Gretchen Espina nakapuntos sa kantang ginawa ni Ogie

It took all of 48 years (pardon the exaggeration, Ms. Angel Javier) before the Pinoy Idol Grand Finals’ Night began at the Mall 2 of the SMX Con­vention Center last Sun­day.

The text invitation to the press was 1:30 p.m., pero nagsimula ’yon ng pasado alas kuwatro na. But it was worth it. Iyon nga lang, my family’s favorite, Ram Chaves, lost to who else but Gretchen Espina.

And why “who else?” prior to the announce­ment, I could already discern the collective feeling na si Gretchen ang siyang magwawagi. She exuded an air of confidence despite her not-so-lovely white gown.

Then came the telling sign, ito ang bahagi kung saan kapwa kinanta nina Gretchen at Jayann Bautista ang composition ni Ogie Alcasid na To You.

From a ten-meter distance mula sa kinalulugaran ni Ogie, pinag­mamasdan ko ang kanyang unguarded moments (most of which were caught on-cam) while I had my ears focused on Jayann’s and Gretchen’s in­terpretations.

It was Jayann’s turn first. Ogie was both expressionless and motionless, halatang hindi niya nagustuhan ang rendition ni Jayann. But when it was Gretchen’s turn, sinasabayan pa ng singer-composer ang pag-awit nito. I felt Ogie echoed fellow judges Jolina Magdangal and Wyngard Tracy’s sole choice, and it couldn’t be Jayann.

Performance-wise, kay Gretchen din ako, kesehodang ang mga napanalunan niya with a total amount of P5.7 million are like “booger” given her family’s affluence (governor ang kanyang ama, doktora naman ang kanyang ina na na-meet ko sa labas ng backstage before the an­nounce­ment).

If all three judges thought so, too, at kung karamihan sa audience believed just as well ay hindi pa rin uubra si Gretchen kung hindi naman siya susuportahan through text voting. And talk about texting on a natio­nal scale, huh!

Kung regional repre­sentation ang pagbaba­sehan, dito dehado si Gretchen na taga-Bili­ran kesa kay Jayann na taga-Pampanga.

But is there truth to the rumor na nasagap ko that very same day na the night before ay bumili ang pamilya ni Gretchen ng (brace your­selves) 60 cell­phone units at isang kahon ng sim cards na siyang ginamit sa pag­boto buong magda­mag?

Kung totoo, and if you thought it was not a sweet victory (dahil in a sense, lumalabas na “money contest” din pala ang Pinoy Idol), I would be the FIRST to disagree. Gretchen has the voice that made her end her journey with dignified victory.