Protégé: The Battle for the Big Artista Break

*Protégé: The Battle for the Big Artista Break*
Protégé: The Battle for the Big Artista Break
	Season's title card
Created by	GMA Entertainment TV Group ; Rommel Gacho; Real Florido
Written by	Stann Go ; Florence Rosini
Directed by	Albert Langitan (Inside Protege) ; Rommel C. Gacho (Protege)
Starring	Hosts:; Dingdong Dantes; Jennylyn Mercado; Carla Abellana; Maxene Magalona; Judges:; Bert de Leon; Joey de Leon; Cherie Gil; Annette Gozon-Abrogar
Country of origin	Philippines
No. of episodes	77
Production
Executive producers	Reylie F. Manalo (Inside Protege) ; Erika D.V. De Leon (Protege)
Running time	1 hour (Gala night) ; 15 minutes (Inside Protege)
Original release
Network	GMA Network
Release	July 23 –; October 21, 2012

Protégé: The Battle for the Big Artista Break is a 2012 reality TV series created by GMA Network. This show is the second season of Protégé where Krizza Neri won in 2011. Unlike the previous season, the age limit was set from 13 to 21 years old to find new acting talent.^[1]^[2] The show premiered on July 23, 2012 (Inside Protégé) and hosted by Jennylyn Mercado and under the direction of Albert Langitan, while the Protégé Gala Night premiered on August 5, 2012, and presented by Dingdong Dantes, together with Carla Abellana and Maxene Magalona. The gala nights were directed by Rommel Gacho.^[3]

Overview

Hosts

Dingdong Dantes

Jennylyn Mercado

According to the show's fan page, there will be a "new kind of battle".^[4] Rumor has it that the incoming season will feature the other talent like acting or dancing and eventually will be an artista search like StarStruck did and it turned out to be true.

The show followed the same format as the previous season, except that it was no longer a singing competition but a talent artista search. Aspirants from ages 13 to 21 were filtered until two winners emerge - one male and one female protégé. In this battle, they were looking for a total package - an artist who can sing, dance, act and possess that charismatic appeal over TV. Like the first Protégé competition, this season had judges/mentors who were responsible for training and mentoring the chosen candidates.

Twenty contestants were then selected from thousands of hopefuls. These 20 potential artists lived in the Protégé house complete with amenities including bedrooms for each contestant, a living room, dining area with a 20 seating capacity, a rehearsal area where they could practice dancing, singing and acting, and a confession room where they were asked to explain themselves in case of issues within the house or if a task was to be assigned privately. They also battled it out head to head for audience votes. The Protégé house was blessed and featured over the news of GMA Network long before the contestants resided there.

The winner received a 5-year contract with GMA Network.

Judges, mentors and coaches

Judges

Mentors

Jolina Magdangal served as a mentor.

There were five confirmed mentors for this season with their assigned location.^[5]

Coaches

Aside from their respective mentors who served as their guardian all the way through their journey, the protégés had coaches who also helped them improve their chosen craft.

Voice — Sushi Reyes
Dancing — Joe Abuda
Personality development — Floy Quintos
Acting — Maryo J. de los Reyes and Yanni Yuzon with Pen Medina
Fitness — Al Galang
Showbiz values & formation — German Moreno

Auditions

Cities where the auditions are being held.

Auditions took place in the following cities:^{[citation needed]}

Casting Dates	Venues	City
May 19, 2012	SM City Rosales	Rosales
May 19, 2012	SM City Marikina	Marikina
May 26, 2012	SM City Naga	Naga
	SM City Baguio	Baguio
	SM City San Pablo	San Pablo
June 1, 2012	SM City Bacolod	Bacolod
June 1, 2012	SM City Cagayan de Oro	Cagayan de Oro
June 2, 2012	SM City Iloilo	Iloilo
June 2, 2012	SM City Davao	Davao
June 7, 2012	SM City Cebu	Cebu
June 9, 2012	Capitol Grounds	Laoag
June 10, 2012¹	SM City Sucat	Parañaque
June 14, 2012	SM City Batangas	Batangas
June 16, 2012	SM City Pampanga	San Fernando
June 18–20, 2012²	SM Mall of Asia	Pasay

^Note 1 The original schedule of auditions in SM Sucat is May 20, 2012
^Note 2 The original schedule of auditions in SM Mall of Asia is June 20–21, 2012

After the city auditions, Protégé also gave the hopefuls an alternative way to audition via online.

Semifinalists

After a series of auditions, a mentor chose eight hopefuls from the shortlist and those who passed from the online auditions. These eight aspiring protégés, which were composed of four boys and four girls, were called to come back for the final deliberation to determine the official four protégés. The other four protégés who were not chosen were eliminated.

