Sixteen-year-old student Janine Berdin of Cebu shone the brightest in “Tawag ng Tanghalan’s” grand finals as she became the latest singer to be named the grand champion of the biggest singing competition in the country on “It’s Showtime” last Saturday (June 2) at the Aliw Theater.

Janine recorded the highest total average score of 96.11% from the combined hurado scores and text and online votes, thrashing other grand finalists Ato Arman (74.27%) of Bukidnon and Steven Paysu (61.80%) of California, USA.

The youngest in the competition, Janine was also the first to enter Saturday’s grand showdown during the week-long grand finals, and was an early favorite of viewers and netizens to win the singing contest. Her performances were also frequently raved by the judges, and have racked up millions of views on YouTube.

In the final round, Janine earned a standing ovation from the judges and the madlang people in the Aliw Theater after she sang a medley of songs by Bamboo, namely “Noypi,” “Tatsulok,” and “Hallelujah.”

Before this, she performed Sampaguita’s “Nosi Balasi” before being praised and dubbed by judge and pop rock princess as “the new sound of OPM.”

As the grand champion, Janine won an ultimate vacation package from 2GO, a musical gadgets package from JB Music, a livelihood package from Siomai house, premium television sets from HKTV, management contracts, a brand new house and lot from Camella, P2 million, and a trophy created by renowned Filipino visual artist Toym Imao.

Meanwhile, second placer received P500,000, while third placer Steven was awarded P250,000.

Many Filipinos watched “Tawag ng Tanghalan” name its newest grand champion, as it immediately topped the list of trending topics on Twitter worldwide. Janine’s name also made it to the second spot on the list.

Netizens also watched the competition on YouTube. Its livestreamed video on the site racked up more than 100,000 concurrent views – the highest-ever recorded by a Kapamilya program or an ABS-CBN news coverage on YouTube. This is after the singing competition’s official Facebook page recently earned one million likes.

The votes amassed by this year’s week-long “Tawag ng Tanghalan” grand finals also exceeded the figure recorded by last year’s grand finals, as Filipinos all over the country and around the world campaigned for, supported, and voted for their favorites to win the latest season.

After the vocal showdowns in “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” beauty queens will take over the “It’s Showtime” stage in the grand finals of the “Miss Q & A” segment on June 30.