Philippine Sports and Entertainment Portal Online

June10, 2009 -- Bags P100,000 cash prize and coveted “Ultimate Celebrity Audista” title

After 4 weeks of battling it out on the hottest dance craze in television, the pair of Mark Herras and Chynna Ortaleza bested other Kapuso stars and was named the grand champion of Audition Celebrity Dance Battle, the first ever TV dance competition based on an online game.

Nationwide viewers of S.O.P., GMA7’s Sunday afternoon concert party, rocked the noontime ratings and witnessed the final dance showdown between Mark and Chynna versus Rainier Castillo and Ryza Cenon last June 7, 2009. The winning pair received the title “Ultimate Celebrity Audista” and P100,000 cash, 50% of which will be donated to their charity partner.

“Being part of the finals was very fulfilling. We’re really happy because we were able to keep our promise to our charity family, and we didn’t disappoint followers of the segment. We’re thankful to X-Play, GMA-NMI, and GMA7 for giving us a chance to be part of Audition Celebrity Dance Battle,” says Mark Herras.

Based on the overnight survey of AGB Nielsen Philippines among Mega Manila households, the S.O.P. episode which aired the Audition Celebrity Dance Battle finale garnered 33.1% audience share, beating its rival Sunday afternoon variety show. This can be partly attributed to the millions of online gamers in the Philippines who were eager to see an online game come to life on National TV.

Audition Celebrity Dance Battle was launched in S.O.P. on May 17 and is based on the highly popular online game Audition Dance Battle, developed by T3 Entertainment in Korea and published locally by X-Play Online Games Inc. (X-Play), a joint venture between IP E-Games Ventures Inc. (E-Games) and GMA New Media Inc.

50% of the scores was based on votes of the judges – premiere Kapuso artist Regine Tolentino, renowned choreographer Geleen Eugenio, and Audition Dance Battle Product Manager Jason Tomas. The remaining 50% were based on text votes during the duration of the show, wherein viewers who voted for their favorite celebrity Audistas also had a chance to win special prizes.

Runners-up Rainer and Ryza advanced to the finals after beating the tandem of Vaness Del Moral and Dominic Roco in the first elimination held on May 24, while Mark and Chynna qualified after a dance showdown with Yasmien Kurdi and JC Tiuseco on May 31.

The Celebrity Audistas performed dance moves inspired by the leading online casual game in the country. The actual game graphics flashed on TV and the colorful Korean pop costumes of the contestants were also adapted from the game.

“I’ve been playing Audition Dance Battle for the past 3 years and it has always been cartoons and avatars playing the characters. With Audition Celebrity Dance Battle, I and all the other Audistas out there were so amazed to see how the hottest Kapuso stars have brought to life the characters in the game,” says Jason Tomas, Product Manager of Audition Dance Battle.

The Ultimate Celebrity Audistas received Php100,000, half of which will go to charity partner, IP Foundation. The healthcare beneficiary of IP Foundation is Family Vaccine and Specialty Clinics (FVSC), which operates the largest chain of privately run vaccination clinics in the Philippines, with 30 clinics across 17 provinces nationwide. Each celebrity pair sponsored one FVSC clinic and a beneficiary family.

“This is our first time to compete in a dance contest for a worthy cause. We did all that we can to win, because seriously, our inspiration has been our beneficiary family,” says Chynna.