The twenty semifinalists who failed to advance in the finals are as follows:

Mentor	Location	Male protégés	Hometown	Female protégés	Hometown
Gina Alajar	Southern Luzon	Allan Arnold Palma		Ivana Jane Villanueva
Gina Alajar	Southern Luzon	Evan James Evia		Shara Jane Chavez
Jolina Magdangal	Visayas	Jhaymes Clark Caracuel	Cebu	Cris An Chavez	Bacolod City
Jolina Magdangal	Visayas	Kier Stephen Durano	Danao	Kerchedel Allyssa Concepcion	Bacolod City
Phillip Salvador	Mindanao	Archimedes Udaundo	Davao City	Pauline Go
Phillip Salvador	Mindanao	Tomas Monteverde		Trixia Pearl Ebita
Ricky Davao	Northern & Central Luzon	Isaac Jacob De Leon		Dale David
Ricky Davao	Northern & Central Luzon	John Cristopher Danan		Kathryn David
Roderick Paulate	Mega Manila	Jason Salvador		Nicole Kim Donesa
Roderick Paulate	Mega Manila	Jimmy Noccon		Xzania Ketz

Finalists

Originally, there were four protégés per mentor for this season, totaling twenty protéges. However, during the first week of Top 10, each mentor chose one of his or her remaining protegés to stay under his or her guidance. The protégés who were not chosen were later picked by other mentors, making a new protégé-mentor tandem.

The twenty finalists were confirmed as follows:

Key:

– Winner

– Runner-up

Mentor	Protégé	Age	Hometown	Note
Gina Alajar	Mykel Ong	20	Batangas
	Thea Tolentino	15	Calamba
	Zandra Summer	18	Cebu	Originally Jolina Magdangal's protégé
Jolina Magdangal
	Jeric Gonzales	19	Calamba	Originally Gina Alajar's protégé
	Mikoy Morales	18	Roxas City
	Mitch Capili	15	Bohol
Phillip Salvador	Apple Vega	20	Dipolog
	Arny Ross	21	Dasmariñas	Originally Gina Alajar's protégé
	David John Llanas	19	Cagayan de Oro
	Ruru Madrid	14	Zamboanga
	Steffi Pacheco	16	Davao
Ricky Davao	Bryan Benedict	21	Cebu	Originally Jolina Magdangal's protégé
	Glenn Roy	18	Tarlac
	Reese Tayag	16	Tarlac
	Shelly Hipolito	16	Nueva Ecija
Roderick Paulate	Andres Vasquez	21	Taguig
	Japs De Luna	20	Nueva Ecija	Originally Ricky Davao's protégé
	Elle Ramirez	18	Rizal
	Kelly D.	15	Pasig
	Vien Alen King	19	Quezon Province

