Dingdong Dantes plays supportive father figure to 'The Voice’ Kids

MANILA, Philippines — After having a great run as the host of “The Voice Generations” on GMA, Dingdong Dantes is presenting another spin-off of the international reality TV singing competition, “The Voice Kids,” which premieres tonight at 7 and airs Sundays thereafter.

Although he is seasoned in the hosting field, Dingdong will never be complacent. He definitely knows the program flow and mechanics of “The Voice Kids” like the back of his hand, but there are circumstances in the competition that he can think ahead of but cannot be fully prepared for.

Seeing some of the young aspirants, aged between seven and 14, fall short of the coaches’ expectations and bow out of the competition is one.

“I guess that’s part of the show that is bound to happen,” said the actor-host in a recent press conference for “The Voice Kids.” Joining him in the show are Billy Crawford, Julie Anne San Jose, Stell, and Pablo of SB19 as coaches.

“And the best that we can do is really comfort them and assure them that this is not the end of their dreams. There are a lot of good things that can happen to them after this, and it might be a great experience for them to perform on stage,” added he.

Dingdong shared that everybody wants the kids to achieve and support their dreams and doesn’t want them to experience disappointment. The latter, however, is a reality since “The Voice Kids” is a competition, where only one will emerge as the winner.

At this early stage of the tilt, Dingdong is excited and getting himself ready, too, for the “Blinds” or “Blind auditions,” where kid aspirants get to sing a song, and if Lady Luck is on their side, they will proceed to the next level, such as “Battles,” “Knockouts,” “The Sing-offs” and “Live Shows.”

Dingdong said that part of the role of the coaches is to explain to kids that being on “The Voice Kids” is “a journey and an experience not everybody will have. In the process of doing all this, they will learn a lot as a child.”

As a father of two, Dingdong can relate to the triumphant feeling parents have when a child makes a life milestone and the disappointed feeling they experience when things don’t go as planned for the kid. He is also aware that kids, given their unique personalities, accept defeat and losing differently. It also makes his work more challenging.

Asked what the viewers can look forward to watching “The Voice Kids,” Dingdong answered, “A lot. Coming from the success of the previous season (‘The Voice Generations’), we saw how it became exciting in all aspects because we saw the chemistry (of the coaches) at bardagulan ng ating mga coaches (and the competition among themselves).”

“Right now, we have a new coach that’s why it’s very exciting to see yung, siyempre, sagutan nila (their banter), kung paano nila kukunin yung mga bago nilang mga aalagaan (and how they will choose the members of their teams), etc.,” shared he, who was referring to Pablo as the new mentor. “More importantly, we’re looking forward to it because we’re having kids (as contestants in this) edition.”

For Dingdong, this “Voice” spin-off will be more interesting because it has young talents, who are adorable, cute, and talented, as one may put it.

“Kapag bata na ang involve, iba na talaga yung nagiging emosyon, eh, iba yung nagiging affinity natin sa pinapanood natin (When kids are involved, the emotions are really different, and so is the affinity we have with what we’re watching),” he said. “Lalo na kapag nakikita natin at nararamdaman natin yung kanilang sincerity, nararamdaman natin yung kanilang eagerness na makamit talaga yung pangarap nilang maging isang singer (Especially when we see and feel their sincerity, and sense their eagerness to truly achieve their dream of becoming a singer).”

Following Dingdong’s line of thought, one could glean that viewers should also anticipate how Pablo and Stell are as coaches and not as SB19 teammates. They will surely reveal their competitive side, as they are on the lookout for the best talents.