Let’s admit it: “Pinoy Pride” will always be strong among Filipinos. It’s when a certain Pinoy personality makes it abroad and the whole nations—us, their fellow kababayans, rejoice and spread the word about their success. Case in point: Sofronio Vasquez III. However, some people on the Internet seem to have mixed reactions to Pinoys’ reaction to Sofronio, especially when he visited It’s Showtime once again.

 

Facts first: Sofronio is the first-ever Filipino to win The Voice USA after 26 seasons—well, in fact, he is also the first Asian to win the competition. He won as one of Michael Bublé‘s trainees in the show. The 32-year-old sang “Unstoppable,” by Sia and “A Million Dreams,” from the OST of the film The Greatest Showman.

 

It was probably the nth time for Sofronio to join a singing competition. As the saying goes, try and try again until you succeed, and he surely did. After trying his luck in the Philippines—he also joined The Voice Philippines, but failed to make the judges turn their chairs—and then his Tawag ng Tanghalan stint on It’s Showtime, Sofronio apparently is made for bigger stages, an international one to be precise.

 

Sofronio Vasquez visits It’s Showtime

On December 12, 2024, Sofronio made his first guest appearance on It’s Showtime, years after joining as a contestant. This time, he was someone telling his story as the first Asian to win The Voice USA.

Live from Los Angeles, California, he joined via a video call, Sofronio greeted the madlang people with much love and happiness. Sofronio disclosed that the producers fromThe Voice USA were the ones who encouraged him to fully represent the Philippines during the competition.

“Nagsimula po ako sa blind auditions trying to just represent myself and Utica, New York. Pero mapalad po ako dahil ‘yung mga producers ng mismong show, sila ‘yung nag-suggest na mas maganda kung i-represent mo ‘yung Philippines,” he shared.

And so since then, Sofronio has been standing on The Voice USA stage with much pride as a Filipino singer, and fortunately, he is now bringing pride to the Filipino—and the Asian—people. “Napaka-emotional po ng panalo ko kagabi, actually ngayon po nanginginig po ako habang shine-share sa inyo kasi parang pangarap ko lang po dati, proud po ako na nagsimula ako sa Tawag ng Tanghalan. Kasi Tawag ng Tanghalan at It’s Showtime ‘yung unang naniwala sa’kin,” he told It’s Showtime.

Aside from his experience, he also spilled something about his mentor, Michael Bublé. “Masaya po ako na along the way talagang sincere ‘yung pagmamahal ang galing kay Michael Bublé. Shinare po niya na may deep connection siya sa Pilipinas kasi kumpare niya raw po si Martin Nievera and shinare po niya meron daw po siyang naka-date na kilala nating lahat na diyosa sa atin,” he enthusiastically said during his virtual guesting.

 

The Internet to reacts to Sofronio Vasquez’s It’s Showtime guesting

Amid all the congratulations, there were mixed reactions from some It’s Showtime viewers and casual Facebook commenters. On It’s Showtime’s post, online citizens flocked to the comments section expressing their thoughts about Sofronio’s success and It’s Showtime‘s reception of his win abroad.

“Di nga nanalo sa TNT niyo. Sino ba pinanalo niyo? Medyo [ang] kapal, naki-ride on nalang kasi nanalo sa ibang bansa,” one comment read. Some people have also been side-eyeing It’s Showtime, claiming Sofronio as a singer who started small in Tawag ng Tanghalan.

Another said, “Ganyan tayong Pinoy. Pag wala pang napapatunayan sa buhay wala tayong pake. Pero pag mataas na nakakamit sa buhay, may pangalan na, ‘dun nation sila kilala… bigla nagging proud.” Despite the “negative,” comments, some still noted that there’s nothing to be negative about. What’s important is that Sofronio won fair and square and he’s reaping the results of his hard work.

One commenter pointed out that most of the time, the competition is just really tough since there are a lot of talented people in the Philippines—underscoring that Sofronio not winning in Tawag ng Tanghalan isn’t something to nitpick. “Wag nang mang-bash na, ‘Proud bigla ang shotime eh hindi niyo nga ipinanalo,’ […] dahil sa bawat season talaga, kahit tayong mga nanonood lang eh hirap din i-anticipate kung sinong mananalo sa daming magagaling. Anyway, congrats Sofronio!”

 

Others noted that people really have their own destinies. Since Sofronio didn’t win in Tawag ng Tanghalan nor in The Voice Philippines, it shows that he was meant for bigger and brighter things. At the end of the day, that’s something that we should just all be happy about for him.

Congratulations, Sofronio!