Weekly episodes

Episode #	Episode title	Original air date
1	"#ProtegeTop20"	August 5, 2012 (2012-08-05)
The final twenty protégés were revealed.
2	"#ProtegeBattleNight"	August 12, 2012 (2012-08-12)
The finalists were tasked to do a musical. The said performances were the bases of the judges' verdict to determine who would be in the bottom two per region. The bottom ten (2 per region) have to defend their slot in the next gala night in order to stay in the competition. The losing protégé will be sent home.
3	"#ProtegeShowdown"	August 19, 2012 (2012-08-19)
The bottom ten performed individually. The judges voiced out their opinions about who stood out more but the decision was from the mentors of whom they would save.
4	"#ProtegeMaryaSerye"	August 26, 2012 (2012-08-26)
The top 15 protégés were featured in five short films with special guest celebrity, Diamond Star Ms. Maricel Soriano. Under the helm of Prix de la mise en scène awardee at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, Brillante Mendoza and written by Palanca awardee Floy Quintos.^[6]^[7] Special awards were given to outstanding protégés: Maricel Soriano's choice for Best Female Performance—Elle Ramirez Maricel Soriano's choice for Best Male Performance—Andres Vasquez Judges' Choice for Best Ensemble Performance—Team Visayas Direk Brillante Mendoza's choice for Breakthrough Protégé Performance—Andres Vasquez These awards guaranteed them an automatic save from elimination.
5	"#ProtegeShock"	September 2, 2012 (2012-09-02)
Each protégé was paired to a protégé from another mentor; each pair performed a duo in front of the judges. Arny Ross and Zandra Summer performed a dance number together with the song Burlesque by Christina Aguilera. Jeric Gonzales and David John Llanas sang This Love by the Maroon 5. Japs De Luna and Elle Ramirez did a sensual dance performance of the song Careless Whisper by Kenny G and Bryan McKnight. Mikoy Morales and Thea Tolentino showcased their singing and dancing skills with the tune Teenage Dream by Katy Perry. Bryan Benedict and Andres Vasquez did a dance number of It's Raining Men by The Weather Girls. Shelly Hipolito and Ruru Madrid danced the song I Won't Dance by Frank Sinatra. Vien Alen King and Steffi Pacheco did a duet of Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. The show revealed the first 2 "shocks": First, there will be four protégés who will be eliminated during the night, and second was that the mentors have to choose one of their protégés to stay under their guidance. Because of the unexpected twists, the mentors were not able to decide on who they will choose.
6	"#ProtegeAfterShock"	September 9, 2012 (2012-09-09)
The mentors finally chose their protégés who will stay under their guidance. Mentor Gina Alajar chose Thea Tolentino while mentor Ricky Davao chose Shelly Hipolito and mentor Jolina Magdangal chose Mikoy Morales. On the other hand, mentors Phillip Salvador and Roderick Paulate have only one protégé left each. As the gala night ends, the mentor chose another protégé from the other mentor's former protégés, signalling that that was the third "shock". The judges' role was to give their opinion to the mentors of who should be with whom.
7	"#ProtegeMentorBattle"	September 16, 2012 (2012-09-16)
The protégés, together with their mentors, performed on stage.
8	"#ProtegeKapusoMatch"	September 23, 2012 (2012-09-23)
The protégés showed their hosting skills to their guests, Ms. Lolit Solis and Bea Binene. Ms. Lolit Solis and Bea must portray a rude guest to test the protégés' ability in hosting especially with those kind of interviewees. On the gala night, the protégés performed on stage partnered by a Kapuso star. Elle Ramirez was paired to Mark Herras, Japs De Luna with Wynwyn Marquez, Shelly Hipolito to Rocco Nacino, Bryan Benedict to Kris Bernal, Zandra Summer to Aljur Abrenica, Thea Tolentino to Alden Richards, Mikoy Morales to Julie Anne San Jose, Jeric Gonzales with Louise delos Reyes and Ruru Madrid was partnered to Barbie Forteza.
9	"#ProtegeSwitch"	September 30, 2012 (2012-09-30)
A mentor has to give a task to the other mentor's protégé. The protégés are generally showed their singing skills.
10	"#ProtegeNation"	October 7, 2012 (2012-10-07)
The performances of the protégés were based from the requests of their respective fans. The mentors from season 1 (Aiza Seguerra, Claire de la Fuente, Imelda Papin, Jaya, Jay-R and Joey Generoso with Verni Varga) performed with the protégés on the gala night.
11	"#ProtegeFinalBattle"	October 14, 2012 (2012-10-14)
This week was the first part of The Final Battle. The challenges that were given to the protégés were to be from the judges. Judge Annette Abrogar gave a challenge to Jeric Gonzales and Zandra Summer; judge Cherie Gil assigned the tasks to Thea Tolentino and Mikoy Morales; judge Bert de Leon to Ruru Madrid and judge Joey de Leon to Elle Ramirez.
12	"#ProtegeFinalResults"	October 21, 2012 (2012-10-21)
The final challenge was an acting challenge for the remaining six finalists. Jeric Gonzales portrayed Errol Ochoa in Coffee Prince, which is portrayed by Benjamin Alves. Zandra Summer, on the other hand, portrayed the lead role as Magdalena Fuentebella-Soriano in Magdalena, which is originally portrayed by Bela Padilla. Mikoy Morales played Mikael Daez's character in Sana ay Ikaw na Nga as Carlos Miguel Altamonte; while Elle Ramirez played Lualhati Salvador in Aso ni San Roque, which is originally portrayed by LJ Reyes. Ruru Madrid played the character of Derrick Monasterio as Iñigo Villamor in Paroa: Ang Kuwento ni Mariposa with Barbie Forteza. Thea Tolentino shared the scene with Heart Evangelista as the latter's younger sister, Luna Sandoval in Luna Blanca, which is originally portrayed by Bianca King.

