Who Will Win Protege The Final Battle?

The Final battle is at hand! After almost three months of training  assessments  performances, and rivers of tears of joy and grief will eventually come to its end when the reality show PROTEGE: The Battle for the Big Artista Break come to its finals.

And from the thousands of those who auditioned from all parts of the Philippines, it is now narrowed into the final six proteges that will have to show everything that they got and prove to the judges, their mentors, and the viewers from the country and all around the world that they are truly refined into the "diamond" stars that they earned the hard way competing with each other which they have also gone close to.

The Protege Top 6 are:

Showdown for survival between mentors and protégés this Sunday

This Sunday (September 16), the five celebrity mentors and their respective protégés join on stage and perform together for a showdown for survival!

North and Central Luzon mentor Ricky Davao and protégés Shelly Hipolito and Bryan Benedict star in an action sequence. Bryan plays the hero captured and tortured by his godfather Ricky while Shelly is Bryan's love interest. 

Mega Manila mentor Roderick Paulate plays a modern-day family man who copes with his dysfunctional relationship with a gay son played by Japs de Luna and a lesbian daughter played by Elle Ramirez.  

"Protege" bids goodbye to North & Central Luzon's Reese Tayag

For most of the proteges, this week's gala night is just one of a series of nerve-wracking, anxiety-ridden activities that they have to go through as the road to the big artista break gets narrower each week.  But for North and Central Luzon protege Reese Tayag, this week's elimination night is the end of her journey in the competition.  Reese was eliminated after scoring the lowest in an acting performance wherein all proteges were given the chance to act alongside the "Diamond Star" Maricel Soriano in five short films directed by Cannes Film Festival awardee Brillante Mendoza and written by Palanca awardee Floy Quintos.

Glenn, Mitch, Kelly, Mykel, Apple eliminated from Protege

In the words of protege judge Joey de Leon, Sunday's showdown of talents among the bottom 10 proteges of GMA-7's artista search "Protege: The Battle for the Big Artista Break" was "mentor anguish."

The Proteges who didn't make the cut

The bottom two proteges from each of the five protege teams were given their last chance to prove to their mentors that they deserve to retain their places in the competition. In the end, five proteges were saved, while the other five left the competition for good.

Japs de Luna (N. and C. Luzon), Zandra Summer (Visayas), Vien Alen King (Mega Manila), Arny Ross (South Luzon) and Ruru Madrid (Mindanao) have another reason to thank their mentors because they were the ones saved this week, while Glenn Roy (N. and C. Luzon), Mitch Capili (Visayas), Kelly D (Mega Manila), Mykel Ong (Southern Luzon) and Apple Vega (Mindanao) will have to face the bitter truth of being evicted from the competition.

Protégé Profiles: Apple Vega

APPLE VEGA, 20, from Dipolog City. She is a registered midwife and the Protege of Phillip Salvador (Mindanao). Here is an interview about this Protege from Mindanao. 

Tumakas ka daw sa alcoholic father mo para lang maka-audition sa Protégé?

 “Yes po.” 

Bakit, ayaw ba niyang mag-artista ka?

“Yung papa ko po kasi laging umiinom at hindi naman po niya talaga alam kung anu-ano ang pinaggagawa namin kaya nung nag-audition po ako, hindi ko na po ipinaalam sa kanya.  Kasi kung ipinagpaalam ko po sa kanya, bale wala lang din naman po sa kanya kaya ayun po, hindi ko na po siya sinabihan.”

Sinong kasama mo nung audition?

“Ako lang po.  Nag-audition po ako sa SM Cebu.  Mag-isa akong nagtravel (by ship) sa Cebu at wala po akong kakilala doon sa Cebu*.  Nag-stay lang po ako sa medyo murang apartelle kasi wala po akong pambayad sa hotel.”

*Dipolog (Mindanao) is a 4-5 hours slow-boat ride to Cebu (Visayas)

Protégé Profiles: Ruru Madrid

Ruru Madrid, at 14, is one of the youngest among the Top 20 Proteges. Although he and his family are now living in Marikina City, Ruru is representing his home province of Zamboanga City in Mindanao. He is currently in 2nd Year High School, Protégé of Phillip Salvador (Mindanao)

How did you know about Protégé?

