TFC Lounge’s “Tune-Ay Ka, Kapamilya, Labanang Karaoke” a big hit at Seasons MarketPlace

March 22, 2011 - PRLog -- “It is important for a major communication institution like TFC to be right here in our backyard in the San Jose and Milpitas area to keep our community informed and engaged.” – Ben Menor, County Chair, National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) Santa Clara County Chapter (Region 8/Northern California)

ABS-CBN International’s The Filipino Channel (TFC) continues its community-building efforts in the South Bay with its first ever TFC Lounge which was launched successfully last February 26 at Seasons MarketPlace at Landess, the new retail and dining center opened by Ayalafil Management and the Seafood City Family of Companies in the heart of Silicon Valley in Milpitas, California.

On March 19, the TFC Lounge hosted “Tune-Ay Ka, Kapamilya, Labanang Karaoke”, a karaoke singing contest at Seasons.  Shoppers braved the heavy rains and their nerves by gamely signing up for the event which registered 27 entries, 12 of which were drawn to take part in the contest that was held at the mall’s events suite.  Contestants’ ages ranged from as young as 12 years old to senior citizen age, proving that this TFC activity appealed across the age spectrum or all members of the family.

After enjoying dining, grocery and retail shopping at Seasons’ various establishments and at the Starry Starry Store kiosk, scores of shoppers trooped to watch “Tune-Ay Ka, Kapamilya, Labanang Karaoke”, hosted by Adobo Nation’s Julius Santos and pop diva of sing-along comedy bars, Vivorah.  The jolly hosts pumped up the audience with well-received games and a song-and-dance number from Vivorah.

Then one by one, a dozen contestants crooned, rocked and belted their way through their highly diverse numbers, regaling the crowd with different singing styles and music genres.  The performances were judged based on the scores that registered on the karaoke audio equipment that was used and ratings of the judges, with 50% for voice quality and interpretation and 50% for audience impact and stage presence.  The panel of judges was composed of Jun Del Rosario, ABS-CBN International’s senior director for cable and satellite, and Ben Menor, county chair, National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA) Santa Clara County Chapter (Region 8/Northern California).

After the smoke cleared, the top three winners emerged: first place went to Allison Joy Rondez for her rendition of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You”; second place went to Jolly Ann Victorino who sang Beyonce’s “Listen”; and third place went to Ronaldo Martinez who performed Rico Puno’s “May Bukas Pa”.

“The TFC Lounge was envisioned to be a hub for our subscribers to interact with TFC shows through picture-taking by our Imortal standees, writing in the Mara Clara diary, and so on, where they can get the chance to be featured on TFC.  However, the karaoke contest concept came about when Seasons MarketPlace Director Dinna Bayangos and Merchant Relations Consultant Girly Ramos informed us that shoppers drop by our lounge to engage in sing-along activities! We quickly adopted the idea as a way of improving and developing our affinity with our subscribers,” said Del Rosario.

As an additional testament to TFC’s community-building efforts at Seasons, various tenants joined ABS-CBN’s TFC, Magic Sing care of Starry Starry Store and StarKargo in donating prizes and giveaways for “Tune-Ay Ka, Kapamilya, Labanang Karaoke”. These included Seafood City, Max’s of Manila, Bench Body, Filipino Desserts Plus, Hair Couture Salon, Coffee Adventure, Gabucan Family Dentistry, Ideal Vision, Beard Papa’s and Atlas Express Padala. Lighthouse Entertainment also donated as prizes tickets to the Star Magic Tour 2011 at the San Jose State Event Center Arena on April 16.

CAPTIONS:  Clockwise from top left : Seasons MarketPlace shoppers registering for “Tune-Ay Ka, Kapamilya, Labanang Karaoke” at the TFC Lounge; Ben Menor of NaFFAA and Jun Del Rosario of TFC flank Tune-ay Karaoke winner Allison Joy Rondez; Tune-ay winners Ronaldo Martinez, Allison Joy Rondez and Jolly Ann Victorino with Vivorah and Julius Santos of Adobo Nation; Contestants of all ages took part in TFC’s “Tune-Ay Ka, Kapamilya, Labanang Karaoke”; a huge crowd braved the rains to shop and dine at Seasons and watch TFC’s karaoke event.  (Photos by Nerissa Fernandez)

About ABS-CBN International
ABS-CBN International was created over 15 years ago to be of service to all Filipinos. With the launch of The Filipino Channel (TFC), the company became the first and most successful Filipino broadcaster in the U.S. The company offers telecommunication, retail, theatricals, money remittance and cargo services, online audio and video streaming, IPTV, On Demand, along with philanthropic support for Filipinos and the communities they now call home.  Based in Redwood City, CA, ABS-CBN International is a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Corporation, the Philippines’ largest entertainment and broadcasting company, through ABS-CBN Corporation's wholly-owned subsidiary, ABS-CBN Global Hungary Kft. For more information, visit www.abs-cbnglobal.com.

About Seasons MarketPlace
Seasons MarketPlace is AYALAFIL’s first Filipino lifestyle center in the United States.   It has over 75,000 sq ft of retail space and is home to one of the newest stores of Seafood City and many other establishments dedicated to food shopping, dining, beauty & wellness and services.  For more information, visit www.theseasonsmarketplace.com .