Elimination chart

Color key:

Male contestant

Female contestant

Top 20

Did not perform

Challenge Winner

Safe

Safe first

Safe last

Eliminated

Finalist

Runner-up

Winner

Mentor Key:

– Gina Alajar

– Ricky Davao

– Jolina Magdangal

– Roderick Paulate

– Phillip Salvador

Results per public and council votes
Place	Protégé	Result
Date: (2012)		8/12¹	8/19²	8/26³	9/2	9/9⁴	9/16	9/23	9/30	10/7	10/14⁵	10/21
1-2	Jeric Gonzales	Safe	Did not perform	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Protégé Male Battle Champ
1-2	Thea Tolentino	Safe	Did not perform	Safe	Safe	Did not perform	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Protégé Female Battle Champ
3-6	Ruru Madrid	Bottom 2	Safe	Safe	Safe	Did not perform	Bottom 5	Safe	Bottom 2	Safe	Safe	Runner-up
	Mikoy Morales	Safe	Did not perform	Challenge Winner	Safe	Did not perform	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe
	Elle Ramirez	Safe	Did not perform	Challenge Winner	Safe	Did not perform	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe
	Zandra Summer	Bottom 2	Safe	Challenge Winner	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe
7	Japs De Luna	Bottom 2	Safe	Bottom 3	Safe	Safe	Bottom 5	Bottom 3	Safe	Eliminated		Finalist
8	Bryan Benedict	Safe	Did not perform	Challenge Winner	Safe	Safe	Bottom 5	Bottom 3	Eliminated
9	Shelly Hipolito	Safe	Did not perform	Safe	Bottom 5	Did not perform	Bottom 5	Eliminated
10	Arny Ross	Bottom 2	Safe	Safe	Safe	Safe	Eliminated
11-14	Vien Alen King	Bottom 2	Safe	Bottom 3	Eliminated
	David John Llanas	Safe	Did not perform	Safe
	Steffi Pacheco	Safe	Did not perform	Safe
	Andres Vasquez	Safe	Did not perform	Challenge Winner
15	Reese Tayag	Safe	Did not perform	Eliminated
16-20	Mitch Capili	Bottom 2	Eliminated
	Kelly D.	Bottom 2
	Mykel Ong	Bottom 2
	Glenn Roy	Bottom 2
	Apple Vega	Bottom 2

^Note 1 There was no elimination held but the Bottom 2 from each region were chosen.
^Note 2 The bottom two protégés (from each region) competed between each other to defend their slot.
^Note 3 The challenge winners were the protégés who received special awards and were granted an immunity from elimination for that week.
^Note 4 As part of the shock, the mentors had to choose a new protege from the other "mentor less proteges" who performed that night. The gala night was a non-elimination night.
^Note 5 That gala night was already the first part of The Final Battle.

Awards and nominations

10th Golden Screen TV Awards 2013
- Outstanding Original Reality Competition Program Host Winner- Dingdong Dantes
27th PMPC Star Awards for Television 2013
- Best Reality Competition Program - Pending
- Best Reality Competition Program Hosts - Pending Nominees: Dingdong Dantes, Jennylyn Mercado, Carla Abellana, Maxene Magalona

References

^ "Pansin na pansin ang kakaiba nilang closeness aktres nagkakagusto sa kapwa aktres!". Pilipino Star Ngayon. May 5, 2012.
^ "'Protégé' – in search of new stars". The Manila Times. May 27, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012.
^ http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=825914&publicationSubCategoryId=96 ^{[dead link‍]}
^ https://www.facebook.com/ProtegeGMA/posts/370297629688227 ^{[user-generated source]}
^ Rula, Gorgy. "Phillip, Gina at Ricky, mentors sa 'Protégé'". Abante Tonite.
^ "PR: 'Protégé' Aspirants In Short Films With Maricel Soriano". August 5, 2012.
^ Jaramillo, Monching (August 24, 2012). "Maricel Soriano impressed with Protégé contestants: "Talaga namang on your toes sila lahat. Wala naman akong masabi."". Philippine Entertainment Portal.

[age-1] "Pansin na pansin ang kakaiba nilang closeness aktres nagkakagusto sa kapwa aktres!". Pilipino Star Ngayon. May 5, 2012.

[age2-2] "'Protégé' – in search of new stars". The Manila Times. May 27, 2012. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012.

[3] ttp://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=825914&publicationSubCategoryId=96 ^{[dead link‍]}

[4] ttps://www.facebook.com/ProtegeGMA/posts/370297629688227 ^{[user-generated source]}

[mentors-5] Rula, Gorgy. "Phillip, Gina at Ricky, mentors sa 'Protégé'". Abante Tonite.

[week4-6] "PR: 'Protégé' Aspirants In Short Films With Maricel Soriano". August 5, 2012.

[pepweek4-7] Jaramillo, Monching (August 24, 2012). "Maricel Soriano impressed with Protégé contestants: "Talaga namang on your toes sila lahat. Wala naman akong masabi."". Philippine Entertainment Portal.

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