Fourth time’s the charm: Mom finally wins ‘Tawag ng Tanghalan’ after 3 failed attempts

MANILA, Philippines — Caloocan’s Rea Gen Villareal was hailed as the "Tawag ng Tanghalan" Season 7 Grand Champion in "Ang Huling Tapatan" last Saturday after four failed attempts in previous seasons.

"Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala hanggang ngayon kasi hindi ko rin ineexpect na mananalo ako dahil ilang beses na rin akong natalo. Sa ika-apat kong balik, ayun, nanalo na po ako bilang grand champion," Rea said after being declared champion and obtaining standing ovations from most "hurados" (judges) at last Saturday’s grand finals.

She expressed her gratitude to her family and friends who supported her journey and who served as motivation for her to continue pursuing her dream.

The 26-year-old mother impressed the hurados as early as the first round wherein she collaborated with The Company and sang a medley of their songs. She topped the first round and entered strong in the final round, singing Eraserhead's "Ang Huling El Bimbo" and got the highest combined average score of 97.4%.

The hurados for the Huling Tapatan were Gary Valenciano, Louie Ocampo, Ogie Alcasid, Marco Sison, Nonoy Zuniga, Erik Santos, Jolina Magdangal, Jed Madela, Dingdong Avanzado, Darren, Kean Cipriano, Jona, Klarisse de Guzman, and Mark Bautista.

Rea, who beat other grand finalists, Eunice Encarnada (92.9%) and Hurado's choice Vensor Domasig (88.6%), won P1 million, a recording contract with ABS-CBN Music, a management contract with Star Magic's Polaris, and a trophy designed by Toym Imao. Meanwhile, Eunice got P300,000, while Vensor won P100,000.

Aboodi Yandog and Jhon Padua were eliminated after their performances' combined scores in the medley round did not make the cut.

Many Filipinos watched “Tawag ng Tanghalan" award its latest winner, as the grand finals' official hashtag #ShowtimeTNT7AngHulingTapatan trended nationwide and got 313,099 peak concurrent views.

As the seventh season of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” came to an end, “It’s Showtime” teased today its viewers on the newest season of "Tawag ng Tanghalan Kids." —Video from ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube channel

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