James Reid explains rejecting ‘Idol Philippines’ reggae singer

FILE: “ou have no idea how hard it is to crush people’s dreams right in front of them. That’s the burden we carry as judges to try and give one special person a chance of a lifetime.” – James Reid (Photo: @james/Instagram)

Netizens were quick to fire at ABS-CBN’s ‘Idol Philippines’ judges Moira dela Torre, Vice Ganda, and James Reid last Sunday, May 12 after they rejected the singing contest’s auditionee Luke Baylon and his reggae performance of Alicia Keys’s “If I Ain’t Got You,” but Reid has finally responded to the criticism to defend his decision.

During the episode, only Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez provided a positive response to Luke, agreeing to his entry into the next round, but being outnumbered by three ‘nos,’ the young singer immediately got eliminated. James was the first to turn down Luke, stating, “Actually, I loved your rendition. It was really fun. I’ve never heard it like that before. You have a voice, you can sing, it’s just lacking a bit with hitting the notes and the timing. I think it’s not just your time yet. You have a voice, you’re talented, you’re not just ready. It’s a no for me.”

Moira added, “It’s a no for me, for now. But I want to see you again,” while Vice Ganda chipped in Filipino, “It doesn’t make that big of an impact for me. It was not extra special.”

After drawing flak from social media from Twitter users like @I_Pad5 and @brianmatildo1 who believe that ‘Idol Philippines’ is the “worst singing contest [with] the worst judges” who should “replace the three judges (James, Moira, and Vice) with real singers,” 26-year-old Kapamilya artist James decided to elaborate on his thoughts. “Like I said, Luke Baylon is a good singer but we’re looking for the total package. Wait till you see the 12 finalists. You’ll see why I said he wasn’t ready. For now, I wish Luke all the success is his music career. That rendition of If I Ain’t Got You was sick,” he shares with his almost 2.7 million Twitter followers.

“You have no idea how hard it is to crush people’s dreams right in front of them. That’s the burden we carry as judges to try and give one special person a chance of a lifetime. Just wait. The auditions isn’t even the hardest part,” he adds.