“May mga nagsabi po kasi sa akin na may auditions nga daw po para sa Protégé. Sabi po nila subukan ko raw po dahil baka malaki ang chance ko na makapasok. Nasa school po ako nung ginawa ang audition tapos nagpaalam po ako na mag-o-audition.”

Why do you want to be a star?

“Mula nung bata pa po ako, kapag nakakapanood po ako ng drama scenes at may iyakan, naiisip ko po ‘siguro kaya ko itong gawin.’ Tapos maya-maya po napapatulo ko na po yung luha ko, tapos sasabihin ng nanay ko, ‘O, anong nangyari sa’yo?’ Tapos ganun po, kaya ko pong kontrolin ang luha ko.

Top 20 Proteges help man GMA's Telethon for flood victims

The Top 20 proteges of GMA's artista search Protege: The Battle for the Big Artista Break took time outside of their reclusive quarters to receive pledges of financial and material aid intended for residents displaced when several municipalities in Mega Manila and Luzon were inundated as a result of torrential rains in this northern Philippine region.

"Nakakatuwa pong makatanggap ng tawag mula sa ibang mga tao na gustong makatulong at gustong magbigay ng donations, lalung-lalo na po yung mga tumatawag mula pa sa abroad, nagbibigay po sila, concerned pa rin po talaga sila.  Iba talaga ang Pinoy. Astig!," shared Mykel Ong, a protege from Batangas.

Protégé Profiles: Steffi Pacheco

Protégé of Phillip Salvador (Mindanao) 

When Mindanao protégé Steffi Pacheco walked down the stage during the Top 20 Protégé presentation last Sunday, she did so with the confidence and projection of a supermodel.

Asked about her first ramp on TV, she said it was a dream-come-true.

“Siyempre masaya, na nakakakaba. Masaya kasi isa rin ‘to sa mga pangarap ko – yung makatungtong sa stage ng Protégé,” she said.

Steffi’s journey to the Protégé stage began when she auditioned in Davao.

“Nakakaba kasi marami ring mga magaganda at magagaling na nag-audition din. Napressure din kahit papaano pero naniniwala naman ako na kaya ko din pong patunayan na karapat-dapat akong mapili bilang protégé with the help din po of prayers,” she recalled.

Revelation of The Top 20 Proteges on its Gala Night

From thousands of young dreamers who auditioned nationwide for a stab at stardom, Protege narrows down the list to the coveted Top 20 aspirants who will compete in GMA's original artista search.

This supreme slate of artista aspirants, meticulously selected from 15 cities all around the country, is all set to showcase their talent and star power on the Protege arena and will compete for the judges' and the Filipinos' votes during the weekly performance nights.

Sharing his knowledge and insights with the proteges from Mindanao is drama and action film legend Phillip Salvador.  His four proteges are David John Llanas, Ruru Madrid, Apple Vega and Steffi Pacheco.

Acting as mentor for the proteges in the Visayas is multimedia icon Jolina Magdangal.  Her proteges include Bryan Benedict, Mikoy Morales, Mitch Capili and Zandra Summer.

Mentoring the proteges from Northern and Central Luzon is acclaimed actor and TV director Ricky Davao.  His four Proteges are Glenn Roy, Japs De Luna, Reese Tayag and Shelly Hipolito.

Protégé holds first live gala night this Sunday

The search for the next big Kapuso stars officially begins as Protégé makes its highly-anticipated and star-studded premiere on Philippine television this Sunday, August 5. The first live gala night happens after IBilib on GMA's Sunday Grande block.

After several months of its intensive nationwide hunt, Protégé will finally unveil the coveted TOP 20 aspirants who will go head-to-head in the weekly elimination nights and outdo each other in hopes of winning over the judges' and the viewers' votes.

Protege: The Battle for the Big Artista Break - Mentor Spotlight GINA ALAJAR

GMA's artista search Protege: The Battle for the Big Artista Break marks a milestone because after several weeks of scouring the Philippine for potential stars, the five mentors in the search - Roderick Paulate (Mega Manila), Gina Alajar (South Luzon), Jolina Magdangal (Visayas), Ricky Davao (Northern and Central Luzon), and Philip Salvador (Mindanao) - will finaly choose their four (for each mentor) proteges from among those who auditioned in designated auditions locations in the country and from and those who auditioned online via GMANetwork.com/Protege.