Pilipinas Got Talent (known and abbreviated as PGT) is a Philippine television reality competition show broadcast by ABS-CBN, Kapamilya Channel, TV5 and All TV. The show is based on the British reality television franchise Got Talent. Originally hosted by Luis Manzano and Billy Crawford, it aired on the network's Yes Weekend! line up on February 20, 2010. Robi Domingo and Melai Cantiveros serve as the most recent hosts for the seventh season.
The first season aired on ABS-CBN from February 20 to June 23, 2010. A second and a third season aired back to back from February 26 to October 23, 2011. The fourth season aired from February 16 to June 8, 2013, with the fifth season aired from January 23 to May 22, 2016. The sixth season aired from January 6 to April 29, 2018. The seventh season aired on Kapamilya Channel from March 29 to June 22, 2025.
To date, there have been seven winners: Jovit Baldivino, Marcelito Pomoy, the Maasinhon Trio, Roel Manlangit, Power Duo, Kristel de Catalina, and Cardong Trumpo. The first four are singing acts, while the two are interpretative dance acts, and the latter is non-singing or dance act.
Development ABS-CBN acquired the Got Talent franchise on 2009, advertising it as "the first nationwide talent reality show in the Philippines," although other talent shows from other networks are aired with a similar format, such as Talentadong Pinoy on TV5.
A spin-off of the format, announced in 2023, GMA acquired the French version of the Got Talent format, Battle of the Judges.
Format Anyone can join and showcase their talents in the audition. At the sound of four (three, in seasons 1–4) buzzers from the judges, the auditionees are asked to stop their act. With at least three (two, in seasons 1–4) approval votes from the judges, they are automatically in the list for Judges Cuts, where judges have to pick only 36 acts (Golden Acts are included in the list, starting with the fifth season) that will move to the semi-finals. Acts will compete against each other to gain the audience's support and win the prize money as well as the title of Pilipinas Got Talent.
Overview Auditions Viewers can join through text and online registration via the Internet. Auditions are held in key cities such as Manila, Baguio, Batangas, Cebu, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro.
Pre-auditions This is the competition's first round. Major auditions were held in major Philippine cities. Since the second season, in addition to the major auditions, there have been mini-auditions held in various provinces and cities throughout the Philippines and judged by the Pilipinas Got Talent staff. This round is held several months before the auditions for the judges. Contestants can also audition online by submitting their audition video through the show's official website. Acts who advance to the next round must audition in front of the judges and a live audience.
Live auditions Following the pre-auditions, acts audition in front of four celebrity judges. The judges have the option of ending an act's performance early by pressing their red buzzer, which illuminates their corresponding X above the stage. If an act receives Xs from all of the judges, they must stop performing. After an act ends, each judge gives the act a "Yes" if they like it and want it to advance to the next stage of the competition, and a "No" if they don't like it and don't want to see it again. At least three judges (two, in seasons 1–4) must give an act a "Yes" for the act to proceed.
The Golden Buzzer is introduced in Season 5. Each judge may only use the Golden Buzzer once per season. Any act that receives the Golden Buzzer advances directly to the live semifinals. From the sixth season onwards, the hosts were given the authority to press it as one.
Large audiences have played a role in the judging process, as their reactions to an act's performance can swing or influence a judge's vote. As a result, the audience effectively acts as an "additional judge".
Judges' Cull The acts that have passed the live auditions round will advance to this round. The judges will deliberate on all the acts that passed the auditions in this round. From seasons 1 through 5, only thirty-six (36) acts advance to the live shows. However, it was reduced to twenty-eight (28) on season 6, and it was further reduced to twenty-four (24) on season 7.
Live shows Following the deliberation of the judges on the top 36 (seasons 1–5), 28 (season 6), and 24 (season 7) acts in the judges' cull, each act will compete in a battle of talents in the live shows, with more than six acts qualifying for the finals. Judges can still stop the current act's performance at this point by pressing their buzzers; this does not necessarily mean that the act is eliminated; the public can still vote for the buzzed act to advance to the grand finals. There are currently three types of live shows before the finals: quarter-finals, semi-finals, and wildcard rounds.
Quarter-finals The quarterfinals were first introduced in the second season and then appeared in the fourth season, with six acts performing each week. After the six assigned artists for the week have done their separate acts, the public and judges will vote for one act to go to the semi-finals. The first semi-finalist will be the act with the most public votes, while the second semi-finalist will be the act with the majority of judges' votes. The second-placed performer in the public vote will be the second semi-finalist if the judges' votes are tied.
Semi-finals The audience and judges will vote for one act to go to the grand finals after each of the six performers assigned for the week have performed their allotted acts. The first finalist will be the act with the most public votes, while the second finalist will be the act with the majority of judges' votes. The second-placed performer in the public vote will be the second finalist if the judges' votes are tied.
The fourth season introduced a new voting format in which three acts would be chosen by the judges and the general public, with two acts coming from the judges and one from the general public (the act with the most votes). Two votes will be given to each judge for the two acts they want to advance to the finals.
