A CONSTRUCTION worker edged out a barber to win the grand finals of the 9-Eleven “Got Talent” karaoke singing contest on March 5, 2021 in San Jose.
Ace Doca, who works at a construction site in Tanapag, outscored barber Benjie Deneiga by a very slim margin to win this year’s title.
Doca’s winning song was “There’s No Easy Way” by James Ingram while Deneiga performed Tom Jones’s “I Who Have Nothing.”
Placing third place was another 9-Eleven regular customer, Wii Bee, a local resident who performed “I See Red” by Everybody Loves an Outlaw.
This year’s grand finals drew a bigger crowd compared to the two previous seasons, 9-Eleven owner Edwin Maratas said.
“It’s a very successful event this year — all the participants were very talented, very deserving to win,” he said.
The contestants are not professional singers, but their performances were “really great,” he added.
9-Eleven marked its third anniversary with a karaoke singing contest for customers.
Doca said it was his friends who encouraged him to join the contest, which began with a series of elimination rounds in January.
He said one night, after coming home from work in Tanapag, he headed to the bar to relax, and there he was told by his friends to prepare for a singing contest.
“That was really unexpected,” he said.
For her part, Bee said she was just proud of herself for overcoming her fear of joining a singing contest.
She said she was always nervous when singing in front of a crowd. “I just had a lot of anxiety when performing in front of people,” she added.
She did not expect to reach the finals and finish third.
She said 9-Eleven’s karaoke singing contest helps people like her to “get out of our comfort zone.”
It was during the competition when Bee overcame her fears.
For Deneiga, it doesn’t make any difference if he was singing as a customer or as a contestant. He said he has joined singing competitions in the past so he knew how to prepare himself.
“But I am happy I won the second place, and I enjoyed the song I sang up to the last note,” he added.
Maratas, for his part, would like to express his gratitude to all the participants.
The other finalists of the singing contest were Romi Caronan, Shirley Verano, Donnel Isip, Rhonnie de Belen, Danilo Jose Jr., Sylvia Mondala, Nickolas Fegurgur, Davin Feria, Priscilla Baby and Jayson Molina.
Maratas also thanked the competition judges: Jeff Hofschneider, Patrick Cepeda, Ulysses Torres Sabuco, Gemma Raymundo and Jasmine Tonette Nabelgas.
From left, 9-Eleven “Got Talent” karaoke singing contest winner Ace Doca; Benjie Deneiga, second place; and Wii Bee, third place.
Photo by Emmanuel T. Erediano
