Noontime show “It’s Showtime” starts the year with a bang as it launches the grand come back of the classic singing contest that gave rise to today’s OPM legends, “Tawag ng Tanghalan.”

  
Now respected artists in the music industry, Nora Aunor, Pepe Pimentel, and Bobot Mortiz started out as contenders in the said contest. With its return in 2016, “Tawag ng Tanghalan” once again calls for new talents from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and Metro Manila to find the country’s next singing superstar.

Four contestants will battle daily and will prove their singing prowess to the madlang people and the hurados. However, when the singer goes out of tune, “Jhong the Gong” (Jhong Hilario) will hit a gong that signals the contestants to stop singing. Big prizes awaits the defending champion as he or she could win P25,000 while the runners up will get P5,000 as consolation prize.

Last Saturday (Jan 2), three contestants battled it out and showed what they got to the madlang people and the hurados. Michelle Arcain from Davao City emerged as the first weekly finalist and will return on Monday (Jan 4) to defend her title.

This week, OPM’s greatest singers Rey Valera, Rico J. Puno, and Bobot Mortiz with today’s top singers Nyoy Volante and Yeng Constantino serve as judges and give feedback on the contestants’ performances.

Meanwhile, with the launch of “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” Amy Perez and Mariel Rodriguez-Padilla are now officially part of the “It’s Showtime” family. Amy and Mariel thanked the ABS-CBN management and the madlang people for the trust and support they are getting and greeted everyone a Happy New Year.

Don’t miss the return of “Tawag ng Tanghalan” in “It’s Showtime,” Mondays to Saturdays noon in ABS-CBN. For more information, follow “It’s Showtime” on Facebook and Twitter (@ItsShowtimena).