Before Christmas and 2024 ended, world-class singer and “Tawag ng Tanghalan” alumnus Sofronio Vasquez gave the Philippines one of the best presents we’d received last year—his successful and historic stint in “The Voice USA Season 26” as the first-ever Asian and Filipino grand champion.
A few weeks after his momentous win, he finally had his much-awaited homecoming this January, with several programs having him as their guest. Of course, his first destination was “It’s Showtime,” which served as his springboard in the industry. It was through that appearance where we found out how the program, especially Vice Ganda, was a huge part of his success as a singer.
And in the latest vlog uploaded on the Unkabogable Star’s official YouTube channel, we got to see not just their friendship but the playful facet of Sofronio that we usually don’t see on camera.
When asked if his remarkable victory had already sunk into him, he confessed that although he felt the overwhelming love and support of his ardent followers while he was still in the United States, he was only able to completely savor his win as soon as he returned here in the Philippines.
“Noong nandito na ako, nakauwi ako sa kung saan ako nagsimula—sa ‘It’s Showtime’—tapos nabigyan ako ng chance ng ibang mga shows, na-meet ko ‘yong President, sobrang nakakatuwa talaga na kumbaga ‘yong recognition is very true na. Kaya ‘di mo talaga mapipigilang umiyak,” he related.
The Unkabogable Star veered their conversation to his notable journey in TNT, which started in 2015. His first attempt was in Season 1, in which he only won once as a daily winner. Instead of easily getting disheartened, he tried his luck over and over again, to the point that he would loiter at a coffee shop near ABS-CBN and ask the talent coordinators that he would spot to give him another chance to join the competition.
Sofronio went on to talk about his “almost there” moments in the competition, in which he always got eliminated a round prior to the grand finals, or the “Huling Tapatan,” of Season 2 and the All-Star Grand Resbak. Thus, he admitted questioning God at some point for all the rejections or setbacks that he went through and asked Him to give him at least one victory just to make his dream come true, but it was not given to him easily and immediately.
Despite not winning TNT, he still eventually became part of the long-running segment as a vocal coach to the contestants of the succeeding seasons. Just in case you don’t know yet, he was actually one of those who trained grand champions JM Yosures, Reiven Umali, JM Dela Cerna, Marielle Montellano, Lyka Estrella, and Rea Gen Villareal. When the pandemic came, he was among the severely affected work-wise, which compelled him to look for a better opportunity abroad to be able to sustain his and his family’s financial needs.
He then brought us back to the process that he went through in auditioning for “The Voice USA,” divulging that he was initially rejected. But instead of giving up, he once again tried his luck finally made it to the callbacks. He enthusiastically heeded Vice’s request for him to give samples of Calum Scott’s “Dancing On My Own,” Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” and The Animals’ “House of the Rising Sun,” which were the songs he prepared for the callback.
Even though he had to quit his job as a dental assistant in Utica, New York City, Sofronio revealed that he was still able to earn money through the talent fees that he received as a contestant in “The Voice” and send a portion of it to his beloved family here in the Philippines. He also recalled eating eggs, sardines, and instant pancit canton most of the time in order to save money.
When quizzed by the Unkabogable Star if he ever assumed that he would make it to the competition and eventually win, the talented singer from Misamis Occidental revealed that his only goal at the time was actually to have at least one of the four coaches turn their chair for him in hopes of making us, his kababayans, proud of him and be finally seen. And much to his surprise, he didn’t just get one but four coaches to press their red buzzers for him simultaneously within four seconds and chose to be part of Team Michael Bublé.
“May specific na sinabi si Michael Bublé doon na talagang na-touch ‘yong heart ko. Sinabi niya na, ‘You will never understand how Filipino my heart is.’ Kinuwento pa niya na ‘yong inaanak niya, na kumpare niya si Martin Nievera. Talagang Pinoy na Pinoy siya,” Sofronio shared when asked why he chose to be under the mentorship of Canadian singer-songwriter.
Vice and Sofronio also talked about his personal encounter with American singer-actress Jennifer Hudson and that moment she hurled one of her shoes at him because of how mind-blowing his version of Dusty Springfield’s “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” was. While he trusted Michael with his song choices for him, he confessed that there was an instance when he was initially hesitant to sing Roy Orbinson’s “Crying” that Michael suggested since he was not confident that he could do it. In the end, his rigorous preparations paid off as that went on to become one of his best performances in the competition.
Not a lot of people know, but his journey in “The Voice” wasn’t exactly smooth-sailing all the time. He recalled being rushed to the hospital during his preparations for the Battles Round due to the extreme anxiety, stress, sleeplessness, exhaustion, and pressure that he went through at the time.
Moreover, Sofronio opened up about feeling sad despite winning the contest, as he felt so alone. He said, “Kalakip ng panalo, Ate, medyo may kalungkutan. Kasi no’ng nagsimula kami, isang wing kaming lahat, hundred plus [contestants], tapos unti-unting nalalagas. No’ng nanalo ako, iyak talaga ako habang naglalakad kasi ako lang mag-isa. ‘[I thought] why do I feel sad na nanalo ako? Ako lang mag-isa na natira?’ Kumbaga, nanalo ka nga, pero bakit ikaw lang mag-isa?”
And that’s exactly the reason why he was so excited going back to the Philippines, because he knew all too well that he would truly feel the worth of his victory in the presence of his fellowmen. At the same time, he also wanted the people to know the huge role that Vice played not just in his journey in TNT and “The Voice” but in making his dream into reality.
“Sana malaman ng mga tao kung gaano kalaking figure ang isang Vice Ganda sa lahat ng dreamers, especially para sa akin,” he divulged, recalling the instance when he messaged her on Instagram upon getting into the Blind Auditions to thank her for the energy she radiates.
He continued, “Kasi iba ‘yong binibigay mo na soul of dreaming. Kasi nagiging shadow ka rin sa amin na hindi naman binigay sa’yo kaagad e, alam naming ‘yong story. Trinabaho at trinabaho mo. Ikaw ‘yong totoong breadwinner.”
After their insightful and lighthearted conversation, the “It’s Showtime” host then exposed the playful side of Sofronio that we don’t usually see on camera, as well as had his vocal prowess tested through the fun challenges that she and her team prepared for him. She initially had him play a trending game in which he provided the sound to every expression that she made, then the game in which he had to continue singing his chosen song while he was lying on four chairs that Vice would pull out.
“Sa lahat po ng dreamers out there, kami pong dalawa naniniwala na ang mga pangarap malakas talaga kapag may sipag at tiyaga,” he uttered as they wrapped up the interview, to which Vice added, “at may paniniwala na matutupad ang lahat ng ito.”
*Photo credit to Sofronio Vasquez FB