AGT judges grateful for the judging experience

Asia’s Got Talent judges. Wikipedia Photo.

MANILA — Asia’s Got Talent (AGT) judges Canadian music producer David Foster, Indonesian rock icon Anggun, Taiwanese idol-singer Van Ness Wu and British singer-songwriter Melanie C express gratitude for their judging experience.

As the show is down to its final night, judges were overwhelmed about their “journey” in finding the most talented acts in the region.

“For me, personally, the journey has been great and I’m just very grateful with the opportunity. It has been a blessing and I could not ask for anybody else to work with. We are friends hanging out and the more we hang out, the more we get to know each other,” Van Ness said.

David Foster also said that as judges, they have learned various skills from each other and they took the experience as an opportunity to learn the areas they are not well-versed with.

“The four of us cover a lot of ground in terms of our expertise and I think that we have learned from each other what to recognize in the area that we are not too versed. So, for instance me, in dancing, I would turn to Van Ness and for girl power or bands, I would look to Mel, in singing it’s Anggun and I, although we are all singers,” he said.

“You know we rely a lot on each other to help educate each other on things we don’t know,” he added.

In the span of time that they served as the judges of the competition, each of them assumed various roles: Van Ness  as the “Nice One,” Anggun and Mel C were called the “Wicked Witches of East and West,” and David, as the “Dream Crusher” for being brutally honest.

David said that each role that they play is essential in helping the contestants achieve their full potential.

“I made a decision to be honest with myself and to give criticism when needed. Quiet honestly it sucks but you have to bring out the best in Asia and if you’re not good then you’re not supposed to be out there (on stage) and it’s up to one of us to let you know. I understand that I’m harsh and Asian culture is a little soft so I was actually on my best behavior. Believe it or not, I can be a lot worse,” David admitted.

Among the Filipino finalists competing for the title tonight are classical singer Gerphil Flores, shadow-play troupe El Gamma Penumbra, 10-year-old rocker Gwyneth Dorado and hip-hop dance group Junior New System.