On December 11 (Philippine time), just a few days before Christmas, Filipinos woke up to one of the greatest news we’ve received this 2024 as our very own Sofronio Vasquez was hailed as the grand winner of “The Voice USA Season 26”! 

He indeed had a remarkable start in the singing contest, as he immediately impressed the four judges—Michael Bublé, Gwen Stefani, Queen Reba McEntire, and Snoop Dogg—who all turned their chairs for him and gave him a standing ovation for his rendition of Mary J. Blige’s “I’m Goin’ Down.” He decided to be part of Team Michael and went on to consistently deliver notable performances one after another, which brought him to the last round of the competition and made history as the first Philippine-born contestant to break into the Top 5, as well the first-ever Asian singer to win the prestigious talent show.  

But prior to his victorious stint in “The Voice USA,” Sofronio has already gained popularity here in the Philippines as an alumnus of “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” a segment of “It’s Showtime” that has been one of the biggest and longest-running amateur singing contests in the country. 

As we celebrate this massive and historic triumph not only for him but also for the entire nation, let’s revisit his remarkable journey on TNT in this special feature! 

Tawag ng Tanghalan: Ikalawang Yugto Quarter 2 

It was in February 2016 when he joined “Tawag ng Tanghalan: Ikalawang Yugto” for the first time as a proud delegate of Mindanao, specifically the province of Misamis Occidental, and won the daily round after swooning everyone with Eric Benet’s “The Last Time.” He went on to impress the hurados with his version of Whitney Houston’s “The Greatest Love of All” and was hailed as the defending champion that day.  

Tawag ng Tanghalan: Ikalawang Yugto Quarter 3

Unfortunately, he fell short on his initial attempt in the Quarter 2 of “TNT Ikalawang Yugto.” But that didn’t discourage him from trying again, as he returned to Quarter 3 of the competition in 2017 and became more successful this time.  

Aside from being announced the daily winner on November 14, 2017 for his astonishing performance of Skylark’s “Wildflower,” he was also able to steal the “golden mikropono” from the defending champion at the time with his rendition of Shirley Bassey’s “I Who Have Nothing,” which received a standing from the hurados.  

Being able to protect his reign as the defending champion for six consecutive times, Sofronio advanced to the semifinals. He went on to use that same song on Day 1 of the semifinals round and once again earned a standing ovation from the hurados. 

Due to the consistently stellar performances that he delivered throughout the semifinals, Sofronio proceeded to the “Huling Tapatan” of “TNT Ikalawang Yugto,” along with fellow Quarter 3 grand finalist Tuko Delos Reyes, who was actually the one to end his winning streak in the daily rounds.  

For the Round 1 of the “Huling Tapatan,” the crooner from Misamis Occidental, he indeed stood tall against his rivals as if he was James Bond with his astonishing take on Adele’s “Skyfall.” 

In the second round, he proved that he couldn’t be easily taken down in this game and he’s determined to make it until the end through his impressive rendition of Carpenter’s “Solitaire.” 

He then made us groove with his performance of “Treasure” by Bruno Mars” in the third round. 

Sofronio’s version of The Beatles’ “Let It Be” on the Day 4 of the “Huling Tapatan” was too beautiful and evocative, that punong hurado Rey Valera couldn’t help but get seemingly a bit emotional while commenting on his performance and his admirable determination.

He told him, “Kung hindi ka man nginitian ng lady luck ngayon, I’m sure dahil ‘yon sa alam niya na ikaw ang gagawa ng sarili mong suwerte at hindi mo siya kailangan because ang ganyang klaseng tao, you will always find your way.” 

In spite of his remarkable performances in the “Huling Tapatan,” he still fell short in making it to the finale and in his bid to becoming the grand champion of “TNT Ikalawang Yugto” as he only placed seventh.  

Tawag ng Tanghalan All-Star Grand Resbak 

However, being the determined and palaban person that he is, Sofronio refused to give up once again and was among the former contestants to take part in the “TNT All-Star Grand Resbak.” The competition, which ran for six weeks, featured ultimate resbakers and semi-finalists from season 1 to season 3, as well as from Celebrity Champions, who failed to advance to the live finale of the edition they belonged. 

The contestants were grouped into three teams, namely “Alab,” “Bagsik,” and “Sinag,” with Sofronio competing under Team Alab.  

On the third day of the Team Battle, he was chosen to represent Team Alab and successfully took over the “Seat of Power” after he amazed the hurados with his back-to-back performances of “Bulag, Pipi, at Bingi” by Freddie Aguilar and “The Way We Were” by Rico J. Puno.  

He was able to help Team Alab defend their “Seat of Power” every time he was tapped to be their representative through his magnificent performances, which included, “Hello” by Lionel Richie and “It’s A Man’s World” by Tom Jones. 

Sofronio was able to break into the the Stage 2 of the TNT All-Star Grand Resbak with his rendition of Styx’s “Babe” and advanced to the “Huling Tapatan.”

On the first day of the week-long showdown, he crooned out his stirring cover of his favorite song ever since he was still a child: Rico J. Puno’s “Lupa.”

The following day, he did his best to move everyone, especially the hurados, with his version of James Ingram’s “Just Once,” which was his ode to his journey as an aspiring singer who went through a lot of setbacks and rejections.

He then delivered a powerful performance of Journey’s “Open Arms” on the third day of the grand finals, which he dedicated to his beloved older brother Aido, who tirelessly supported him in his endeavors and accompanied him in every step of his way in TNT.  

On the fourth day of the grand finals, he sang his heart out to AfterImage’s “Next In Line,” which he had been singing ever since he was young according to her mother, Aida Vasquez.

And on the last day of the grand finals, which was a few days away from Christmas, he warmed our hearts not just with his story of celebrating the holiday with his family when he was just a kid, but also with his rendition of Amy Grant’s “Grown-Up Christmas List.”

However, even though it was such a noteworthy performance, he still obtained the lowest total combined average score and got eliminated from the competition.

Sofronio’s journey was indeed a testament of how talent, when matched with determination, hardwork, faith, and confidence, can take us a long way in life and make our dreams come true. Luck might have been elusive for him and he had to go through a lot of rejections in life but he didn’t let that stop him from reaching for his dreams, even though that meant having to fulfill it in a different land and set his foot in a bigger stage.  

Truly, he serves as a great inspiration not just to aspiring singers, but to everyone of us to keep on dreaming, keep on trying, and keep on striving until we finally make it—just like what he did.

Congratulations, Sofronio! We are so proud of you!