Dalaguete's Kent Villarba: From Bruno Mars of Cebu to TNT champ

Just two minutes before the finale of "Tawag ng Tanghalan (TNT): Ika-siyam na Taon" aired on "It's Showtime" yesterday, November 8, Kent Villarba shared on his Facebook page that making it to the grand finals was already the best birthday gift he could ask for.

- By JANUAR JUNIOR AGUJA

"Whatever happens in the competition, win or lose, I am grateful to the Lord that He gave me the best birthday gift ever," the singer from Dalaguete, Cebu, wrote on his "KentCoustics Covers" page.

Two and a half hours later, Villarba was named the winner of TNT's regular ninth season after impressing the judges and the show's "Madlang People" with his heartfelt performances of Lewis Capaldi's "Before You Go" and IV of Spades' "Where Have You Been, My Disco?", earning a combined vote of 98%.

Trailing Villarba were runners-up Lucky Nicole Galindez from Tubi, South Cotabato, who received 92% of the votes, and Angelica Magno from Sultan Kudarat, who garnered 56%.

It was his emotional rendition of Capaldi's hit that struck a chord with the judges, earning him a standing ovation with Yeng Constantino visibly teary-eyed during his performance.

"You really deserve to be in the grand finals today," said Erik Santos. "You were relaxed, so confident, and that intensity showed me that you really want that one million."