Protégé: The égéBattle for the Big Break is a 2011 reality-based singing talent show created by Real Florido for GMA Network. It is hosted by Ogie Alcasid, as the journey host, Dingdong Dantes as gala presenter, and Jennylyn Mercado, the show's reality host. It is the first season of GMA's reality talent program, Protégé.
The show was first intended to be a "talent search" similar to StarStruck and Protégé might have been the replacement of the said show.
This show is stapled the timeslot between the two talent shows from other rival shows with ABS-CBN's Pilipinas Got Talent and TV5's Talentadong Pinoy.
The result reveals right after the performance. The first two results nights were shown one hour after the performance of the finalists. The judges, on the other hand are happy that their opinions matter in this contest, since the results will not depend solely on text votes.
Overview
In Protégé: The Battle for the Big Break, 10 legendary music icons groom their own bets to be music's biggest phenomenon. As the competition open its doors to a wide array of talent, performances are bound to be spectacular and exciting. But this is not only a battle for the aspirants.
With revered and lauded mentors who have established their names in the music industry also vying for the same prize, drama and tension will sure arise. Their reputation and credibility at stake, their mentoring techniques will also be scrutinized.
Mentors and judges
Mentors
Aiza Seguerra
Claire de la Fuente
Gloc-9
Imelda Papin
Janno Gibbs
Jaya
Jay-R
Joey Generoso
Rachelle Ann Go
Rey Valera
Judges
Joey de Leon (Face-off and Gala Judge) Bert de Leon (Face-off and Gala Judge) Louie Ocampo (Gala Judge) Homer Flores (Face-off Judge) Eula Valdez (Gala Judge)
Guest judge
Cherie Gil (October 30, 2011, Finals December 18, 2011)
Auditions
Dubbed in the show as The Hunt, the mentors were tasked to roam around the country and scour different provinces and cities to find the best music acts that may become their bets for the competition.
This is the first level of the competition wherein the mentors will invade their assigned audition sites.
The mentors will be the guide of the protégés. They will groom and help the contestants to stay in the competition. A mentor's role is make his or her protégé shine.
They will be aided by two Audition Masters in searching for their protégés. These two audition masters are renowned starmaker Jojie Dingcong and GMA Artist Center Head Arsi Baltazar.
Aspiring protégés will come from two sources. First is the pre-screening done by the Audition Masters before the Regionals Proper. Second are the aspirants personally invited by the mentors based on the research that the staff conducted.
When faced with the mentors, the aspiring protégés will hear Yes if they are to be considered for the next round or No if they are not. Those who got a Yes will be pooled and the mentors will choose only three each that they will take with them to Manila.
Face-off round
After the provincial auditions in The Hunt round, the mentors are left with three protégés each, completing the Top 30 protégés. This is considered to be the semi-final round.
These Top 30 protégés competes with each other in the face-off round where individual acts performs in front of the three judges. The judges then tell the mentors which of the three should be their protégé that they will pit against the other mentors' protégés.
Thus, at the end of the face-off round, every mentor will only have one protégé each. Only ten protégés will compete in the next round.
Top 30 face-off contenders
Finalists
Winner
Krizza Neri (RnB Sistah) (born June 28, 1995) is from Cagayan de Oro, Philippines and was 16 years old at the time of the show. She auditioned at SM City Cagayan de Oro in front of the assigned mentor, Aiza Seguerra with Beyoncé Knowles' "Halo and Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass". She also performed "No One" in the Face-off Round. Neri was announced as the winner on December 18, 2011.