Wildcard rounds The wildcard rounds were first used in the second season, where acts that lose or did not receive a judge's vote were chosen to perform once more in front of the judges and audience to advance to the finals. The two spots reserved for these wildcard acts on the finale were up for grabs, and the top three acts with the highest percentage of votes were chosen to compete the following day. This was put into place following the semifinal round and before the grand finals.
Grand finals The acts that managed to pass through the first four eliminations (three in the first three seasons) will compete in a live grand finale event for a final performance in the show. This time, the winner will be up to the hands of the public as the grand winner will be announced as the act with the most public votes. For seasons five and six, the winner was determined by taking half of the votes cast by the general public and the other half based on the judges' scores. The grand winner receives a total amount of two million pesos (₱2,000,000) while the second and third placers will receive one hundred thousand pesos (₱100,000) and fifty thousand pesos (₱50,000). Nevertheless, those who were not able to reach the top 3 will receive consolation prizes.
Seasons Summary of Seasons SeasonPremiere dateFinale dateEpisodes ofFinalistsWinnerRunner-upThird placePresentersJudgesMain Guest 1 33 12 Jovit Baldivino † Baguio Metamorphosis Velasco Brothers Luis ManzanoBilly Crawford Ai-Ai delas AlasKris AquinoFreddie M. Garcia rowspan="2" 2 35 14 Marcelito Pomoy Happy Feet Freestylers 3 32 12 Maasinhon Trio Khalil Ramos Bringas Brothers Luis ManzanoBilly Crawford 4 33 6 Roel Manlangit Frankendal Fabroa MP3 Band Vice Ganda 5 36 12 Power Duo Amazing Pyra Ody Sto. Domingo Vice GandaRobin PadillaAngel LocsinFreddie M. Garcia rowspan="3" 6 33 10 Kristel de Catalina Julius & Rhea Joven Olvido Billy CrawfordToni Gonzaga 7 25 8 Cardong Trumpo Femme MNL Carl Quion Robi DomingoMelai Cantiveros Eugene DomingoDonny PangilinanKathryn BernardoFreddie M. Garcia
^ Ai-Ai delas Alas was not able to attend the fifth semifinal week due to illness. Due to this, Vice Ganda was asked to take her duties, but only as a replacement judge for the week.
Season details Season 1 (2010)
The first season began on February 20, 2010. It was held in some major cities in the Philippines like Baguio, Batangas, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and Metro Manila where the hopefuls are judged by judges Ai-Ai delas Alas, Kris Aquino and Freddie "FMG" Garcia. From thousands who auditioned, 220 acts made it to the Judges' Cull, where the top 36 semi-finalists were selected.
The semi-finals were held on AFP Theater in Camp Aguinaldo from the first to fourth performance night and in Tanghalang Pasigueño from the fifth to sixth performance night. On the other hand, the results are always held in Dolphy Theater in ABS-CBN. The season ended last June 12 and 13, 2010, at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Metro Manila, where the twelve acts competed for the prize. Sixteen-year-old singer Jovit Baldivino from Batangas was declared the winner of the season.
Season 2 (2011)
The second season premiered on February 26, 2011, replacing Star Circle Quest and Star Power respectively. Ai-Ai delas Alas, Kris Aquino, and Freddie Garcia reprised their judging duties from first season. The hosts, Billy Crawford and Luis Manzano, also reprised their hosting roles, and they were joined by Nikki Gil. The major auditions for the second season were held in Dagupan, Batangas, Naga, Cebu, Davao and Metro Manila. It is also the season where they held micro-auditions in other cities and provinces in the Philippines where hopefuls are judged by the show's staff.
There are 174 acts who passed the auditions and made it to the Judges' Cut. The Luzon and Visayas auditionees where selected in Dolphy Theater in Quezon City where 26 acts made it to the semi-finals. On the other hand, the remaining 10 acts from Mindanao were visited by the judges in their respective hometown. The semi-finals were held in PAGCOR Theater in Parañaque City. In addition, there is a wildcard round for those semi-finalists who made it to the top three highest audience votes but lost the judges' votes are given a chance to compete again in order to make it to the grand finals. Only two will be chosen for this round.
On June 25 and 26, 2011, the season ended in Araneta Coliseum of Quezon City, Metro Manila where the fourteen acts competed. Falsetto singer Marcelito Pomoy from Cavite was crowned as the winner of the season.
Season 3 (2011)
The hosts announced in the grand finals of Season 2 that the show will return again within two weeks. The third season premiered last July 9, 2011, on ABS-CBN. Major auditions are held in Baguio, Manila, Batangas, Cebu, Bacolod, Tacloban, Iloilo, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, and General Santos. There are also mini-auditions held in almost 70 municipalities and cities in the country. In addition, there are online auditions where participants are asked to upload their videos in Pilipinas Got Talent website. In this season, Luis Manzano and Billy Crawford became a judge substitute for a while of Ai-Ai delas Alas and Kris Aquino, respectively.