigs, emotionally moving the judges and the audience.
Vice said after the performance, “You don't need to be loved by the whole world. You only need yourself and the one person that you love to accept and love you back.” He then officially introduced Ion Perez as his partner, another highlight of the episode.
Team Vice won a vacation package and P1 million, which will be donated to a charity that advocates to improve the lives of people with alopecia.
Also marking “It’s Showtime’s” landmark 10th anniversary was the recognition given by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the “Katibayan ng Pagpapahalaga,” which recognized the noontime show’s major contributions to Filipino arts and culture and for championing it all over the world.
The honor was presented by NCCA’s Shirley Halili-Cruz, the National Committee on Dance chairman, and Rene Napeñas, head of NCCA’s Public Affairs and Information Office, who were also part of the panel of judges that critiqued this year’s Magpasikat performances.
Coming in second place was the team of Vhong Navarro and Mariel Rodriguez, who offered a heartwarming and special effects-filled performance that imagined the “It’s Showtime” hosts in old age and an imaginative depiction at how making people happy would look like in the future. They won P700,000 for their chosen charity.
Meanwhile, Anne Curtis and Amy Perez won P600,000 for their chosen charity for their death-defying presentation filled with acrobatic stunts that paid tribute to “It’s Showtime’s” successes, challenges, and strength as a family.
The teams of Karylle and Ryan Bang, as well as of Jugs Jugueta, Teddy Corpuz, and Jhong Hilario, meanwhile, received P500,000 as consolation prizes.
The panel of judges was also comprised of Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chairman Rachel Arenas, seasoned broadcast journalist Tina Monzon-Palma, veteran choreographer Andy Alviz, host Tim Yap, entrepreneur Joel Cruz, celebrity dermatologist Vicki Belo, actor Diether Ocampo, and the "punong hurado" host-actor Edu Manzano.
Team Vice, meanwhile, was not only the big winner of the day as J-Crisis, a dance crew from Sampaloc, Manila, was crowned the grand champion of “Classic Showtime” and won P500,000.